Toyota's Chief Katsuaki Watanabe confirmed that the dedicated hybrid would appear at next year's Detroit Motor Show, stating that it will be the venue for "staging world premiers of two all-new, dedicated hybrids, one for Toyota and one for Lexus." These new cars will be conventional hybrids, similar to the current Prius, in which an electric motor works in tandem with an internal combustion petrol engine and the Lexus model will be known as the HS250h.
Meanwhile the Lexus IS convertible is well on track for a 2009 release. The convertible version of the IS is denoted by the letter C and is available initially in IS250C and IS350C trim, going on sale in the first half of 2009, for the U.S. and Europe.
The new power-retractable hardtop roof is constructed from aluminum and folds away in just 20 seconds. It has been styled to offer minimal wind turbulence when driving with the top down, and when the top is up cabin noise is said to be the same as the sedan.
The final mystery car could be turn out to be any one of a number of vehicles that Lexus is working on, although some sources are reporting that it may be a high-performance variant for the LS range, similar to the IS-F. Other rumors state that a new GX could be in the works, and since being introduced 5 years ago with few significant modifications since then, the GX mid-size SUV may be just about ready for a new generation.
