Lexus RX F V8 possible

Lexus has renewed its eye-catching RX range, but the repositioning upmarket won't result in a fire-breathing, V8-powered RX F model. Not yet.

Although it can be done, as Makoto Tanaka, Lexus' product planning project leader for the RX vehicle, points out, it's just very unlikely at this stage.

Indeed, Tanaka told motoring.com.au via an interpreter that it is possible to wedge the company's predatory 5.0-litre V8 (351kW/530Nm) under the RX's bonnet – but there's currently no plan for it.

"In terms of feasibility, if you want to, is it technically possible? Yes. We have experience in the IS F, where we managed to get our V8 in the small IS sedan body, so if you [are] talking about feasibility, you could do that in RX, but there's no plan," he said.

With its longer, wider body, the Lexus RX competes against the likes of the BMW X5 and Mercedes-Benz GLE – it's longer than both those vehicles – which offer AMG and M Division variants that take performance levels to jaw-dropping levels.

It's true that the large luxury SUV segment attracts the attention of buyers seeking V8 engines, increased performance and 'look-at-me' designs. While the Lexus RX provides the latter, it's unlikely the vehicle will ever get a V8 under the hood for the time being.

For now, the Lexus RX 350 F Sport will be the highest performance version of the large luxury SUV offered to customers, but it's 3.5-litre V6 (221kW/370Nm) is starting to show the seven signs of aging.

Lexus Australia's chief executive, Sean Hanley, said that an AWD version of the RX 200t – powered by a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine (175kW/350Nm) – could arrive in Australia as early as mid-2016 and would likely become the new RX hero model.

Senior Lexus executives previously confirmed to motoring.com.au the next generation of its F models will be turbocharged, a break from tradition, and Tanaka reiterated the company's research direction.

"We have to come up with alternative ideas, like lower displacement turbo and so on.

"Of course it's always under study to keep developing those kinds of high performance variants of engine. But which model to put it in is the next step," he observed.

There's also the major engineering problem facing a V8 Lexus RX. Currently its powertrain is transversely mounted and V8s are chiefly longitudinal in their layout - except for a couple of rare exceptions.

So it's not clear whether the company's new heavy-hitting turbo 'F' engine will be six or eight-cylinders but the latter could make its debut in the next-generation IS F. And there's always the chance the bespoke turbo engine could one day make its way into the RX too - especially if it's a V6.