Toyota might be working on new twin-turbo V8

What vehicle should Toyota put its new twin-turbo V8?

It’s no secret all automakers -Toyota included- are gradually phasing out their V8 engines.

Apart from the Lexus LC, RC F, and the IS 500, there are no new Toyota or Lexus models available with a V8. The current-generation LS only has a twin-turbo V6. Meanwhile, the V8 engines in the brand’s large SUVs, such as the current Land Cruiser and LX, will supposedly be downsized to a twin-turbo V6 when the next-generation model arrives.

Fortunately, hope is not lost if you're a fan of displacement. A new patent could indicate that a new Toyota V8 on the horizon. Best of all, it will supposedly go into a Lexus performance model. Specifically, it could be for the next-generation IS F.

Detailed sketches of Toyota’s new V8 engine were discovered by GR86 forum members after a patent was filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. And before you ask, not it’s not the same V8 like the one in the IS 500: this one has a twin-turbo setup instead of being naturally aspirated.

Fortunately for us, several images detail how the new engine works. For example, it uses a hot-V layout with the twin-turbo sitting in between the cylinder banks. Curiously, the document states “superchargers”, though the drawings show turbochargers.

News of Toyota filing a patent for a new twin-turbo V8 engine is exciting but it is not a guarantee that the engine will enter production. It’s similar to automakers filing patents for old nameplates even though they haven’t been used in a long time.

Still, the possibility of this twin-turbo V8 showing up in the next-generation IS F isn’t too far-fetched. Assuming a new IS F is built, it wouldn’t make sense to stick the same naturally aspirated V8 found in the IS 500 into it. Lexus would want to stick a more powerful motor to take the fight against Mercedes-AMG and BMW M models. Outside of the Lexus F models, Toyota could use it in high-performance GR models as well.

Toyota and Lexus have yet to make any official announcement about the engine or whether it will see life. Hopefully this twin-turbo V8 makes it off the drawing board and into a vehicle in the future, but perhaps of more concern is whether this V8 can be made to meet or exceed regulations on fuel economy and emissions.