Back in early August 2005, Germany's Auto Motor und Sport broke the story that Lexus was planning a smaller-than-IS model, a 4-door hatchback labeled the Lexus BS. Their original article vaguely predicted 4 or 6-cylinder gasoline engines as well as a turbodiesel, all-wheel-drive and hybrid options and a launch date no sooner than the end of 2008.
Our initial inclination was to dismiss this story as wishful thinking or a far-flung rumo(u)r of shaky credibility. Then came another brief story (more of a short blurb, actually), containing more concrete information, from Germany's Automobilwoche, which is a German-language automotive industry periodical from the publishers of AutoWeek, Automotive News and Automotive News Europe. An English translation first appeared on the Just-Auto.com website and then spread throughout the Internet. Here's how it reads: "Lexus will launch a small car to compete with the BMW 1-series and Audi A3 Sportback in Europe from 2008, reported Automobilwoche. The Lexus BS will be based on the IS250 platform. At launch, engines will be a 2.5 litre V6 with 208 horsepower, and a 177 horsepower diesel with D-Cat technology (the IS250 and IS220d powerplants - Ed.), the newspaper said. A three litre six cylinder, 250 horsepower engine (the 3rd-gen GS300 engine - Ed.), and a hybrid version, will follow at a later date."
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