The LC 500: A triumph!

Yochanaan Coetzee - The Lexus LC 500 was a revelation when it first teased as the LF-LC concept in 2012. Five years on, it’s in series production and as usual, Lexus has succeeded in crafting a car so striking and so immaculate that even with its hearty 471 hp, it’s poised to the point of perfection.They’ve kicked the boardroom-bland design ethos and have embarked on the campaign to make their cars more emotive, exciting and, judging by the LC 500, straight up exhilarating.So much so that even motor-mad Akido Toyoda, the self-proclaimed “guardian of taste of Toyota and Lexus cars”, the same man that gave us the Avanza, but also the soon-to-be-released Supra, proclaimed the LC 500 was “sugoi” or “awesome”.With its futuristic yet refined styling, it’s muscular, but in the same way a ballet dancer would be. Never excessive, just perfect form for its function - and boy does it function.Boasting the toughest Unibody chassis the company has ever created, even trumping their grail, the LFA, in that department, the LC 500 is the product of Lexus’s age old pursuit of perfection and their new-found penchant for pumping up pulse rates. Remember this is a LexusLexus is known for unwavering dedication to exacting craftmanship, painstaking attention to detail and a penchant for playing it on the safer side of the premium segment. Traditionally, they’ve been suited more to the business executive who wants luxury, but not to be looked at as egregious.And while they've done extremely well with their “F”performance versions, there just wasn't the kind of drama on the dealership floor to elevate the brand into the elite-luxury realm. The LC takes Lexus from a house in Long Beach to a stand at Pebble Beach. This was Toyoda-San's mission after noticing there wasn't a single Lexus among the assortment of elegant vehicles assembled on the famed 18th fairway of Pebble Beach Golf Links for the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.Legend has it that, a year later, the audible gasps from the crowd when the LF-LC concept was unveiled at the North American International Auto in Detroit circa 2012 compelled him to the words accountants fret over after every Sake-soaked end of year when designers and engineers have a little too much fun and dream up something crazy . . . ”Let’s build it . . . ”In close collaboration with Lexus’s top design and engineering staff, they set off craft which would become their flagship. “We didn't just want to build a race car,” says chief designer Tadao Mori.The design brief was simple. Besides handling better than a Porsche, it had to look better than a Aston Martin, sound better than a Maserati GT and carry the kind of tech you’d expect at the International Space Center.Emotive EngineeringMori, alongside the greatest hands and minds at his disposal, then set out to create a vehicle that would surpass every benchmark set before them.“Seduction and technology are not terms that often go together, but this has allowed Lexus to create a vehicle that does away with the line between unbridled passion and incalculable certainty,” Mori says.“A vehicle that is perfectly balanced. Immaculately finished and phenomenally fun for both the occupants and those who get to witness them from outside,” he adds. Sensationally striking stylingPhotographs cannot do this car justice. The LC 500’s styling is striking, arresting and downright awe inspiring.With its well-proportioned GT-Coupe styling, accentuated curves and sharp angular appearance, the LC 500 looks like a finely-polished diamond. No exaggeration at all. As you walk around it and change your angle, you start seeing more of its accents, aspects, and aesthetics. Even after months of drooling over it online, seeing it pull up at Pupkewitz Lexus was a revelation. Both myself and Chad from Lexus both had equally overeager grins when it burbled up to the showroom with a presence you’d expect from a car competing head-on with the likes of F-Type, BMW 6-Series and even the Aston Martin DB11, at twice the price.With its bold spindle grille dominating the front end, futuristic 3-LED headlights and striking L-shaped daytime running lights, your mind immediately starts wrestling with whether you keep staring at the front or allow yourself to become absorbed as your eyes follow its ridge line to its pronounced haunches.Its high waistline and bulging hips flow into sculpted tail lights that provide plenty of drama and, thanks to a nifty visual trick, has a mirrored effect that will undoubtedly be one of the many things you can brag about