4th-gen Lexus IS debuts on official terms

Following the recent leak of pre-production photos, Lexus has finally led its fourth-IS into the spotlight.

The luxury sedan keeps its old chassis design, but becomes lighter and more rigid overall due to many steel parts swapped out for aluminum ones. The springs lose 20 percent of their weight, the suspension arms 18%, and the anti-sway bar 17%. Higher trims may also now be obtained with 19-inch BBS wheels.

The engine palette stays the same. This means choosing between a 2.0-liter turbo-four mill with 245 hp (183 kW) at the output end, and a 3.5-liter V6 available in 264 hp (197 kW) and 315 hp (235 kW) forms. The base spec is RWD only, the 264hp one is AWD, and the 315hp ships in both variants.

All RWD models get six-speed automatic transmission, whereas the AWD ones benefit from a superior eight-speed design. Optional adaptive suspension is available for the IS 350 F Sport spec, and nothing is being revealed about the range-topping IS 500 V8 so far.

Launch dates and prices will be announced later.