Abandonment of V8 engines at Toyota? But don't they just make efficient hybrids? Well… being Toyota one of the biggest car manufacturers on the planet, you wouldn't expect anything else that they make a wide variety of vehicles and their engines.
Toyota's V8 engines have come a long way — they've been a fixture at the Japanese manufacturer since 1963, with the introduction of the V engine family. Their place would be progressively taken by the UZ family from 1989 onwards, and these eventually began to be replaced by the UR family as of 2006.
These noblest engines equipped some of the noblest Toyotas, such as the first generation of the Toyota Century, the luxury saloon of the Japanese brand.
Over the years, they became common in several of the brand's all terrains, such as the Land Cruiser, and also in its Tacoma pick-ups and the giant Tundra. Of course, they have also gone through many, many Lexus since 1989 (the year of their creation), serving, as a rule, as top engines in their respective ranges.
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It was also at Lexus that we saw the most energetic variants of these V8s, having been the default choice for the F models of the Japanese brand: IS F, GS F and RC F.
The end is near
The end seems to be near for these mechanical colossi. The reasons for Toyota's abandonment of V8 engine development are easy to identify.
On the one hand, increasingly stringent emission standards and increasing electrification mean that the development of internal combustion engines is increasingly concentrated around two or three key blocks. With the help of supercharging and hybridization it is possible to achieve identical and even higher levels of power/torque than these higher capacity engines, with lower consumption and emissions.
On the other hand, the Covid-19 and the ensuing crisis, accelerated the taking of certain decisions — such as not spending more funds on the development of V8 engines — all to face the loss of profits or even the losses that are already occurring in the industry.
The premature end of V8 engines at Toyota, predictably, also affected the future of certain models. The highlight goes to the Lexus LC F, which now sees its future very compromised.
Lexus LC F will no longer happen?
It was a fact that Lexus was working on a new twin turbo V8 to equip its stunning coupé, the LC. His debut was not to take place on the road, but on the circuit, at the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring. With the effects of the pandemic, the plans for the development of this machine seem to have been, by all indications, canceled.What also put at risk what would be the road version of this model, the LC F.
It is currently not possible to confirm whether this model has been permanently canceled or not. It would certainly be a great farewell to this type of engine in the Japanese giant.
Goodbye V8, hello V6
If Toyota's V8 engines seem to have their destiny, that doesn't mean we don't continue to have Toyota and Lexus models with more powerful engines. But instead of a large-capacity V8 NA (4.6 to 5.7 l capacity) they will have a new twin turbo V6 under the hood.
Called the V35A, the twin turbo V6 already equips Lexus' top of the range, the LS (USF50 generation, launched in 2018), which for the first time in its history does not feature a V8. In the LS 500, the V6 with 3.4 l of capacity, delivers 417 hp and 600 Nm.