Lightning Lexus
Super Sport Coupe can run with the Germans
Brian Harper FIRST STEER
Well, colour me surprised, preferably with a Solar Flare Orange crayon. Lexus, best known for silent-running, feature-laden luxury cars and crossovers, can mix it up with the big boys, occupying the upper strata of the sport coupe segment, albeit doing so in typical Lexus fashion.
The posh marque has experience fielding entry-level sport sedans and coupes with its IS and RC series of cars, alternatives to the better-known Mercedes C-Class, BMW 3 Series, Audi A4, et al. And, sure, it did build the very limited and very pricey LFA supercar a few years ago. But until the RC F came along, Lexus had nothing to go against the performance models from the German powerhouses.
Even when the RC F debuted for the 2015 model year — as a serious sport-luxury coupe with a serious price tag — there were a lot of armchair critics doubting whether it belonged in the same circle as the BMW M4, the Mercedes-AMG C63 or even the Cadillac ATS-V coupe, its primary competition.
Now, having the chance to drive the sophisticated and aggressively styled brute — and once I throw out a couple of caveats — I think the RC F ($85,000 to start, $92,700 as tested) can show its spindle grille around this rarefied club.
A certain amount of corporate hyperbole is expected when it comes to extolling any vehicle’s virtues, though Lexus tends to lay it on a little thick. I’ll allow some leeway with describing the RC F as “a feat of performance engineering, designed for the most demanding driving enthusiast.” I’m less charitable when it comes to describing the coupe’s handling dynamics as “honed to perfection on the gruelling Fuji Speedway and the Nürburgring.”
The RC F has a big engine, wide and fat Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires, and humongous brakes, it will hustle when the gas pedal is given a prod, and it takes a set, cornering with remarkable flatness. But here’s the rub: It also carries big weight, at just under 1,800 kilograms. That’s about 175 kg more than the M4. The solidity is there and the RC F is as tight as a drum, but you feel that extra avoirdupois with every forward or lateral movement. So, I’d be toning down the track references; leave that for the GT3 race car, which weighs some 500 kilograms less than the production car on which it’s based.
Let’s call the rear-drive RC F what it really is: a GT (as in gran turismo), and one with significant rumble under the hood in the form of a 5.0-litre naturally aspirated V8, which puts out an estimable 467 horsepower. It’s not quite as impressive as the AMG C63 S’s 503 ponies, but infinitesimally better than the Cadillac ATS-V Coupe’s 464 and a major improvement over the basic M4’s 425.
Yet, unless you are going to track the car, it’s all bluster and braggadocio. All you need to know is that the big car moves, especially when Sport or Sport+ mode is selected, and can go from zero to 100 km/h in under five seconds.