Lexus LC500 enters the GT sports car mix
Time was when Lexus — and indeed its parent company Toyota — could not design a car which didn’t look dated 10 months after it was launched.
The premium Japanese brand always built great cars, sure, but the majority of them looked old well before their time.
The conservative nature of the Japanese auto industry — indeed Japanese society itself — meant there were far too few daring moments from Lexus and those that the company did try, while they were often pretty decent machines to drive, were more often than not imbued with looks which time did not treat well — the SC 430, for example.
Sure the LFA was a stunning supercar, but it cost zillions and they only made about 20 of them.
Sales in the sports coupe segment for the Japanese giant were thus muted and public demand failed to match the expectations of those that built and marketed them. But things are changing — fast.
Just look at the fantabulous LC500 which we drove here in Ireland recently, but first saw in the flesh in late summer last year when we got to drive both the stunning V8 version and the “lesser” LC500h hybrid model.
In fact, my first experience of this week’s tester was on a blockbuster transcontinental run from Milan to Munich, via Switzerland’s gob-smacking Alpine hinterland, which was aimed by the guys at Lexus to demonstrate the model’s serious grand tourer aspirations. Both cars passed muster with some considerable élan.
The 471 bhp V8 was gloriously outrageous, with that beautifully free-revving normally aspirated five litre motor under the hood.
It was, however, aimed primarily aimed at the Yankee market — it seemed to me — with perhaps only a handful of hardcore European petrolheads opting for a glimpse of sports coupe motoring with knobs on.
It was obvious that the petrol-electric hybrid version, albeit with a still stomping 354 bhp on tap from its 3.5 litre Atkinson-cycle V6 engine with added oomph from twin electric motors, was the one Lexus saw as being the main seller here in Europe and it was the car I got to test here at home a few weeks ago.
Take a 360 look at the luxurious interior details of the #Lexus #LC500. Exquisite materials like Alcantara suede are hand-crafted in the Takumi tradition to indulge your senses of touch and sight.
— Jim Pattison Lexus (@JPLexusBC) January 25, 2018
Find it at your local dealer today: https://t.co/34pn1Cxjc6 pic.twitter.com/AwgMICmL5D
Now it may be that with Irish price tags for the hybrid of just shy of €111,000 and €139,000 for the V8, the LC500 will not be decorating the driveways of anyone other than those of very rich people, but what we have here — in either format — is something stunning from Lexus and something that will remain in the petrolhead canon as a nailed-on classic.
The car looks absolutely gorgeous; from the “basking shark” front grille design, across the supple flanks and on to the exquisitely delivered and outrageously outré haunches, the LC catches the eye like few others.
In fact, Lexus — wittingly or unwittingly — has thrown this car right into the GT sports car mix where it will offer people a choice from the regulars in the category — everything from Porsche to Aston Martin to Maserati and beyond.
But, it is not just the kerbside look which is important — as anyone spending that amount of money on a car will tell you — but the manner in which it delivers (or not) in terms of the actual driving experience.
People with that amount of money to lash out on a motor like their driving and they like it to be Jalapeno-spicy with a side of hot chilis. Ordinary simply won’t do.
I can tell you that the LC500h is far from ordinary. Although it might be weighty (kerb weight is nearly two tonnes) and thus not at the absolute pinnacle of performance motoring (the 0-100km/h dash is 4.8 seconds, which is a little behind what a Porsche 911 will deliver and top speed is limited to 250km/h), but that underlines the Grand Tourer aspirations on display here.
Also, the car is tagged as a 2+2 and it does have rear seats, but you’d need to have the elasticity of a pygmy python to get in there, so that does sort of dilute some of the car’s ambitions.
On the other hand, I doubt if the majority of potential owners will be too bothered by the rear seats — or lack of them — and will concentrate on the beautifully laid out and largely hand-made interior.
Grand touring across California in a 2018 #Lexus #LC500:
— Lexus News Europe (@Lexus_EU) January 23, 2018
"The LC 500 and LC 500h are the first of the breed" https://t.co/QUBdhjPZle via @automobilemag pic.twitter.com/ELxgWLuVoJ
The swathes of hand-stitched leather and the beautifully formed front seats are an exemplar of modern execution, as is the excellent wrap-around dashboard.
Sit in here and you straight away feel you’re in something very special and very quick. It is built to make you feel that way.
But there is one sad glitch here. The car is equipped with what Lexus call a Remote Touch Interface, which is basically a touchpad mouse which accesses all the infotainment systems.
Sure there is all the connectivity the modern user needs, but this is a fussy and unintuitive system and needs a major rethink.
But that’s about the only quibble we had about the car.
In hybrid guise — and regular readers will know of our general antipathy to these things — I found it to be a pretty astonishing performer and while you will have to deal with a lot of noise, not all of it pleasing and particularly so when you are really giving it some shoe, you will also have plenty of adrenaline flowing through your veins as it displays its wondrous abilities.
The transmission is essentially a two gearbox affair, utilising as it does a two motor hybrid CVT system combined with an Aisin four speed auto unit to broaden the operating range.
The 10-speed unit of the V8 is probably more intuitive than this one, as ‘gear shifts’ are blurry and a tad unpredictable.
And it makes for a somewhat unusual soundtrack too because when you give it the beans you don’t get a noise you’d expect — you get something guttural and primaeval rather than a traditional sports car noise.
With the technology on offer here — and there’s lots of it — you have to explore some of the options on offer if you’re going to enjoy the car fully.
In fact, I suspect many drivers will find themselves in the Sport or Sport+ modes most of the time.
But the more you question the car the better the answers it gives and while the ride might be a little fussy on anything other than billiard table roads, the handling is superbly balanced and very driver-friendly, engaging you as it does with its terribly involving character.
So then, what we have here is a real sports car from Lexus which, finally, cuts the mustard. Not only is it a brilliant driving experience, but it is also a thing of beauty — wonderment even. A new day has dawned.
The Cost: From €110,950 — €125,500 for the Sport+ Model
The Engine: A sporty hybrid
The Specification: Do you have to ask?
The Overall Verdict: Finally a winning coupe from Lexus
