But sadly, the current high-performance V8’s natural aspiration gives way to forced induction.
By Chris Chin
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The 2025 Japan Mobility Show is in full swing and Toyota just dropped some exciting news for V8 lovers: it’s not going anywhere. Additionally, it could find its way into a new Lexus sports car.
Speaking with Yota’s and Lexus’ chief powertrain engineer, Takashi Uehara, our friends down yonder at CarExpert confirmed that the Japanese auto giant is brewing up a new eight-pot.
This exciting update comes after skepticism arose around the viability of the V8’s future from ever increasingly stringent fuel economy and emissions compliance regulations. Many thought the V8 in general was on its death bed.
But after major rollbacks on the regulatory side in the US, on top of a lukewarm reception to EVs, automakers are turning back to such powertrains.
Although the continuation of eight-cylinder power is exciting, the next mill sadly says goodbye to the current V8’s signature high-revving, naturally-aspiration. According to CarExpert’s interview, the next-gen V8 will instead utilize twin turbos.
Toyota’s/Lexus’ current high-po V8 is the legendary 2UR-GSE. It’s better known as the 5.0-liter naturally-aspirated eight-cylinder. It powers the current IS 500 F Sport Performance, the LC 500, and formerly, the IS F, GS F and RC F.
It’s the V8 that truly helped tighten Lexus’ competition against BMW M, Mercedes-AMG and Audi S. Despite launching with the IS F over a decade ago in 2007, it remains as one of the best V8s ever made.
Since its debut, the V8 largely remains unchanged (aside from tuning upgrades). It is an absolute testament to how damn good it is and how way ahead of its time it was. Although not the most powerful, it still produces 472 horses and 395 pound-feet of twists in its latest form.
But what makes the 2UR-GSE an absolute peach is its Yamaha-tuned valvetrain, intake and head assembly.
Yamaha might be known for making musical instruments, stellar audio equipment, recreational vehicles and motorcycles. But they’re also a renowned name in motorsports.
Although they don’t make any actual cars, they certainly know a thing or two about performance engineering and internal combustion engines. In the context of four-wheeled machines, they’re basically Japan’s equivalent to Britain’s Cosworth.
As such, Lexus engineers teamed up with Yamaha to co-develop the 2UR-GSE. More specifically, Yamaha specially tuned the entire top-end of the 2UR-GSE. Its engineers added more aggressive camshafts, a two-stage intake manifold, ultra-lightweight titanium valves and lower tensions valve springs.
Yamaha engineers also boosted the V8’s compression ratio from 11.8:1 on the standard 1UR-GSE to 12.3:1. The result is a high-revving, high-output performance V8 with a screaming 7,300 RPM redline, lightning-quick throttle and rev-happy responses, and a sensational audible experience that rivals V8s from any of the other proverbial automotive greats.
It’ll be extraordinarily sad to see it go.
In addition to the V8’s continuation, Lexus teased its potential production application in the Sports Concept that debuted in Tokyo. The Japanese automaker introduced the concept, which may potentially reach production as the successor to the current LC 500.
Other speculation suggests the engine could also power the automaker’s new supercar. The latter would succeed the iconic V10-powered LFA.
Previously, it was already know that Toyota’s GR performance division was working on its own V8-powered sports car. Now, the application will extend beyond that specific model and power Lexus’ own sports cars, as hinted by the Sports Coupe Concept.
Although Lexus didn’t spare any technical details, rumors suggest the new V8 is a part of Toyota’s new modular range of internal combustion engines. In the Sports Concept, it supposedly displaces 4.0-liters and with its twin-turbochargers, is supposedly good for well over 500 horsepower.
During CarExpert’s interview Uehara also suggested there could be two variants of the new V8. One would go in the supposed LC 500 successor while the most powerful version could power the supposed LFA successor.
It also apparently shares a lot of engineering and tech from the high-performance 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder Toyota’s developing for future GR sports cars.
“We have several partitions with the engines. For example, I don’t say for the 1.5-litre we have only a sporty one… so for both sizes of engines, we have several partitions if necessary,” Uehara told CarExpert. “So maybe we could have a V8 with a more gentle [character] or we could have a more muscular, heavy-duty version.”
Uehara also further elaborated, saying the new V8 is so technologically advanced, it might not even need to be a part of a plug-in hybrid powertrain to pass emissions compliance. But the pairing might still happen with Lexus’ incoming sports coupe as an option and to align with corporate strategy.
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