TAKE A BOW
THE LEXUS LC 500 WAS BY FAR THE SEXIEST REVEAL AT THE 2016 NORTH AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW IN DETROIT AND MARKS ANOTHER MILESTONE IN JAPANESE AUTOMOTIVE DESIGN.
Gasoline- fuelled horsepower was i n abundance at this year’s North American International Auto Show. Here are the performance cars that stood out.
2017 LEXUS LC 500
What is it? This is the follow up to Lexus’ achingly gorgeous LF- LC concept car. It’s been so long since Lexus showed off the LF-LC — four years ago right here at Detroit’s North American International Auto Show.
Better late than never, the LC 500 is faithful to the concept and will be powered by the same naturally-aspirated 467- horsepower V8 as the RC F and GS F. Long and low with a 2,870 millimetre wheelbase, the LC is built on a brand new rear-wheel drive platform that will become the blueprint for all Lexus’s future front-engine and rearwheel-drive vehicles.
Why does it matter? For anyone doubting Lexus’s shifting focus to performance, the LC should confirm that the recent RC F and GS F models were not aberrations. There should be no doubt that Lexus is seriously committed to changing it image.
When is it coming? The LC won’t arrive on our shores until next spring.
2016 INFINITI Q60 COUPE
What is it? This is Infiniti’s new entry-level sports coupe. You used to know it as the G37, but it’s now known as the Q60. Whatever its name, it’s still a rose with a sporty visage that would do BMW proud — just as the 400- hp twin- turbo V6 that does Munich one better.
When is it coming? Q60s will arrive in Canadian dealerships in t he summer of 2016.
2016 PORSCHE 911 TURBO
What is it? As far as Porsche is concerned, there’s only one 911 Turbo. In this case, that means a 3.8-litre flat-six fitted with enlarged turbochargers, pumping out 540 hp and 523 lb.- ft. of torque. Move up to the Turbo S, which is even more turboier, and those figures grow to 580 hp and 553 lb.-ft.
Zero- to-100 km/ h comes in at 2.8 seconds for the regular Turbo and 2.7 for
the Turbo S. Top speed is 318 km/h and 329 km/h, respectively.
When is it coming? You can expect to see the new 911 Turbo in showrooms come late spring — arrival in Germany is imminent, and in North America by April.