Lexus has announced a coupe version of its compact luxury sedan, the IS, will go on sale in 2014.
The company hasn’t confirmed whether a hybrid version will be made, though with the latest IS inspired by last year’s LF-CC concept, itself a hybrid, such a thing is likely.
The coupe is expected to look very similar to the LF-CC concept, one of the company’s most dramatically-styled vehicles yet.
It might not be the only hybrid version of the IS, either.
According to What Car, which confirmed the rumors of the IS coupe, Lexus has also suggested that a plug-in hybrid version of the IS wouldn’t be difficult to do.
Currently, the only plug-in hybrid in the Toyota and Lexus line-up is the Prius Plug-In Hybrid. The fate of this model will effectively seal the fate of an IS plug-in, since demand for the Toyota has so far been a little less than the company expected.
Whether such a thing would reach the U.S. or not is less clear.
Lexus has already decided against introducing the hybrid version of the new IS to the U.S. The IS 300h will be sold in other markets, but Lexus has deemed it a little too close to the existing ES 300h.
Both use the same 2.5-liter, Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder gasoline engine and hybrid drivetrain, and despite the IS having a more sporting bias and 20 more horsepower, Lexus is worried each may cannibalize the other’s sales.
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