Stunning Lexus is a thing of beauty

WE were just passing under the George Washington Bridge on the Hudson Parkway in New York when it went past us.

A stunning blue coupe that stood out from the rest of the commuter traffic like a giraffe in a greyhound race. And the new Lexus LC500 looks just as good parked in our street as it did with a Manhattan backdrop.

Born out of the striking 2012 Detroit motor show concept car known as the LF-LC, it’s hardly been watered down at all on its journey to the showroom and is one of the most visually impressive and exciting cars that I’ve ever driven.

You have two choices of LC: the 500 or 500h. The latter, as you can probably guess, is a hybrid. The former is powered by a 5.0-litre naturally-aspirated V8 producing 471bhp.

The hybrid version, which is the one we’re testing, is powered by a 3.5-litre V6 that produces 295bhp, plus a 177bhp electric motor.

The conventional powertrain gives you 0-62mph in 4.4sec, whereas the hybrid does it in Lexus LC500H two-door coupe

Price: £79,950

Engine: 3.5-litre V6, 295bhp plus 177bhp electric motor

0-62mph: 4.7sec

Fuel consumption: 43.5mpg

4.7sec. There’s not much in it. There is in fuel consumption however, with the hybrid managing 43.5mpg to the V8’s 24.5mpg.

Quality, as you’d expect from Lexus, is superb. The cabin is beautifully finished with a mixture of leather, Alcantara and other high-end materials.

Mind you, our car in Sport+ spec costs £88,565 (both versions

Here’s another stunner from Geneva. It’s the Polestar 1, a brilliant looking all-electric car from Volvo/geely’s new standalone electric brand. Already 6,000 people have shown interest in buying one. The original plan was to build only 1,500 of them,...