Lexus LF-LC / LC500 thread

[vh_supra26]

he new Lexus LC coupé has only just been unveiled at the 2016 Detroit auto show, and yet the Telegraph's Andrew English has already driven it

With the press and photographers at Detroit crowded around the extraordinary new Lexus LC coupé at the lunchtime press conference, this story appears as modern as the hour, but it has antecedents that go back more than five years, with one involving Telegraph Cars...

Based on the handsome 2012 LF-LC concept, the LC goes on sale in the US and Japan at the beginning of next year, with Europe getting it later in 2017.

It's powered by the 467bhp/389lb ft 5.0-litre V8 that’s also found in the RC F and GS F, plus it debuts a new 10-speed automatic gearbox with paddle shifters. The LC uses lightweight carbon fibre in its construction and weighs 1,800kg, with a 0-60mph time of 4.5sec.

But much more than its specification, the LC is also a hugely important trail blazer for a new breed of dynamic, fun-to-drive Lexus, with parts of its structure and dynamics slated to go into the next LS luxury saloon.

Here we need to go back to the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in August 2011. This was when Akio Toyoda, Toyota chief executive and grandson of Toyota's founder, introduced the fourth-generation Lexus GS saloon, with its "new face" of spindle grille, gaping intakes and heavy creasing.

Akio wasn't happy, however. He'd battled with his design department over the new Lexus’s “look” and his troubles didn't stop there. Still struggling with the consequences of the Fukushima earthquake and a series of safety recalls around the world, Akio had also been given the news that Lexus's 11 years of luxury market leadership in the US had come to an end.

As a result, it had just dawned on the company that merely being reliable and well made, with golf-bag-friendly luggage spaces and specification-adjusted competitive prices was not enough.



The Germans had fought back with better looking, better driving and more desirable automobiles. Fact is, Lexus was boring and Akio, a racing driver and driving enthusiast, said so and promised to restore emotion to the Lexus brand.

As Koji Sato, deputy chief engineer on the LC, says: “That Pebble Beach speech was the starting point; we're not just making a coupé, we're creating a new generation of Lexus.”

Sato took an unconventional route to engineering the LC. He felt that sometimes development teams can look too much inside themselves to the point of being blinkered, so he went outside the company to recruit a team of outsiders: racing drivers, journalists and dealer principles.



This was sensationally controversial in a secrecy-obsessed company like Lexus and every single outside driver, including me, had to sign strict secrecy agreements. In fact, Sato's scheme very nearly came to grief when one of the “advisors” (not me) crashed the car on its first run out.

In the last year, Sato's small team of “irregulars” has met at test tracks and interesting roads in America to give their opinions. The last of these was just before Christmas at Willow Springs, north of Los Angeles, an isolated track, close to Edwards Air Force base.

With the latest changes to the suspension including new geometry and ball joints for the front wishbones, longer uprights and a revised air suspension settings, plus a rear steering system, the LC felt much improved.

I thought the rear steering required more programming work at high side forces (the system will be optional) and the front felt too soft, but it compared reasonably well with the benchmark cars: the BMW 6-Series, Maserati GranTurismo, Porsche 911 and Mercedes S-class Coupé.

Bridgestone engineers had fitted the latest generation of run-flat tyres which will be on production cars. These have a new tread pattern and rubber construction, which has 16 per cent less rubber in the side walls and a single-ply construction instead of two ply. The aim is to reduce the weight and ride quality drawback of the traditional run-flat tyre, while still maintaining the obvious advantages of not having to carry a spare wheel.

I also got a chance to talk to Hideo Tomomatsu, project manager, about the car's 10-speed gearbox. Why hadn't Lexus used a twin-clutch gearbox, I asked?

“I don't understand why a twin-clutch is necessary,” he said. “They say it is for a sporty feel, but we can achieve that with our 10-speed, and although dry twin-clutch transmissions can be quite efficient, the wet clutch systems for high power [applications] introduce a lot of drag and can overheat.

"More to the point, American and Japanese customers expect a degree of low-speed refinement that a twin-clutch simply can't deliver."



Sato and I discussed the car's dynamics and he agreed with my thoughts on the rear steering system, but not so much with my view that the steering is still too light. What was clear, however, is the LC was beginning to have its own dynamic identity, with a soft but responsive turn in and faithful tracking through a bend. Sato agreed.

“What I am most happy with," he said, "is the precision of the steering and the way the yaw builds up. There's still a gap between where we are and where we want to be and the rear steering requires work, but we are getting our own “taste” into the car; it's not a BMW and not a Jaguar, but ours.”

