Saturday, January 17, 2009

Rumormill: Nissan GT-R-based sedan and SUV in the works, LF-A on track, Supra planning comeback



InsideLine's correspondent in Japan says that despite the global economic crisis that has caused the demise of the Acura NSX, there are plenty of good things on the way from Japan's top automakers.

Adding fuel to the rumormill fire, Peter Lyon reports that Nissan is hard at work developing two models based off the Nissan GT-R: the oft-rumored four-door Infiniti and a Porsche Cayenne-fighting SUV, a vehicle that has already been denied by Nissan. Naturally, he doesn't disclose his sources, nor does he go into detail about the automakers efforts, but both models are expected to be released sometime in 2011.

The rumored demise of the Lexus LF-A is also open to debate – yet again – and according to Lyon's logic, after Toyota made the decision to continue its Formula One campaign, the automaker "still wants to bring its first true supercar to market." The V10-powered luxo-coupe is supposedly 12 to 18 months off and pricing is expected to retail for close to $340,000.

Two other vehicles on the chopping block that Lyon says have been spared are the Honda S2000 replacement, which could debut in late 2011 or early 2012, as well as Toyota's plans to bring back the Supra with V6 power in 2011. The all-new Subaru Legacy which debuted in Detroit is also slated to arrive in production form this May, with sales beginning sometime in the fall.

We are not entirely convinced that any of these projects are sure things, so until we get confirmation from the individual automakers, we'll remain comfortably numb to the news.

[Source: InsideLine]

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