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]