Lexus Ready To Build Its Own GR 86

We love a good rumor mill story, especially when it involves sports coupes. We noted a few weeks ago that the Toyota brands are doing the most for the subgenre, selling three rear-wheel drive, two-door sports cars - if we include the Lexus RC F in that category. But we've learned today that there might be a fourth on its way soon.

The Lexus Enthusiast site is reporting, by way of Japanese site Creative, that Lexus could be working on its own version of the Subaru BRZ/Toyota GR 86. But it wouldn't simply be a GR 86 with a Lexus spindle grille on the nose as the outlet is reporting it might come with more power, too. The site is guessing it could use Subaru's 2.4-liter flat-four mated to an electric motor for either a PHEV or mild-hybrid setup.

It could be called the UC, for Urban Coupe, following the Lexus naming structure of RC for Radical Coupe and LC for Luxury Coupe. We'd like to add the term SC for a new coupe, option though the old one was Supra-sized and not pint-sized like the 86.

It would naturally adopt the sameSubaru Global Platform, which is already geared with electrification in mind, and with an electric motor, it should provide a fair bit more power than the GR 86's 228 horsepower. We love theBRZ/86 twins, but as Lexus is a luxury brand, we'd expect it to be a bit softer over bumps, engineered with a little more give in the suspension as a GT-type coupe rather than a hardened sports car. We also doubt the availability of a manual transmission, as smoothness is another hallmark of the company.