In modern America – hell even more specific than that, in modern day Texas – the death of the smaller sports car in favor of larger, SUVor crossover type vehicles has been greatly exaggerated. Case in point: the Lexus LC 500. Crowned as the 2018 Car of Texas by the Texas Autowriters Association, this speedster beat out larger, sporty coupes and sedans for this unique title. A culmination of innovative engineering combined with modern design that teeters on the brink of over indulgence, the Lexus LC is like a welcome slap to the face that should remind drivers why we all choose to climb into a motorized vehicle in the first place: to go somewhere fast.
Shredding Asphalt in Decatur, Texas
Earlier this spring I had the opportunity to zip around Eagles Canyon Raceway in Decatur Texas in a sparkling red 2018 Lexus LC 500 as part of the Texas Auto Writers Association’s (TAWA) Auto Roundup event. As a member of TAWA I get the privilege of participating in this yearly event that allows journalist to take everything from sports cars to minivans for a spin on a professional race course. This year, the LC caught my eye among the slew of vehicles available and when the first opportunity presented itself, I hopped in for a spin.
This might not be important to everyone, but the first thing I noticed upon slipping into the inviting bucket seat is how easy it was to enter the car, especially considering that I’m a large guy. I’m accustomed to cortorting my body to climb into a wide range of vehicles – one of the tricks of the trade – so I expected to scrunch my body up like a pretzel in order to enter the LC. I didn’t and even more surprising, I had plenty of hip and leg room once I was in the driver’s seat. Sporty coupes like the LC are notorious for accommodating toward smaller drivers but the LC felt like the first sports-centric car in a while that has a “one-size-fits-all” feel.
Once the engine roared to life and I drove the LC towards the starting line of the racetrack, I realized that I hadn’t familiarized myself with where the Drive Mode switch was located. It took a few moments but I quickly realized that a rotary knob was jutting out from the steering wheel column in a very unique and curious way; this was the Drive Mode switch. Unlike a traditional driving mode button, this knob gave the act of switching driving modes feel aggressive, like shifting into “Hold On To Your Butts” mode. Combined with the guage cluster transition that actually moves the rev guage front and center, the sport and sport+ mode give the driver a clear signal that the LC is ready to launch.
Once I was given the raceway greenlight, I punched the LC through its first few gears, reveling in the wicked snarls I was treated to near the redline. The LC’s 5.0-liter, V8 engine emits a satisfy snap at the top of each gear line and growls forward through the 10-speeds. Whether you’re using the paddle shifters or letting the computer shift for you, the LC rockets like a racehorse with a fastically low center of gravity. Toyota’s chassis tuning experts clearly took great care in giving the LC balance and the four-wheel steering system that comes as part of the performance package came in handy when making tight, controlled turns on the corners of Eagle Canyon.
To say that the experience driving the LC around the racetrack was extremely intoxicating is an understatement. This is truly what driving is supposed to feel like.
For all its performance prowess, it was tough to imagine the LC on an everyday suburban street or stuck in rush hour traffic on the highway. So when I had the opportunity to spend a week with the 2018 Lexus LC 500 I jumped at the chance. Could the LC actually be a part of my daily routine in a realistic way? How would the LC’s gas mileage perform in everyday stop and go traffic? Could I live with the ridiculous small back seat? I spent as much time behind the wheel of the LC that week to answer some of these questions, the entire time reminding myself that the six figure price tag is half the cost of my mortgage.
Mas Chingon (“The Good Shit”, for you non-Spanish speakers}
The entire time I spent behind the wheel of the Lexus LC, I found myself, almost subconsciously, driving towards local, outdoor works of art. From colorful murals to stunning architecture, I couldn’t help myself from placing the LC in front of beautiful vista, jumping out and snapping a photo. Why? Because art begets art and the Lexus LC is most certainly an artistic achievement.
This is what a week with the LC afforded me – a chance to admire the small attention to detail that went into crafting the smooth, sexy curves and the creature comforts within. Elements like the invisible door handles that ever-so-smoothly extended when you approach are nice touches, as is the aforementioned gauge cluster that physically moves when in Sport Mode. Interior finishes reflected the price tag but there are perhaps areas were a more generous amount of luxury could have been added to materials.
Much debate has been had over the trackpad in Lexus vehicles that control the infotainment unit and while it be polarizing, after a week of use, it oddly starts to feels appropriate for the LC. Its as unconventional at the LC and there’s satisfaction in the rumble you feel in your finger when the on-screen cursor accuratly lands on your selection. The functionality of the software and hardware of Lexus’s trackpad has certainly seen some improvement over the years, so with some practice most drivers can get accustomed. No matter how well it works, however, it still feels like your navigating a laptop in your car and I doubt I could ever favor it over, say, Mazda’s giant navigational knob which is a joy to experience.
Half the fun of experiencing the LC is simply approaching the thing. It’s a visual treat and approaching it from various angles, it becomes very apparent that this speed demon is bigger than immediately meets the eye. At 187.4 inches long, the LC feels like the perfect size; not too small that the force of the V8 engine would feel like overkill and not too large that it adds unnecessary weight.
Fun Fact: It’s the first Lexus model to utilize Toyota’s “Global Architecure” platform – a modular unibody automobile platform that that was first introduced in the 2015 Prius. All that fancy description to just say that the LC carries the DNA of Toyota’s core engineering mindset that affects everything from the way the car handles to how much luggage space it has. Thankfully Toyota has been making some positive strides with this latest iteration of their GA platform so the LC starts off on the right foot.
The Lowdown
It’s not just that the Lexus LC 500 is badass – because it is – but it’s that it make you feel like a badass as the driver. I know I felt mas chingon rolling around in it for that one glorious week. I’ve never had more people drool over my review vehicle as much as they did over the LC. Ironically the majority of those admirers had no idea that Lexus produced such a car. it got me thinking: Is flying under the radar, a positive or a negative for the LC especially in a world where large vehicles capture the public’s attention like never before?
There is significance in TAWA naming the LC the Car of Texas. Not only are these people who know cars but many of them have families, drive trucks and crossovers and have tested the gamut of sports cars on the market currently. They chose this beauty as THE car to represent the Lone Star State; a state where a car like this would likely get a ticket from a state trooper on the dusty highway. Texas doesn’t have beautiful coastline like California but there are plenty of wide open stretches of road that beg for LC’s intensity.
The price tag is what brings this daydream back down to reality. With the performance package attached, the vehicles I tested came in at almost 102K. Granted this includes the optional sport package but if your in the position to drop the 92k starting price, what’s a few extra thousand for perks. Still, most people would scoff at a starting price over 90k for what’s basically a two-seater. But the Lexus LC isn’t for most people. There is a mystique to the LC that most sports cars in it’s class fail to live up to. To top it off, it’s comfortable to sit in and extremely exhilarating to drive.
So is it worth the 100k+ price tag. If I had that much to throw down on a car and I was in the market for a sports car, I would. Fun can’t always be measured in dollars but in the LC, fun can be measured in abundance.
