When the Lexus IS 500 Ultimate Edition was announced, the general vibe in the room was that it was time for the last naturally aspirated V8 sports sedan on the market to take a bow, but nobody seemed willing to say for sure. Could there be another year or two in it? Perhaps, perhaps not. Now it looks like that bow may be happening relatively soon, and the V8 sedan might not be the only IS variant to go.
You know how curiosity can sometimes reveal unexpected information? I went poking around on Lexus’ Japanese-market website for, well, reasons, and stumbled upon a pop-up banner that discloses the immediate future for much of the IS range.
Keep in mind, publicly posted messages like this are fairly common for the Japanese market when a car either ends production or gets put on a production pause, and with it being on the official website, I’m willing to put my faith in Google Translate here.
[For customers considering IS]
Notice of End of Production for the IS500 / IS350 / IS300h (AWD) / IS300
Thank you for considering our vehicles.
Production of the IS500 / IS350 / IS300h (AWD) / IS300 will end in November 2025.
Sales will end once orders reach the production volume up to November.
Depending on when you consider purchasing a vehicle, some packages may no longer be available. Please contact your Lexus dealer for details.
That’s, um, every IS aside from the rear-wheel-drive hybrid. More importantly, that list also includes every variant of IS that Japan shares with North America, which doesn’t exactly give me the fuzziest feeling. After all, we are getting a left-hand-drive direct equivalent of the run-out JDM IS 500 Climax Edition as a 2025 model year vehicle, and no news of a 2026 model has hit the web yet.
Even though U.S. sales are down for the model this year, the IS still outsold the UX crossover, RZ electric crossover, and RC coupe combined through the first half of 2025. It’s the second-best-selling Lexus passenger car by a country mile, not a bad feat for a machine that’s essentially 12 years old.
That’s right, we’re still on the third generation of IS sedan, with the big makeover for the 2021 model year really just being a heavy helping of buccal fat removal from the face we’ve seen since April 2013. This means that the interior still has real buttons, and some of the mechanicals are deeply familiar. The 3.5-liter V6 is an evolution of an engine that debuted in 2005, all-wheel-drive models still use a six-speed automatic transmission, the first application of the V8 in the IS 500 dates back to the 2008 model year, and even the turbocharged four-cylinder engine is a longitudinal variation of the engine in the first-generation Lexus NX. You know what this means? The IS is proven.
Just about everything works as you’d expect and should continue to do so essentially forever, no alarms and no surprises. Change the oil, flush the brake fluid, do the discs and pads when they wear out, and you can expect to put loads of mileage on a Lexus IS without any substantial hiccups. It’s a known quantity, and although it might be a bit old-school, that’s precisely why it’s available with a roaring V8.
Needless to say, we’ve reached out to Lexus USA for word on whether “End of Production” in this case means end-of-production in Japan or end-of-production worldwide. While no successor has been publicly announced yet, regardless of when the true end-of-production is, I’d be surprised if Lexus doesn’t replace it. This compact sports sedan still does meaningful numbers, even if it might date back to a different era.
Still, if you want a brand-new automatic sports sedan but bemoan the unwanted complexity of the German big-three, test drive an IS while you still can. Preferably one with the thumping great V8. It might not be to your taste, but wouldn’t you rather know than wonder “what if?”
Top graphic image: Thomas Hundal
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One of these popped up in our parking lot, and I grew unexpectedly irate at its face.
Really though, 90% of this care is really nice, then busted bottom lip shows up to kill the part. Even if this car lasts until the end of time on regular oil changes and upkeep, even if it drives like a dream, it’ll always have that face.
I think that grille will age better than the current generation of car design. Then again, I’m a bit retro in my tastes, and the body-colored grilles are not working for me.
An observation some people might find interesting is that a new IS500 is about the same price as a BMW M340i RWD at around $64k, depending on options. If you look at the used versions of each, 2020-22 with under 50k miles, the BMWs can be had for under $40K, while the IS500s available are $53k or more.
The BMWs have a lower sale price, but you WILL pay later on with repairs and downtime.
That 13k premium for the Lexus is money well spent unless you want to make friends with your local flatbed driver. I got to spend lots of quality time with Alpha Dog Towing when I had a used BMW.
Agree completely.
hey! we (BMW owners) like to support local car repair and towing businesses including AAA and CAA (Canadian)
Supply and demand.
I can’t swing a new one right now, next year I might. Timing is a bitch.
Low mileage used it will be.
Yup. Supply and demand are significantly different on the used car market than they are in the new car market.
Every time I see one of these in traffic it stands out since there are so few of them.
