Let’s take the coupés as an example. Mentioning them makes many, many people think of top-notch sports cars as the category’s all-time superlative. Sure, the entire construction of vehicles such as Lamborghini Veneno or Pagani Huayra proves how capable the modern engineering is, but it’s also true that they simply don’t fit the real world. Their very reason to exist can be extracted exclusively when driving in private tracks, the simply fact of having them requires spending loads of money on security, and their limited productions makes then hard even to buy. Not to mention that these problems can only be had by those whose purchasing power is as stratospheric as it’s required. That’s why settling for contemplating their pictures isn’t as frustrating as it may seem.
This is one of the reasons why premium generalist automakers stay successful year after year. Their models can satisfy even the toughest clients in luxury, overall quality and performance, and yet stay affordable enough to be a “real” possibility. However, such attractive combination of “excellent-and-not-excessively-expensive” doesn’t come by magic. These companies need to cut costs from wherever they can while maintaining all the traditions for which they’ve become famous in the first place, and the only way to do this is working at the “invisible” part. But besides sharing so much of powertrain and structure between each one’s respective cars, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz do the same with the style part. This is what makes many people claim they’re often too generic.
Such complex scenario, therefore, is what creates those niches for automakers which operate with a little more overall freedom. Lexus proves its intentions once again by releasing the LF-LC concept’s production version, whose official debut will be made at the upcoming Tokyo Auto Show. Whoever takes the time to analyze RC’s spec sheet will notice that everything there is taken from the IS sedan, just like those other companies do with their models, but this Japanese coupé has much more to show. Actually, more enough to make it a very capable competitor of the equally-new 4-Series, the middle-aged A5 and the soon-to-be-replaced C-Class and Maserati GranTurismo.
Compared to IS, the new coupé is 2.8-cm longer but with a 6.9-cm shorter wheelbase, which steers it away from any family use. But this intention is expressed way better with RC’s design, whose first important feature is the lowest and widest version of Lexus’s signature “spindle grille” ever produced. It groups both upper and lower air intakes in the same very imponent element, whose attention is only divided with the headlights: like the sedan’s, they feature a triangular shape composed by two elements each. The long-distance lights form a smaller triangle themselves, while the daytime LEDs are L-shaped. Paired to a long and wide hood, typical of sports cars, RC’s front fascia has everything to attract attentions very easily.
But the longer you keep looking to it, the better will be your opinion about it. RC doesn’t share any external part with the sedan in order to deliver a much more elegant style. Both volumes and creases were smoothened, while there are fewer chrome accents. Instead of attracting with details, like IS’s, RC’s sides look good for the whole section. The rear fascia, in turn, invests on stylish lights and an aggressive bumper. This is how this car will look at the three trims announced so far: RC250 will use a 2.5L V6 engine, while RC350 relies on a 3.5L V6 and the hybrid RC300h pairs the electric propeller to a four-cylinder 2.5L. If these options don’t seem enough for you, there will also be a sporty RC F later, using a V8 engine. All of them use automatic transmission and rear-wheel drive.
RC’s interior takes very much from the LF-LC concept, as well as some items from the sedan. It makes possible to expect much of IS’s equipment list, including a new infotainment central with Remote Touch Interface once again and some new ambiance concepts: besides the contrasting two-tone coating, Lexus will equip this vehicle with internal lighting reflected upwards, in order to spur a “sense of occasion” and “envelop the cabin”, to quote the own automaker. Another interesting item are the seats, which Lexus claims to be constructed just like racing ones. Their exclusive foaming method manages to concile optimal support with comfort for everyone, which is always interesting on a sports car.