Report: Lexus GX SUV may go unibody for next generation, turbo engines in the works

2012 Lexus GX460

Some new reports are out surrounding Lexus’s mid-sized luxury SUV, the GX. And in those reports, word is that Lexus is considering a completely new platform for the next-generation GX, which means the Japanese luxury brand may move the GX from a body-on-frame platform to a unibody structure.

“There is a potential that at some point, when we replace the GX, we can have a car-based SUV,” said Lexus US’s vice president and general manager Mark Templin. “We were so successful with the GX, nobody wanted to lose the GX.”

This news particularly comes after the fact that Nissan and Infiniti had released the all-new unibody Infiniti JX full-size crossover. Additionally, it would make perfect sense for Lexus to change the GX to a unibody crossover to closer compete with the new JX.

Additionally, Templin added that Lexus is also heavily working on the development of forced-induction engines, especially since much of the industry has resorted to turbocharged four-cylinders to help reduce CAFE ratings and increase fuel economy without sacrificing power.

However, the turbo engines from Lexus are still a ways away, Templin added, while he also said that Lexus is very content with naturally aspirated V6s.

“There’s an older generation that remembers turbos as something being broken down, very expensive, (and that) had this turbo lag,” he says. “With young people, they sound cool,” adding that the younger demographics are vital to Lexus’s success.

– By: Chris Chin

Source: WardsAuto