In the next few months as the car gets near it's late-spring engineering sign off, Sato's prototypes will become more like the production cars, with carbon-fibre body parts which will reduce weight and alter the centre of gravity and the handling.



“We have got the basics right,” says Sato, “but it's that last 10 per cent that is so difficult.”

Sato's “irregulars” are now disbanded, which is right and proper, but all of us have amazing memories of our privileged involvement in the creation of a new production car, and I have grown to like and respect the engineering team which created it.

Before the engineering sign off they face another important test; Akio drives the car in late February. His peppery dressing downs of his engineering staff are legendary and for Sato and his team's sake, I just hope he likes it.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/lexus/lexus-lc-review/

[vh_supra26]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k6-3UoUhJ8[/ame]

For Akio Toyoda, president and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation, the genesis of the Lexus LC 500 grand touring coupe came in August 2011, during the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. As he strolled the famous golf links where hundreds of classic cars from such storied automakers as Bugatti, Ferrari, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche dotted the perfectly manicured 18th green like precious jewels strewn on a billiards table, inspiration hit him. But what struck him wasn’t anything he saw (although as a car buff, surely he was impressed with the jaw-dropping array of Ferrari 250 GTOs); no, the inspiration came from what he didn’t see. Or rather couldn’t even picture. Not. One. Lexus.

Then and there, Toyoda-san took the reins of his luxury brand. Lexus, just a couple decades old and a huge sales success in the U.S., needed a jolt. A revolution. A paradigm shift. It was time for Lexus to build cars as desirable and dynamic as they were reliable and quiet. Cars with equal parts sex appeal and spine-tingling performance—eye-catching to gaze upon and, just as important, eye-opening to drive. Luckily, the man needed to lead the charge was standing right next to him.

April 2012
Koji Sato, chief engineer of the LC project, looked at the prototype cobbled from a GS sedan and smiled. He had just put it through its paces at Toyota’s Higashi-Fuji Technical Center proving grounds and knew his team was onto something special. Eight months prior, he had been at Pebble Beach for the launch of the fourth-generation GS, a car for which he also served as chief engineer. But rather than celebrate the GS’ debut, his mind had become overwhelmed with the spontaneous and monumental directive his boss had just handed him. And little did Sato know at the time, but the LC’s platform would serve as the basis for Lexus’ next generation of premium rear-wheel-drive products.


Before chief engineer Koji Sato drives a shiny Lexus LC 500, he’ll return with a prototype to the Nürburgring as well as Toyota’s Shibetsu Proving Ground in Hokkaido for winter testing.

The Frankenstein GS had had its body cut and sewn—front tires pushed forward, engine lowered and moved aft of the front axle for a front-mid layout, battery relocated to the trunk for improved weight distribution, driver hip point shifted down and rearward for better feel and a lower center of gravity—but the powertrain specs and chassis tuning were left intact. Sato-san’s objective was to discern whether the fundamentals of the aptly named Inertia Spec platform were alive and kicking or dead on arrival. “I realized after one turn we were heading in the right direction,” Sato said. “The dynamics and feel were so improved from what we had known.” The end goal now was to squeeze the Inertia Spec’s fundamentals under a body that closely resembled the racy, low-slung LF-LC show car that had wowed attendees at the 2012 Detroit auto show three months earlier. It was that car that Akio Toyoda wanted to someday see gracing the greens at Pebble Beach.

January 2013
After a stint in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he worked on the designs of the Avalon, Camry, and Tundra, Tadao Mori was assigned back to Toyota City, Japan, where he was given a new task: Shape the LC production car. If Mori-san were learning to swim designing the sedans and truck, he had just jumped into the deep end.


Rarely does a show car so closely parallel the subsequent street car, but in the evolution from LF-LC (above) to LC 500 (below), the resemblance is uncanny.


Working off the LF-LC concept, which was penned at Toyota’s Calty design studio in Newport Beach, California, Mori aimed to retain the overall taste, surface treatment, and stance of the show car, all while working closely with Sato’s team to accommodate the engineering goals. The latter is especially noteworthy because it represents a fundamental shift in Lexus development. Before LC, the process of creating a new platform was a six-year undertaking in which design and engineering predominantly worked separately. For LC, the timeline got fast-tracked to four years, design and engineering coming together as a single team from the start. Less about two groups compromising, more about one striving for a common goal.



