Old but..
Upcoming Lexus IS hybrid to feature a 2.0L I-4 engine?
To make the IS saloon fit Lexus’s strategic vision, a hybrid version of that car would likely have a four-cylinder petrol engine to give the performance of a V6 with the economy of a four-cylinder.
“But the question is how we develop a four-cylinder hybrid,” says Lexus.
The Toyota Prius uses a four-cylinder engine, but of only 1.5-litre capacity and transversely-mounted.
An IS hybrid would need an engine of around two litres capacity and the electrical hardware and batteries be packaged around an in-line engine and rear-drive gearbox and axle. Read Article
From:
http://www.autospies.com/news/Upcoming-Lex...4-engine-14819/