Track Edition of Refreshed Lexus RC F to Debut at Detroit Auto Show
While Lexus has cranked out a few impressive sporting models over its lifetime, “performance” is not a term that’s synonymous with the brand. Instead, Lexus seems to evoke words like “reliability,” “luxury,” and “high resale values” from the collective consumer mindscape. However, the brand does do dynamics. You can log onto its website right now and discover that most of its fleet offers enough horsepower to make getting a ticket easy enough. It also has performance F variants of the GS, LC, and RC for customers of discerning tastes and the need for a 5.0-liter V8 powerplant.
Interested in going the extra mile to prove itself, Lexus plans to unveil a refreshed RC at the 2019 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, along with a special Track Edition of the already high-performance RC F.
Thus far, the automaker has only offered a single teaser image of the 2020 Lexus RC F Track Edition. But its name and obvious, carbon fiber wing have already outed it as a hardcore model intended to sit atop the RC product line. On Thursday, Bob Carter, executive vice president of sales at Toyota Motor North America, said the vehicle would a street-legal car with track-worthy capabilities.
Intended to outshine every production model Lexus has ever built, save for the defunct LFA, the Track Edition is claimed to be the fastest and most powerful model in the brand’s current lineup. That means output in excess of 471 horsepower and 398 pound-feet of torque.
While our instincts tell us to assume an upgraded version of the same V8 that occupies the engine bays of the other F models, there is a chance Lexus could have something else up its sleeve. As far as rumors go, we’ve heard very little on the new RC beyond Lexus taking some styling cues from the RC F GT3 racer.
We’ll find out more on January 14th when Lexus officially premieres the 2020 Lexus RC F Track Edition to the media. Impatient members of the public can also watch the debut via livestream or buy tickets to NAIAS and give it a look after the press and industry days.
[Image: Lexus]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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Is it still made from bits of three different old cars glued together, and hundreds of pounds heavier than it should be? Good luck.