^ Rumor mill on GXOR facebook group is saying the new GX will offer some kind of factory off road package/trim with 33s and more goodies, which makes a lot of sense.
The GX has had to pretend to be Lexus's midsize 3 row crossover for 14 years so a lot of work and bodywork went into hiding that it's actually a body on frame truck with serious off road chops (once you buy new tires and chop off 4 inches of plastic and then go down a rabbit hole and end up on this forum). With the introduction of the Lexus Texas they no longer have to hide what the GX actually is to catch people cross-shopping with Q7s and MDXs. The new GX should be aimed squarely at the Defender in terms of target market and intent. It is not a factory rock crawler and will still be a quiet, comfortable, easy to drive Lexus but they can play to the luxury truck crowd much more than they previously could.
The GX has had to pretend to be Lexus's midsize 3 row crossover for 14 years so a lot of work and bodywork went into hiding that it's actually a body on frame truck with serious off road chops (once you buy new tires and chop off 4 inches of plastic and then go down a rabbit hole and end up on this forum). With the introduction of the Lexus Texas they no longer have to hide what the GX actually is to catch people cross-shopping with Q7s and MDXs. The new GX should be aimed squarely at the Defender in terms of target market and intent. It is not a factory rock crawler and will still be a quiet, comfortable, easy to drive Lexus but they can play to the luxury truck crowd much more than they previously could.