This is heartbreaking for me. I really wanted a IS500 but even the used ones were well out of my range. I landed on a GR86 (which I also love) but all the while saying a little prayer that the IS would be an option for my next car. With the GR brand and the rumored MR2/Celica replacement I think the future is still bright, but I was really hoping for one more V8 in the garage.
I’m wondering if the upcoming generation of IS is going to go with the 1970s carpet shampooer schnozz or not. Hopefully not.
Rumor is that the IS models are going all electric. I hope not. I don’t know how they’d preserve the sporting feel in an EV design.
Translation: Likely very little grille at all.
I just spent the day driving a wonderful LC500 convertible in Arizona. It is a bargain compared to anything in its class and sadly in its final year.
I’d sell a kidney for one in that blue! But then I’d wind up using the money on a used LC500 instead…
I agree that the blue is stunning! I think it’s poorly rendered in those images, though. This car only comes in the Blue Mica 2.0, which does pop in sunlight, but is not quite that light of a shade of blue.
I cut my posting teeth at IS300.net (hello Parking Lot) and because of that, this announcement saddens me a little bit.
In reality, this is a platform that I haven’t even considered in almost 20 years.
I hope Toyota allocated enough blue ones LOL
No manual killed this car. You can’t compete with the black wing without a manual.
Even an automatic that didn’t suck ass would’ve helped. Not only is this not available in manual, but the automatic competition has the ZF8, arguably the best auto that exists.
I can’t help but wonder if there is a chip that will sharpen-up that 8-speed trans a bit. I like the idea of not needing to replace a dual clutch trans in 7-10 years, but agree that the trans is a tad soft.
That’s a good question. It’s a planetary set up so theoretically there are faster shifts to be had.
I love this car in concept but it’s just too damn expensive for what it is…and a combination of Toyota’s artificial scarcity/allocation BS and JDM bros drive up the price even further. You’re not getting off a lot in one of these for less than $70,000 and they don’t depreciate a cent. I recently saw one with 100,000 miles and a ding on the CarFax listed for $49,0000.
It’s a cool car, but it could’ve been a lot cooler had Toyota not pulled their Toyota shit with it. Instead it’s just kind of vaporware…and for the prices they go for it just isn’t THAT special. The car around the great engine just leaves a lot to be desired.
I owned one of these in orange. The transmission absolutely ruined the car. The rest is fairly good, but it’s closer to an old panther body than any modern sports sedan.
I love Japanese luxury cars and this V8 is a gem. But for $70,000 I’m getting a Blackwing or an M3. If these were priced to compete with the S5, M340i, etc. I’d find them a lot more appealing….but by the time they hit lots they’re as expensive as the full fat sports sedans, which they can’t compete against.
You can also find a 300C with the 392 Hemi for way less than one of these. Is it as reliable? Of course not. It also can’t compete on fit and finish. But that’s a nearly 500 horsepower V8 driving the rear wheels through a ZF8 speed with big Brembos at all 4 corners.
M340i: $61.7k
IS500 F Sport Performance: $60.8k
M3: $78.4k
RS 3: $64.3k
S5: $62.7k
CT4-V Blackwing: $63.7k manual ($66.9k auto)
The pricing on this dinosaur is cheaper than everything else and comes pretty loaded. I’d guess it’s easy to find a dealership that won’t mark up a new IS500 if one were really shopping for it.
In typical Toyota fashion they don’t actually make base ones. I’ve never seen a new one without an MSRP of at least $68,000. In typical Toyota fashion there’s also a constantly rotating cast of “special” editions that people get into bidding wars over.
Re: the S5 I was mistakenly thinking of the last gen one. You could get new ones off the lot in the 50s. With the brand new and pretty much worse in every way one I don’t think that’s going to happen for a few years.
Well then it’s truly the Tacoma of sports sedans – Toyota going to Toyota and all that.
I cant agree more. When Iooked on the used market I think I saw 5 within 500 miles. They just don’t exist and I think only one of them was less than $50k. Very frustrating. The IS350 had a few more available, but a 50K mile variant was like $40k from what I remember. There’s just no way.
This makes me very sad as a first gen wagon owner, and a huge fan of the 3rd gen. I wish they were lighter but they’re solid, exactly the right size, fun yet comfortable, and just a great all around car. Here’s to hoping that via a partnership with Mazda we get a new Supra with their inline 6 and a big turbo, whatever Mazda wants to call a new RX7 but with the same straight 6, and a nice Lexus IS variation of a sedan and wagon on the same platform.
Yes, that is a CD player in the dash if you were wondering.
Fairly clean in terms of buttons as well. Expected for the segment, but the interior concept was likely starting to be formalized around 2009-2010.
Makes sense. Everything you need, nothing you don’t.
We’re at the point where those super simple interiors are all on the way out now, with very few exceptions remaining.
dude. love it
There is nothing wrong with that 🙂