Lexus beautifully blurs the line between luxury car, sports car and GT, resulting in the ’24 LEXUS LC 500: COUPE DU JOUR!
Unlike hand-crafted, one-off Concept Cars that showcase brands at auto shows and typically lack functionality, Lexus’ LC 500 Coupe is actually a Concept Car you can buy! While it hasn’t officially been a Concept since LC 500 Coupe production started for the 2018 model year, for all intents and purposes they both share common styling and trim.
First shown as the LF-LC Concept Car at the 2012 Detroit International Auto Show and as a production Flagship model at the 2016 Show, the LC 500 started life as a 2018 model. The lineup includes a V-8 Coupe and Convertible plus V-6 Hybrid variants, sharing the GA-L platform/architecture with the LS luxury sedan.
Judges at the Eyes on Design Awards competition at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, bestowed Best Concept Car honors on the Lexus LF-LC 2 2 Hybrid Sport Coupe, below. Designed by the company’s Calty Design Studio in Newport Beach, CA, the LF-LC Coupe was a pure styling exercise that showcased the company’s new design language. That language was later applied to what would become Lexus’ Flagship production car, the LC 500.
Unlike the competitive Teutonic Threesome – Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz – and their R & RS, M and AMG sub-brands, that offers literally dozens of powertrain and luxury options on its specialty models, the LC 500’s option list is rather sparse, limited primarily to just four Packages: All-Weather, Touring, Sport and Dynamic Handling which incorporates the Sport Package. There is also a handful of stand-alone options.
Over the years the LC 500 has retained its stunning exterior and jewel-like trim avoiding “whether it needs it or not” annual style changes. It has, however, received a variety of performance enhancing software/tuning updates. Thankfully for 2024 it lost its console-touchpad-controlled, small built-in Infotainment screen, disliked by just about every automotive journalist who ever tested one!
When I decided to fill an empty space in my garage with a high-performance luxury coupe that offered truly distinctive styling, it was ’24 LEXUS LC 500: COUPE DU JOUR! that ticked all the boxes and won me over. Had it not been for the tacky touchpad, I probably would have shopped for a pre-owned or leftover 2023 model. I ended up ordering a Coupe, above, with the new touch-sensitive 12.3-inch Infotainment screen, below.
I’ve had a love affair with Grand Touring or GT coupes for more than half-a-century, dating back to 1969 when I purchased a leftover new 1967 Iso Grifo. Certainly not as popular a GT choice as a vintage 1950s-1960s Aston Martin or a 250 or 330 Ferrari 2 2 GT, but it looked and performed like a sports car and had a simple-to-service Corvette engine, smooth-as-silk American four-speed, and a trunk that held enough for long weekend trips. The Grifo, and its Corvette-powered 2 2 sister-under-the-skin, Rivolta GT, delivered sports car handling, braking and performance, and were styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro, when he was working with Carrozzeria Bertone. I owned my Grifo for 43 years before passing it on to its next caretaker.
It’s not unusual for luxury and sports car manufacturers to offer optional, extra-cost exterior paint and Lexus is no exception. Out of the nine available colors in the LC 500 palette, no less than five trigger an additional cost. The Infrared, a twist on Candy Apple Red, on the coupe featured here added $595 to the total MSRP which came in at approximately $105,000!
The LC 500 Coupe spoke to me not only for its styling or performance, but also because of Lexus’ enviable quality reputation. The fact that it depreciates a lot slower over the years than many competitive products is a byproduct of the brand’s unique position in the marketplace. Unlike vintage 2 2 GTs, Lexus’ grand tourer falls short in trunk capacity (5.4 cubic feet) and has almost useless rear seats!
In 2018 the LC 500 Coupe debuted to rave reviews in both print and online media. CARS.com called it, “A remarkable balanced high-performance car.” Edmunds.com was more effusive: “A thrilling Grand Tourer that is competitive with Europe’s best luxury grand touring coupes!”
Howard Walker in his 2018 LC 500 Coupe road test for CarGuyChronicles.com said, “See it in the metal and it’s simply beyond gorgeous. It has curves on its curves, rear flanks bigger than Sea Biscuit’s and a windshield so swept back it verges on the horizontal. Its hood is so long, the leading edge could be in a different zip code!”
“You’ll want Sport or Sport to sharpen-up the electric-assist steering, transmission, adaptive suspension and the response of the V-8. Then you can punch the car through tight corners and fast sweepers and feel as if it’s running on rails. Grip from our test car’s 21-inch Michelin Pilot Super Sport run-flats was little short of sensational.”
While its long-hood/short-deck body with Origami styling cues and jewelry disguised as taillights, are enough to seduce anyone looking for a luxurious GT sport coupe, the sophisticated, naturally aspirated four-cam, 32-valve aluminum V-8 under its hood is the icing on the cake. Enhanced by the latest in variable valve timing technology (VVT-i), the free-revving 12.3 compression 5.0-Liter (303 cubic-inch) V-8 delivers 471 horsepower at 7,100 rpm and 398 pound-feet of torque at 4,800 rpm.
Matt Hardigree tested a new LC 500 and wrote about it in the February 13th, 2024 edition of The Autopian: This is a peach of an engine, a DOHC naturally-aspirated job featuring Yamaha-designed heads that are as finely crafted as any Yamaha piano, harp, loom, or other instrument the company makes.”
“It’s quite possible I’ll never get a chance to drive a real Lexus LFA and experience the simple greatness of that extremely Toyota version of a Supercar. The LC 500 operates as a more serene and approachable version of the LFA, and that starts as soon as you grip the thick steering wheel and look straight into the watch-like gauge in front of you, with its shiny metallic bezel.”
