2018 Lexus LC 500 is a gorgeous RWD sports coupe with a wild side. The $100,000 sports car is the halo car Lexus needs, and the 5-liter V8 should help it get by on more than just looks alone.
By Robert DufferContact Reporter Chicago Tribune
With the 2018 LC 500, Lexus now has a thrilling sports coupe.
Yet the market is jaded. The question I heard most from people was: Who needs another $100,000 sports coupe? Lexus does.
The RC F and GS F, from which the V-8 engine is derived, are fun, powerful cars, but they don’t turn heads and make people wonder what it is and, more importantly, who makes it?
The LC 500 is visceral, by sight and sound. If Lexus wants to redefine itself as being more than a maker of well-heeled but boring sedans and crossovers, it can’t rely on marketing alone. It needed a mainstream, more affordable and accessible psuedo-successor to the LFA supercar.
The LC 500 is stunning. It’s low and long with short overhangs, and in glinting Infrared paint it looks dangerous and gorgeous all at once. Bunched under the buff wheel arches are 21-inch forged wheels ($2,650), and the tall and wide Lexus spindle grille does not look out of place here. It draws the eyes up over the hood, the carbon fiber roof, then down the sides to the sleek vents between the pinched doors and flexed rear wheels. The rear is really where the LC 500 sticks out. Curved and muscular, it’s wider than the rest of the car, as if it spends as much time at the gym as it does on the track.
2018 Lexus LC 500 at a glance
Base price: $92,000 As tested: $104,065 (excluding $995 delivery)
Mpg: 16 city, 26 highway
Engine: 471-horsepower 5.0-liter V-8 to a 10-speed automatic in RWD. (Robert Duffer)
Execution of the aesthetic carries over to the inside. Soft beige headliner makes it feel as if you’re ensconced in a suede slipper at a spa. The low height and center make it a squeeze getting in, even with the seat in its lowest position. We comfortably fit two adults up front and wedged two tweens in back for an extended outing, though a wide tunnel divides the 2+2 seating position.
By Robert DufferContact Reporter Chicago Tribune
With the 2018 LC 500, Lexus now has a thrilling sports coupe.
Yet the market is jaded. The question I heard most from people was: Who needs another $100,000 sports coupe? Lexus does.
The RC F and GS F, from which the V-8 engine is derived, are fun, powerful cars, but they don’t turn heads and make people wonder what it is and, more importantly, who makes it?
The LC 500 is visceral, by sight and sound. If Lexus wants to redefine itself as being more than a maker of well-heeled but boring sedans and crossovers, it can’t rely on marketing alone. It needed a mainstream, more affordable and accessible psuedo-successor to the LFA supercar.
The LC 500 is stunning. It’s low and long with short overhangs, and in glinting Infrared paint it looks dangerous and gorgeous all at once. Bunched under the buff wheel arches are 21-inch forged wheels ($2,650), and the tall and wide Lexus spindle grille does not look out of place here. It draws the eyes up over the hood, the carbon fiber roof, then down the sides to the sleek vents between the pinched doors and flexed rear wheels. The rear is really where the LC 500 sticks out. Curved and muscular, it’s wider than the rest of the car, as if it spends as much time at the gym as it does on the track.
2018 Lexus LC 500 at a glance
Base price: $92,000 As tested: $104,065 (excluding $995 delivery)
Mpg: 16 city, 26 highway
Engine: 471-horsepower 5.0-liter V-8 to a 10-speed automatic in RWD. (Robert Duffer)
Execution of the aesthetic carries over to the inside. Soft beige headliner makes it feel as if you’re ensconced in a suede slipper at a spa. The low height and center make it a squeeze getting in, even with the seat in its lowest position. We comfortably fit two adults up front and wedged two tweens in back for an extended outing, though a wide tunnel divides the 2+2 seating position.
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