Lexus LC 500 pricing and specs announced
Lexus grows performance portfolio with new range-topping car undercutting the Porsche 911 in both V8 and hybrid form
Lexus has revealed UK pricing of its LC 500 coupe before the car goes on sale this summer. The LC 500 will start from £76,595, while the LC 500h hybrid model is priced identically. The V8 model features the same 467bhp naturally aspirated 5-litre V8 engine as found in the RC F and GS-F, only this time mated to an all new 10 speed automatic gearbox.
Priced lower than a basic Porsche 911 Carerra mated to a PDK gearbox, the Lexus’ aggressive starting price should be low enough to keep the GT coupe aristocrats looking over their shoulders.
As standard, the Lexus LC comes with plenty of bells and whistles including 20-inch alloy wheels, leather upholstery, heated and ventilated front seats, full LED lighting and a 10.25-inch infotainment display. The options list is limited to colour choices, interior trim variants, a Mark Levinson stereo upgrade and a heads-up display.
Customers looking to upgrade their LC can add on either a Sport Pack or a Sport Pack+, for an extra £4000 or £9300 respectively. The Sport Pack adds 21-inch forged alloy wheels, replaces the glass roof with a carbon fibre panel, and upgrades the interior with power adjustable leather and Alcantara sports seats. The Sport Pack+ adds on four-wheel steering, a retractable rear spoiler, extra Alcantara upholstery on the inside and a limited slip differential.
The LC 500 will be the first vehicle to be produced using Lexus' new rear-wheel-drive platform and uses a combination of high strength steel and aluminium, as well as an optional carbon fibre roof.
> Read our review of the LC 500 here
Performance stats include 467bhp at 7100rpm, along with 389lb ft of torque at 4800rpm. 0-60mph is dispatched in less than 4.5 seconds. Lexus has also included a sound generator to bring more of that V8 sound to the cabin, while the exhaust also has valves that can open or close to add even more volume.
The car is set up more like a grand tourer than a hardcore track-focused vehicle. Even so, it features 245 tyres at the front and 275 at the rear, while weight distribution is said to be a near perfect 52/48.
Lexus claims to have put a lot of consideration into just how the car drives, ensuring it offers a good driving position and considering exactly where a driver's vision would be focussed.
Inside Lexus offers the car with its updated 2017 multimedia package, which is a step up from the current-gen offering. There is also a digital dashboard as well as plentiful leather, as you'd expect of a premium car such as this.
Lexus also revealed pricing for the V6 powered LC 500h hybrid at an identical £76,595. Utilising a 3.5-litre V6 and electric motor combination, the LC500h eschews Lexus' habit of equipping its hybrid models with a CVT, instead employing a complex automatic gearbox which has 4 physical gears, with the first 3 each having a further 3 'stepped' gears to create a total of 10 just as in the V8.
The LC500 and LC 500h will go on sale at the same time this summer.
