New 2012 Lexus GS to be Unveiled in August

Lexus has confirmed that it will unveil the next generation GS at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in August. The new GS will officially go on sale in 2012.

The fourth-generation sports sedan which sits between the smaller IS and the larger LS will debut as a GS 350. It will be powered by a retuned version of the 3.5 liter all-aluminium V6 engine found in the current generation. Propulsion is sent to the rear wheels through a six-speed automatic transmission. However, power figures remain is kept secret. The current GS 350 produces 303 horsepower and 371 Nm of torque. We expect the new GS to have a bit more power to match or exceed the figures of the new BMW 535i.

To stir up the anticipation ahead of the launch, Lexus has invited motoring journalists to test drive a prototype of the new GS 350. As you can see from the photos, the test car was heavily camouflaged as Lexus would not want to let out any details of the new design until the launch. However, there is a hint of the LF-Gh concept in the design. The interior of the car was much more exposed though, with only a few adhesive tapes covering the Lexus logo on the steering wheel and a few other bits here and there.

Lexus will release a hybrid version further down the track. Power will come from both the 3.5 liter V6 found in the GS 350 and the electric motors. The V6-Hybrid will most likely replace the current V8 GS 460. Also in the cards is a top of the range GS F high performance variant. It will be interesting to know what engine Lexus is going to put in this one.

With the Lexus IS already heating up the competition with its German rivals, could the new GS do the same? We will have to wait and see…

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