Stone said:
the good thing is no IS & keeping external zoom shouldn't mean a dramatic price increase.
Pure, unfettered optimism.

The 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II was the same basic physical design as its predecessor (internal zoom, with IS), and still Canon managed to set an MSRP that was a 32% premium over the original (translating to >$1800 for the 24-70mm II).