Although the production LC bears a strong resemblance to the concept, every surface is new and every dimension changed. The breadth of the show car’s rear was deemed too wide for real-world application (6.6 inches wider than a 911 Carrera S), its roof too low to allow for the luxurious feel and space befitting a Lexus, and its hood and front fenders too close to the pavement for a suspension that needed to accommodate some semblance of wheel travel. So Mori stretched the overall length nearly 5 inches, trimmed the width 2.2, and raised the roof 3.1. And to make the 2+2 layout livable for adults, he lengthened the wheelbase 2.8 inches. All said and done, the LC 500 is larger in every dimension than a Mercedes SL550, but it’s tidier bumper to bumper than a BMW 650i, narrower than a Jag F-Type coupe, and shorter in height than an RC F.


The team from Toyota’s Calty design studio in Newport Beach, California, hard at work, sculpting the clay model of the 2012 LF-LC concept in 2011.

When asked how much of the show car was carried over, Mori smiles. “I believe 100 percent,” he says, “but with 20 percent of originality added.” That 20 percent refers to the reworked headlights with three super-small LED units, the revised cabin-to-wheel ratio, and the massaged surfacing and spindle grille. The feature he’s most proud of? The profile scoop situated at the lower rear quarter panel. Because the scoop is located “inside the architecture,” it required painstaking attention to maintain a pleasing design as well as extensive collaboration with engineering to ensure functional rear brake cooling and an uncompromised structure.


Chief designer Tadao Mori, whose other love is guitar, says, “Playing in a band is like working with the LC team—you have to find harmony.”



The LC’s interior is the nicest to date of any Lexus. Warmer than the LFA’s, finer than the LS’, more advanced than the GS F’s. Interior designer Manabu Ochihata likes to think of it as a place of both driver focus and hospitality, and the small-diameter flat-bottom wheel with magnesium shift paddles mixed with acres of leather and Alcantara and real metal back up that view. The attention to detail is stunning. “Even the smallest switches took a lot of work,” Mori says.

December 2014
On game day, the Rose Bowl can house more than 95,000 people, its 20,000-plus parking spots packed as if cars were sardines. On this winter day, though, the stadium is silent and the parking spots empty, save for an autocross of orange cones and a camouflaged LC prototype wearing chopped LS bodywork. Our resident pro racer, Randy Pobst, is here, eager to shake down the mule and give Sato invaluable feedback.


Sure, this looks like a melted Porsche Panamera, but underneath the heavily camouflaged and chopped GS are the bones of an early Lexus LC Inertia Spec platform.

The stage-two prototype represents the first trial of the Inertia Spec structure and the all-new Aisin 10-speed automatic, which sports a heat-treated aluminum gear train (for less weight) and the lightest torque converter ever in a Lexus automatic. Sato says the 10-speed weighs less than the eight-speed it replaces, and it can shift gears in as little as 0.23 second. The automatic’s highest priority is shift speed, not smoothness.

“We are breaking many Lexus rules,” Sato says, noting that some shift shock under wide-open throttle is not only acceptable but also desirable.

There will be three more prototype stages, so this mule and all that it encompasses are to be assessed with that in mind. The main purpose of the exercise, Sato says, is to validate body stiffness, which, by the way, has already been measured to match the Mercedes-Benz S-Class in torsional rigidity.



Pobst makes a few runs in the prototype and then returns to the group. “The prototype turns very well with minimal understeer,” he says. “It was a little bit soft on transitions, leading to a tendency to oversteer on exit when going aggressively through a chicane. It needs a bit more damping for support and to slow the roll in the rear.”

Notes jotted down, Sato thanks Pobst. The next time they’ll meet will be at a proper racetrack with a proper car.

[vh_supra26]

August 2015
Right about three years after that momentous trip to Pebble Beach, Sato is back on the Monterey Peninsula, though on this visit the corkscrew he’s about to sample has nothing to do with wine. The stage-three LC prototype sits in pit lane at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, doors swung open, a team of engineers doing their best impersonation of an ALMS pit crew, jumping in and out of the seats, scampering hastily around the car, and holding laptops and test gear. Sato assures Pobst and me that the mule’s upper body resembles that of the forthcoming production car, but the swirling black-and-white zebra camouflage wrap leaves everything to the imagination.


Randy Pobst rings out the stage-three LC prototype at Mazda Raceway.

Twenty-inch alloys wearing BMW-spec Goodyears straight from a 650i coupe fill the LC’s wheelwells nicely. “Control tire,” Sato says, informing us the production LC will have forged 21s shod with next-gen run-flats from Michelin, Bridgestone, and Dunlop. Parked farther down pit lane are a 911 Carrera S, a Maserati Gran Turismo, and the 650i. Pobst will get a handful of laps in the LC only, but Sato’s team will sample the others—the BMW as the main target, the Maserati for engine and exhaust reference, and the 911 as the ultimate dynamic benchmark.

