Lexus LC500
Certainly the most striking Lexus since the LFA supercar, can the LC500 deliver excitement, too?
LOOKS. It has them. And it certainly gets them. The amount of attention this new Lexus performance coupé received from the people of Seville quickly confirmed its visual drama. Wherever we drove on this launch – in the city or out towards the Circuito Monteblanco track – heads were whipped round and mobile phones pointed.
The subject of many Spanish social media pictures that day, this LC500 is a luxury GT coupé that, says Lexus, is aimed at the likes of the BMW 650i Coupé, Mercedes-benz S500 Coupé and even the Jaguar F-type (unlike those Teutonic two-plus-twos, though, the Brit is a two-seater).
The first incarnation of the LC500 appeared as the LF-LC concept at the 2012 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, where it garnered the Eyeson Design award for best concept. Four years later, the remarkably similar production version would win two Eyeson Design awards for best production car and interior at the 2016 NAIAS.
A low and wide, svelte silhouette with a slippery 0,33 Cd drag coefficient, the LC500 hunkers down on its 21-inch tyres and there are certainly hints of the rarefied LFA in its lines. Where that supercar adhered more to a function-over-form approach, however, the LC500 is less angular and a whole lot prettier.
The nose gets the latest incarnation of the Lexus spindle grille with angular headlamps that focus your attention on the grille’s mesh structure that expands as it flows from top to bottom. A floating carbon-fibrepanelled roof draws the eye to the rear, where creases in the bumper and boot mimic the
spindle-grille outline.
The designers have carried those external lines and curves over to an interior that boasts typically Lexus luxury touches. Put together by a crew of master craftsmen known as takumis at the same Motomachi plant north of Tokyo that produced the LFA, there isn’t a stitch in the swathes of Alcantara and leather that’s not aligned in those beautifully sculpted sports seats. The buttons and dials are all machined and bevelled in high-grade alloy with a paddle shifter that, by way of example, is cast from magnesium alloy.
Ahead of the steering wheel, a configurable eight-inch screen that has been adapted from the LFA conveys crucial performance information, and to the driver’s left is the 10-inch screen that controls the LC500’S infotainment system, sat-nav and climate controls via a haptic touchpad. If there is any criticism I’d level at this cabin, it would be that it’s still a little cluttered by too many buttons and I’d prefer a touchscreen to the overly sensitive haptic pad.
The LC500’S big news is that it is the first Lexus to use the company’s new modular GA-L (Global Architecture-luxury) platform. In rear-wheel-drive guise, it will also underpin the next-generation LS and, confirmed Lexus chief engineer Koji Sato, future all-wheel-drive vehicles,, too. Along with its modularity, said Sato, the GA-L platform was designed with the aims of delivering exhilarating driving performance, comfort and safety.
Under that long nose, however, is something altogether more familiar. It’s the same 5,0-litre V8 that’s not only nestled in the noses of the RC F coupé and GS F sedan (both unavailable in SA), but it also powers Giniel de Villiers’ Toyota Hilux Dakar racer. In LC500 guise, it is tuned to 349 kw and 530 N.m. Something of a rarity in these days of downsized turbocharged engines, the V8 might not be a model of efficiency, but it delivers all the characteristics we all love in a V8; that glorious wail (piped into the cabin) and bags of torque.
Old school the V8 may be, but the same cannot be said for its transmission. It’s a 10-speed torque-convertor made by partner Aisin that forgoes a lock-up clutch for a multiplate system that mimics a dual-clutch setup in terms of speed but, claims Lexus, is more reliable in terms of wear and tear.
Do you need 10 ratios, though? It’s probably better for fuel efficiency at higher speeds, and by reducing the step ratio of each gear, you get to use the engine torque more effectively. But I’m not entirely convinced. I suspect there’s also some marketing advantages in having one more gear ratio than everyone else and, while this quick “rhythmical shifting”, as Sato
describes it, is fine in full auto mode, if you’re paddle shifting, you are going to spend a lot of time flexing your fingers. On our two-hour journey to Circuito Monteblanco, and on track, I quickly gave up on any high-speed finger work and stuck it in full auto.
On the road, the ride is supremely refined and comfortable – in fact, I’d go so far as to say it’s easily more refined and comfortable than the BMW and Jaguar – which made me wonder about its dynamic abilities.
A racetrack is never going to be the LC500’S natural habitat – this is a long-legged grand tourer, after all – but it provided an opportunity to responsibly test Sato’s stated objectives and the LC500 felt composed and a lot nimbler than you’d expect. The steering, although well weighted, is a little numb, but nevertheless, turning the dial from comfort across to sport+ (changing the transmission mapping, throttle response, steering and suspension damping), had me whooping in delight. Very stable under heavy braking, it easily pops its tail out on corner exits if you plant your foot.
Much work was done in lowering the car’s centre of gravity and, to that end, the V8 sits above and mostly behind the front axle. In fact, the LC500’S centre of gravity is some 90 mm behind the front axle and almost in line with the driver’s hip point. The result is that, when you ask it to change direction, the car’s 52:48 weight distribution feels like it’s pivoting around you.
It’s a sensation further aided by rear-wheel steering that’s part of the Lexus Dynamic Handing package standard on Sa-bound cars. It sees the back wheels turn in the opposite direction (up to two degrees) to the front ones at speeds below 80 km/h, making for very sharp turn-in on lowspeed corners. Above 80 km/h, the rear wheels turn in the same direction as those in front, helping with high-speed lane-changing stability.
Not quite as dynamic as the BMW 650i, but certainly more nimble than the Mercedes S500, the LC500 carves out a tidy niche for its stated target market of 50-plus-year-old males who appreciate performance, luxury and have an eye for design. Whereas the USA reckons there are some 400 of those men who’ll be driving away in a new LC500 each month, here in South Africa, Lexus is unlikely to shift more than two or three over the same time.
Still, if you are looking for a finely crafted and rare-in-ourmarket GT, and you have around R1,5 million to spend, this fits the bill very well. Following the LC500’S launch here in June next year, you can bet on an even quicker F-sport derivative and a convertible making an appearance in the near future. Sato wouldn’t confirm it, but he practically winked when he said “no comment”.
When you ask the LC500 to change direction, it feels like it’s pivoting around you