when you bless your buddies by bringing it to a braai.Sitting on large 21-inch wheels made from forged aluminium, shod in Michelin Pilot Super Sports tyres, they give the LC 500 the attitude you’d expect as the flagship Luxury Coupe (LC) from one of the world’s best automakers.It’s body tapers and widens towards the back. The styling elements are as dynamic as the nearly half a dozen materials used on the exterior. Seriously, there’s carbon fibre, distressed metal, polished metal, gray plastic, black plastic and even mirrored plastic. These elements create a fusion that is so emotionally stirring that it's difficult to manage anything more than a few appreciative grunts when you're studying it and how the sun reveals more of its accents as it crosses the sky.The full carbon fibre roof, gaping air intakes, sleek Jaguar-esque door handles, layered exhausts and electronic spoiler round out its incredibly beautiful exterior.A seriously lavish LexusThe eye-wateringly beautiful exterior style is matched with an equally beautiful interior design. The driver sits near the exact point of the car’s centre of gravity, and you feel that in the way it handles. Every surface is covered in something sexy. From the universal use of leather on the dash to the quilted doors, suede on the roof and dash cowl to prevent glare and beautifully detailed contrast stitching, the interior definitely hits the spot in terms of fit and finish.Its grand touring chops are undeniable, the quality of the materials used, the beautifully bolstered seats and the space age dials, which come alive in the most beautiful way when you start it up - especially when coupled with the fantastic little growl it produces, almost purring with delight for the fun to come.In the centre console rests a 10.3-inch TFT multimedia display, which you access through a touch pad and dial. The extent to which they went to save weight is incredible. Not wanting to skimp on the luxury, Lexus installed carbon fibre scuffplates on the LC 500 and, instead of bulky covers for where the doors are bolted on, you have the engraved bare bolts, so they look cool. One may not be far amiss to think that the bit that was engraved out was part of their weight saving strategy.There’s no back seat to speak of, but that’s sort of the point of a luxury performance coupe, isn’t it? The Hills were aliveThe LC 500 is powered by a naturally-aspirated 5.0 litre V8 engine with peak outputs of 351 kW and 540 Nm of torque at 7 300. The power just steam rolls up through the rev counter and with maximum torque churning at 4 800 rpm, it's just very loud and very exciting, very quickly.Thanks to a fantastically fast-shifting 10-speed transmission, the world’s first in a production vehicle, the LC 500 is claimed to do 0-100 km/h in 4.4 seconds and tops out at an electronically limited 270 km/h which is, trust me, not difficult to reach.Our test route through the winding hills east of Windhoek was the perfect place to get a feel of the fantastic handling, ride comfort and dynamics on the LC 500.The Lexus Handling System coordinates its Variable Gear Ratio Steering (VGRS), Dynamic Rear Steering (DRS) and Electric Power Steering (EPS) to produce handling characteristics that are second to none. For such a hard-charging car, its ride comfort was the most astonishing thing. Not super soft and floaty, not hard or jarring, you could literally swish it to Joburg and still be fresh enough to get right into dicing everything worth over a million in sight.It also benefits from a mechanical limited-slip differential to optimize traction and handling ability.While cruising, the LC 500 is very quiet, but is playful and can get rowdy even in the tamest of the 4-driving modes available (Eco, Comfort, Sport and Sport+.)With the LC 500, they’ve taken what they’ve learnt from the masterful LFA and fused that with the optimized functionality of its production model range. The result of which is a full-on GT luxury-coupe giant slayer.It's an easy and adaptable ride which will thrill you if you want it, but has the reserved charm that still makes its EXCO-friendly. At N$ 1.7 million, it's an absolute bargain. Contact Pupkewitz Lexus and buy one right now! Also check our test video on Republikein’s Facebook page.

The LC 500: A triumph!

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Republikein 2025-05-02

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The LC 500: A triumph!

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Republikein 2025-05-02

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