Last month we published a story about pics leaked from the Chinese patent office showing what appeared to be some souped-up Toyota Yaris. The story went wild worldwide leading to much speculation about the car, possibly being a rally car, a China-special sporty Yaris, or a concept kinda thing. New news concerning Lexus gives yet another possibility.

Malaysian website Paultan.org reported yesterday that Lexus is working on a baby called ‘AS150’ to compete with the Audi A1, Mini, Alfa Romeo MiTo and Citroen DS3. Is that it our mystery ‘Yaris’? Could be. Lexus grille fits, size fits, funky looks fit.

Paultan also says there are two powertrain possibilities under consideration: the 1.5 liter Hybrid Synergy Drive from the Prius C or a new 1.2 liter direct injection turbo, which sounds more interesting to us.

We will continue to keep a close eye on the patent office for more…