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Speculating on the New Lexus LF-CC Hybrid Engine

One of the more mysterious elements about the Lexus LF-CC is the 2.5L hybrid engine under the hood — the Paris press release reveals little:

[The new engine will be] appropriate to a sporting, D-segment coupe and low CO2 emissions, targeted below 100 g/km. This powertrain will achieve class-leading energy efficiency, with more than 2 hp produced per gram of CO2.

It adopts the Atkinson cycle and D-4S direct injection technology to optimise both the power and fuel-efficiency benefits of Lexus Hybrid Drive

Using these vague facts, My.IS administrator jruhi4 did some calculating (emphasis is mine):

The current port injection-only 2AR-FXE [engine from the ES 300h] is already producing the 200 total system horsepower…with D4-S injection boosting horsepower by just over 10% in the dual-injected 2GR-FSE 3.5-liter V6 versus its port injection-only 2GR-FE sibling, we suspect that total system horsepower for the new 2AR-FXE with D4S 2.5-liter 4-cylinder hybrid engine should be around 220-225 hp, a notion seconded by Lexus Enthusiast commentator MT.

When it was announced in June that a low-displacement hybrid powertrain for the GS would debut in Paris, I had assumed it would be a direct transplant of the 2.5L four-cylinder engine from the ES 300h — by adding D4S technology, this “new” hybrid engine gets a welcome boost that should push it past the 204-horsepower V6 engine in the current IS 250.

(While on the topic, I have to recommend the My.IS analysis of the LF-CC — very insightful.)

http://lexusenthusiast.com/