Pobst straps in and starts the engine, essentially the same naturally aspirated, 5.0-liter V-8 as in the RC F, though output is up slightly to 468 horsepower at 7,100 rpm and 391 lb-ft of torque at 4,800 rpm. It fires up with track-fitting authority thanks to a pair of exhaust sound control valves that open momentarily for full auditory effect. There’s even a sound generator in the engine bay to amplify the engine’s natural tune under acceleration, achieving a spectral map that approaches that of the V-10 LFA supercar but with more NASCAR rumble, less F1 wail.



After four laps, Pobst returns to pit lane. He’s smiling but shaking his head. “Car’s really good,” he says, “but is there any way to turn off the stability control?” Sato checks with his team and seems a bit dismayed when he has to report that for now VSC cannot be switched off. Otherwise, Pobst walks away full of praise. “Steering effort and feel are very good—European with some weight but not too much,” he says. “The car’s front is strong with excellent steering response and very little understeer at the limit. Turn-in generates a small amount of yaw then the car takes a well-balanced set mid-corner. The ride over the minor bumps of the curbs was very good with no vibration, implying a strong body structure.” As a racer, Pobst never forgets the brakes. “Brake feel is excellent. Firm pedal, strong bite, smooth ABS. Stable with no noticeable dive.”


Randy Pobst shares his thoughts with Koji Sato after lapping at MRLS. “The car is heavy at 4,300 pounds but handles that mass well. It feels much lighter and more agile.”

Sato appears pleased with Pobst’s comments, which jibe with the “precise, sharp, and natural” signatures he’s aiming to instill in the production car. He leads us through a walk-around of the prototype, pointing out the features he’s most proud of. The hood, he says, is lower than the 650i’s, a testament to chassis engineer Hiroyuki Masumo, who spent six months perfecting the geometry of the multilink suspension so it could nestle under the steeply raked aluminum yet still deliver accurate, sporty handling. Sato taps the front fenders and doors, noting that both are aluminum, too, as are the front bumper and suspension towers. “We adopted many lightweight items,” he says, also calling out that the inner doors and roof are carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic and the trunklid is resin with a sheet-molded-composite inner. Finally, he gestures to the lower middle of the driver door. “The heel-to-hip point is 200mm for a low driving position, and that point is 138mm behind the car’s center of gravity.” Translation: The driver’s hip point sits 7.9 inches above his heel point and only 5.4 inches aft of the center of gravity. For comparison, a Jag F-Type’s hip point to center of gravity is 14.0 inches. The best? The Porsche Cayman, at 0.

December 2015


Southern California isn’t known to be cold in December, but out at the high desert grounds of Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond, the early morning temperature hovers around 40 degrees. Luckily, Pobst and I don’t need to arrive until the warmer lunch hour, as Sato and his crew are using the morning to work on the performance of the 10-speed auto and to allow their guests from Bridgestone, who have brought the latest iteration of Potenza S001 run-flats, to have a go with the car.

Lexus estimates a sub-4.5-second 0-60 blast for the LC. That seems conservative.

Now in stage-four prototype form—basically stage three with next levels of suspension and transmission tuning—the LC mule looks as chilled as it does tired of wearing zebra camo. But the forged 21-inch wheels with right-size tires (245/40 front, 275/35 rear) lend the car a meaner stance. Sato is quick to point out to Pobst that the VSC can now be switched fully off, which along with the improved shift logic and new tires should significantly improve performance.


The LC stretches 187.4 inches long, 75.6 wide, and 53.0 tall, and it rides on a 113.0-inch wheelbase. A 468-hp, 5.0-liter V-8 moves the mass.

Lexus estimates a sub-4.5-second 0-60 blast for the LC, and watching Pobst rocket up Streets’ long, uphill section through Turn 1, that seems conservative. Ten laps logged, Pobst pits. “It has made great progress since my first track drive at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca,” he says. “The transmission program is far more refined and smarter with still a bit more to go. It’s light on its feet for its mass, and the brakes impressed with their power and lack of fade. At this point, the car is soft on track and still bottoms easily, bounding over heavy impacts.” Sato and his team nod, noting that the Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS) with next-gen dampers is about 70 percent there. “It’s a no-fear car at the limit,” Pobst continues. “I enjoyed the balance and stability and the car’s grip under acceleration, my fundamental favorite trait in race cars.”


Randy Pobst relays his impressions of the stage-four LC prototype to Koji Sato and Ron Kiino after a dynamic test session at the Streets of Willow Springs.

