CarBrandLogos archive · Lexus · 2017

LexusLC

A concept car Toyota decided to build almost unchanged, then engineered a platform for.

Photo: Mr.choppers · CC BY-SA 3.0

The story

A defining chapter in Lexus history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Lexus LC, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Lexus LC Convertible Concept Genf 2019 1Y7A5165

Origins

Lexus showed the LF-LC concept at Detroit in 2012 with no production intent. The reaction was strong enough that the company committed to building it, which created an awkward problem: nothing in the parts bin could carry those proportions, with the front wheels pushed far forward and the engine set well back behind them.

Lexus LC Convertible Concept Genf 2019 1Y7A5165 · Alexander Migl · CC BY-SA 4.0

Design and engineering

So Lexus built a platform for it. The GA-L architecture was developed for the LC, with the aim of a low centre of gravity and a front mid-engine layout, and it subsequently underpinned the fifth-generation LS. The production car reached showrooms in 2017 looking startlingly close to the concept, down to the door handles and the concave rear glass.

Lexus LC 500h – f · © M 93 · CC BY-SA 3.0 de

In production

Underneath sits either the 5.0-litre naturally aspirated V8 with a ten-speed automatic, or a 3.5-litre V6 in a multi-stage hybrid system that adds a physical gearset behind the planetary hybrid transmission to give it distinct ratios. Reviews were consistent: this is a grand tourer rather than a sports car, softer and heavier than a Porsche 911, and better at covering long distances beautifully than at chasing lap times. A convertible followed in 2020. It replaced the SC, which is a comparison the SC does not survive.

Lexus LC 500h – h · © M 93 · CC BY-SA 3.0 de

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

2017–present

Engine

Petrol engine

Designer

Edward Lee (LF-LC concept)

Body

2-door fastback coupé

Technical specification

The LC, in detail.

Production: March 2017 – present
Class: Grand tourer (S)
Body style: 2-door fastback coupé ; 2-door convertible
Layout: FMR layout
Engine: Petrol engine; Petrol: ; 5.0 L Toyota UR engine#2UR-GSE; 2UR-GSE V8 engine; V8 (LC 500; URZ100) ; Petrol Hybrid electric vehicle; hybrid: ; 3.5 L Toyota GR engine#8GR-FXS; 8GR-FXS V6 engine; V6 (LC 500h; GWZ100
Transmission: 10-speed Direct Shift List of Aisin transmissions#Longitudinal; Aisin AWR10L65 Automatic transmission; automatic (LC 500) ; 10-speed Multi Stage Hybrid System automatic (LC 500h)
Designer: Edward Lee (LF-LC concept) ; Tadao Mori (chief designer) ; Pansoo Kwon (production exterior: 2013)
Assembly: Japan: Toyota City (Motomachi plant)
Manufacturer: Toyota