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Lexus teases Frankfurt Motor Show concept... is it the RC Coupe?

With the teaser image of the concept car above and the announcement that Lexus will be premiering it to the world at the Frankfurt Motor Show on Tuesday, September 10, you know pretty much what we know. The Japanese luxury brand has decided to to say nothing more. Picture sleuthers have, however, suggested that it is a conceptual preview of either the RC Coupe or the hotter RC-F that will be revealed in Tokyo, or, less likely, the coming NX crossover - and that covers all the bases that we know of.
Along with that, Europeans will get to lay eyes on the GS 300h for the first time, the sport sedan powered by Lexus' 2.5L hybrid powertrain. You'll find a skosh more information in the press release below.

Toyota Hilux gets heart transplant from Lexus IS F

The Toyota Hilux might not be sold in the US, but Toyota's venerable pickup has an international reputation of being able to go anywhere and do just about anything. The trucks aren't really known for their speed, though, at least until Toyota South Africa Motorsport's new, one-off project. This bruiser ditches the usual diesel engine and replaces it with an unrestricted 5.0-liter V8 from a Lexus IS F making 449 horsepower. Of course, it takes more than power to handle the rigors of high speed off-roading. The motorsport team also adds bigger, competition-spec brakes, fully adjustable dampers, new springs, and retuned gearing to make the truck look practically ready for the Dakar Rally. The gearbox is really the only part that carries over. The V8 gives the special Hilux quite a mean growl, too. With the new Tacoma just launching in the US, maybe the engineers at TRD need to apply this same concept over here for its own Lexus-engined, one-off pickup.

Toyota Recalling 1.67 Million Vehicles Worldwide

UPDATE: Toyota is now announcing specifically which models are covered under its fuel pipe recall in the US. The company is repairing about 423,000 Lexus models that include the 2007-2010 LS, 2006-2011 GS, 2006-2011 IS, 2010 IS C and 2008-2010 IS-F. The automaker says that it isn't aware of any fires, crashes, injuries or fatalities caused by this problem. According to Toyota, the recall is because it's possible for the fuel delivery pipes and the fuel pressure sensor to form a bad seal with the gasket between them because of a protective coating protecting against corrosion on the pipes. It's possible for this to eventually cause a fuel leak, and obviously in a hot engine bay that's a potential fire risk. To fix the problem, dealers will replace the gasket and repair the gasket seating surface between the fuel delivery pipe and the fuel pressure sensor. The company will begin notifying owners soon. You can find the official press release, below. Toyota is issuing three separate recalls covering 1.67 million vehicles worldwide with most of those models in Japan. It looks like the campaigns' impact on the US may be smaller, though. According to Reuters, Toyota isn't aware of any accidents, injuries or fatalities affecting the models. Some yet-unnamed Lexus models might also be affected. The largest of the campaigns does not currently affect any US-market vehicles. About 802,000 units of the Toyota Crown Majesta, Crown, Noah and Voxy in Japan are being repaired to replace a seal that could leak in the brake master cylinder. Those already leaking get a new brake booster, as well, according to Reuters. The only recall currently believed to affect the US is due to a problem covering approximately 759,000 vehicles with 423,000 of them here. The repair is to fix a faulty fuel delivery pipe that could cause a fire if the fuel leaks out. Unfortunately, we don't know which models it covers. Autoblog spoke to Toyota spokesperson Mona Richard and was told the information was still "under embargo." When exactly that embargo will lift isn't yet known, but we're on the case. Finally, Toyota is recalling 190,000 Corolla Rumion and Auris models in Japan for a faulty evaporative emission control unit. Autoblog is in contact with Toyota, and we'll update this story as soon as we know more about its affect on the US market.