“This is a driver-oriented cockpit, and not in a way that necessarily screams GT. If you just sit there and listen to the thrum of the 5.0-liter V-8 and tap through the oversized paddle shifters you really wouldn’t know it wasn’t a sports car.”
“Driving is a visceral experience, and the LC 500 is perhaps one of the last great visceral big GTs as that category slowly gives way to electric cars.”
Hardigree, like the vast majority of automotive journalists testing LC 500s, celebrated the sounds emitted from its active exhaust system: “The sound. You gotta come for the sound.”
How cool is the LC 500 DOHC 5-liter V-8’s exhaust note? Since taking delivery of my Coupe, I’ve rarely turned on its 12-speaker Premium audio system because it would interfere with the engine singing!
The active exhaust system’s intoxicating, addictive symphony of sound hints of a mashup of George Harrison’s Pop-Rock Faster single from his 1979 George Harrison album with an authentic Formula One soundtrack and the mellowed-out, resonating rumble from a vintage V-8-powered American car with duals and Glaspacs! It’s old school Musclecar music to my ears, authoritative, but not guttural, and guaranteed to stir your soul. The higher the revs, the more intoxicating. It sure beats opting for the $1,200 Mark Levinson 13-speaker sound system!
Unlike classic GTs fitted with manual transmissions, the LC 500, as like most of its modern competitors, offers only an automatic. There are manual shift (magnesium) paddles perfectly positioned for spirited driving. It’s a slick-shifting 10-speed automatic/manual transmission that changes gears in 0.12 seconds. For carving canyons or playing Speed Racer, you can choose Sport or Sport driving modes and row-your-own! The 10-speed AW-branded direct-shift transmission with closely-spaced gears features a 1-to-1 ratio 7th gear and overdrive on 8th and 9th. It’s produced by the world’s largest manufacturer of automatic transmissions, Aisin-Warner, a joint venture between Aisin and Borg-Warner.
The Motomachi factory in Aichi, Japan was originally constructed for production of the hand-crafted LFA Supercar; since 2018 has been dedicated to producing only LC 500s. Between 2010 and 2012, Lexus built 500 V-10, 553 horsepower, LFAs, including 64 special Nurburgring Editions. Average MSRP was approximately $400,000. Highly collectible, LFAs now change hands at $1 million-plus!
More like a high-tech racecar workshop than a typical production-line car plant, walls, ceilings and spotless floors are white, and many of the master craftsmen (Takumi) and skilled workers who build LCs previously built LFAs. Less than 20 LCs are built a day at Motomachi, one of the most sophisticated auto factories in the world. Each LC 500 is put through a precise post-build 700-point inspection, and dynamic test on the plant’s on-site track!
The LC 500 Coupe is not a sports car, nor does it earn 0 to 60 mph bragging rights. It’s a fast, competent grand tourer that you can drive from coast to coast, or run North Carolina’s Tail of the Dragon with its 318 curves in 11 miles without breaking a sweat. As far as performance is concerned, a 4, 400-pound LC 500 Coupe can sprint to 60 mph in a respectable 4.4 to 4.6 seconds, and is electronically limited to a top speed of 168 mph.
When I decided to purchase a ’24 LEXUS LC 500: COUPE DU JOUR! I knew nothing about production volume, manufacturing process, or how long it would take from specifying what I wanted and leaving a deposit, to actually taking delivery. It turned out to be almost five months to the day!
Truly a limited production model, Lexus exported just 184 LC 500 Coupes to North America in 2022, with the number rising to 346 in 2023. If you look at the total LC 500 model line – coupes, convertibles and hybrids – the grand total is just 2,151 over the last two model years! According to the May 2023 issue of UK’s CAR Magazine, “Total volume of LC 500s in Europe was 1,000 units with 250 designated for the UK.” They also gave the LC 500 a 4.5 out of 5 stars for Handling, Performance and Feelgood factor!
In dealerspeak, the LC 500 is an Allocation vehicle. Each month Lexus lets its dealers know if they will receive a car, and what it will be. Sometimes it honors an order the dealer has placed, other times it’s an inventory vehicle. Lexus essentially batch-builds specific-content LC 500s to maintain the highest level of quality and, to some degree, control vehicle content. After placing my order for an Infrared Coupe with a black interior, Sport Package (Sport seats with Alcantara inserts, Rear performance dampers, Torsen limited-slip differentiaI and performance brake pads), Head-Up Display, Carbon Fiber door scuff plates and optional 21-inch staggered-width 10-spoke forged alloy wheels, I had to wait until Lexus was ready to production-program that combination. That’s why it took five months!
Since Lexus had never been on my radar before when shopping for a new car, this was my first visit ever to a Lexus dealership – Morgan Group’s Lexus of Sarasota – in my automotive industry and hobby career! It was an eye-opening, yet often frustrating experience because of the unique LC 500 build process. Grant Gaugler (Sales Consultant), Chris Lima (General Manager) and Matt Mickelson (Regional Director) at the Morgan Group, couldn’t have been more welcoming. They made it as painless as possible.
After owning my LC 500 for approximately six months, it’s fair to say that it has exceeded all my expectations. Lexus doesn’t call it a GT, and grand touring may require very light packing, but the LC 500 delivers that magical merging of seductive styling, exclusivity, quality, and true GT handling and performance for less money than the competition.
Plus,“The sound. You gotta come for the sound.”
To sample the soul-stirring sounds of a ’24 LEXUS LC 500: COUPE DU JOUR!, check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw8aAHStBo0
Building a ’24 LEXUS LC 500: COUPE DU JOUR! at Motomachi, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw8aAHStBo0
For more information about the LC 500, please visit https://www.lexus.com/models/LC