As we part ways with Sato, I tell him, “See you in a few weeks,” referring to the 2016 Detroit Auto Show, where the production LC 500 makes its world debut. For Sato, the journey began nearly five years ago at Pebble Beach. For us, it was at the Rose Bowl parking lot. Either way, it’s been a thrilling ride. After the stage-five prototype is built and later validated for final tuning, production will begin in late 2016, with sales commencing in early 2017.

“[Akio Toyoda] drove it six laps at Fuji Speedway,” Sato says, “and he was very happy with the natural feel and sharp precision.” If we’re lucky, we’ll be back in Detroit in a couple years for the unveiling of the rumored 600-horsepower, twin-turbo LC (LC F, anyone?). But hey, Akio might just save that for a surprise reveal at Pebble Beach.

http://www.motortrend.com/news/2018-...t-look-review/

[M.I.A]

its good looking cant wait to see how it performs

[vh_supra26]

Lexus’ desire to adopt a sportier, well-defined approach for its coupes has culminated at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit with the LC500 model.

Its bold looks, interesting proportions and crisp design language are the result of the Japanese car maker’s determination to create a more passionate and distinctive brand, even though the overall shape of the car and some style cues can be found on past concept cars, like the LF-LC.

As a matter of fact, there’s no denying that this particular model is nothing more than a production variant of the stunning-looking, aforementioned study; sporting much more straightforward design elements, complying to real world usage.

With the use of lightweight, high-strength steel in the platform – along with special braces in the engine compartment – Lexus has come up with the stiffest unibody to date, surpassing the LFA’s carbon chassis. Furthermore, thanks to a carbon-fiber roof, aluminum door skins and a composite trunk floor, the car has achieved a nearly perfect 52/48 weight distribution between axles.

Powered by a high-revving 5.0-litre V8 engine which makes 467 hp and 389 lb-ft (527 Nm) of torque – a unit made familiar by the GS F and RC F models - the LC 500 can and will achieve a 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) time of south of 4.5 seconds. Mind you this serious fire power has some stopping credentials as well, as the car comes equipped with 6-piston brake calipers at the front and four-piston ones at the rear – masked by two sets of 20-inch alloys and one set of 21-inch alloys.

http://www.carscoops.com/2016/01/lex...-in-flesh.html

[Joakim3]

I'd be damned.. Those bastards really pulled it off!!

Probably the first and only car that looks better then the concept it's based on. Idk about pefromance but from looks alone I'd take this over a 6 series or E-Class Coupe in a heartbeat

Bravo Lexus, bravo

[gymratter]

Originally Posted by Joakim3

I'd be damned.. Those bastards really pulled it off!!

Probably the first and only car that looks better then the concept it's based on. Idk about pefromance but from looks alone I'd take this over a 6 series or S-Class Coupe in a heartbeat

Bravo Lexus, bravo

Fixed, but X2. Love the way it looks.

[Joakim3]

Originally Posted by gymratter

Fixed, but X2. Love the way it looks.

Yeah it definitely looks like a car that cost 3x times the price... These will sell like hot cakes

Lexus definitely stepped there shit up with this one

[daiheadjai]

Akio Toyoda has been a godsend to Toyota and Lexus.
It isn't crazy talk to call yourself a Toyota/Lexus (or Scion) enthusiast anymore.

Now I'm almost certain that the FT-1/Supra won't be vaporware.

[gymratter]

Originally Posted by Joakim3

Yeah it definitely looks like a car that cost 3x times the price... These will sell like hot cakes

Lexus definitely stepped there shit up with this one

They have hinted it will cost around $90k-$100k. For comparison sake, competitor's pricing is below.

Jaguar XK - $84,500
BMW 650i - $88,700
Mercedes S Class Coupe - $121,550
Maserati GranTurismo - $132,825

[Dadhawk]

I love it from every angle except the front, which means it won't be on my auto bucket list anytime soon....

[gymratter]

Originally Posted by daiheadjai

Akio Toyoda has been a godsend to Toyota and Lexus.
It isn't crazy talk to call yourself a Toyota/Lexus (or Scion) enthusiast anymore.

Now I'm almost certain that the FT-1/Supra won't be vaporware.

X2, I like how they address all the haters in this video.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAUG6E1nVO0[/ame]

[MrDinkleman]

Very pretty. Not that I can afford one (unless I win this week's Powerball) but it needs a 6- or 7-speed, proper three-pedal, manual transmission. If I am going to buy an auto trans car, it will have to be a full-on old man's car, like an LS...


Also, just noticed that the overall shape is very similar to our twins. I can't wait for the LC500 body kits for our cars to come out...

[gymratter]

Idk if this is true or not, but I was told Mercedes doesn't offer manual transmission? Also I have been reading that BMW is considering phasing out manual transmission as well because they don't sell well in Europe.