Lexus has an ambition - though at times obscured - to be the purveyor of the most desirable premium cars to hail from its native land of Japan, and this applies to sports cars as much as it does to their luxury saloons. Their most notable foray into this space is the LFA, most fondly remembered for its angelic (and atmospheric) 4.8-litre V10 engine.
That car was, in many ways, a unicorn product of a near 10-year no-expense-spared cycle of design and development and an inflection point in Lexus’ history, each of the 500 hand built examples made over its 2 year production run being very expensive.
In 2017, the closest thing we have at the moment is the LC 500, a two door coupe that, for one thing, definitely takes a few cues from the LFA’s look book. Should you have the coin, you can choose from either a naturally aspired 5.0-litre V8 or a 3.5-litre V6 supplemented by an electric motor for your own LC 500, both producing similar amounts of performance but in very different ways.
It’s been established that the LC 500 - in either guise - is a very well built, handsome, and yes, desirable sports car from Lexus. It even boasts some very un-Lexus-like dynamics. But to truly compete with its class competitors like the upcoming BMW M8 and Mercedes-AMG S 63 Coupe, it needs a flagship engine - one to really elevate its performance credentials.
This is why, reportedly, the premium Japanese marque is developing a new engine to debut in an upcoming performance-focused LC F: a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8. Japanese publication Holiday Auto says that the new motor will effectively replace the 5.0-litre 2UR V8 that Lexus has been using in their fast models for a few generations already.
With variable boost pressure and ‘hot-V’ packaging similar to Mercedes-AMG’s implementation being likely features of this new engine, the new Lexus motor could have a predicted power output exceeding 447kW while torque should sit in the region of 750Nm. Being Lexus, it’s also likely that they will soon introduce an electrified version to achieve even more performance.
The LCF, given its powertrain and suspension enhancements, should it be unveiled sooner rather than later, could be priced to rival the Mercedes-AMG GT and upcoming Aston Martin Vantage. Our first peek could even come as early as the next Geneva Motor Show in March of 2018. Here’s hoping.
For more on Lexus cars, check out our Showroom.
