Rare Rides: The 1999 Lexus SC 400, Predecessor to The Lame One

You know what? The Rare Rides series has never before featured a Lexus vehicle. The other day, a helpful commenter provided a link to an extra clean SC 400 for sale, so here we are with our first Lexus installment of Rare Rides.

Shortly after Lexus debuted in late 1989 for the 1990 model year with the midsize ES 250 (not impressive) and full-size LS 400 (that shooketh Mercedes-Benz and other established luxury marques), there followed news of a third prong in the fork of Lexus’ brand offerings: A big coupe, targeted specifically at Americans. There were many luxury coupes on the market at the time, namely Japanese competition from Acura’s Legend. The Eunos Cosmo from Mazda would’ve been a competitor as well, but that one never made it to North America. Sad!

Development on the SC began in 1987, and Toyota gave the project to its Calty Design Research facility in California. With a smooth, aerodynamic design much different to Japanese coupes of the Eighties, production started in 1991 in Japan. The SC was produced alongside the Toyota Soarer, a virtually identical version sold in markets where Lexus was not offered.

The first model to debut was the SC 400, for the model year 1992. The 400 used the same 4.0-liter 1UZ V8 as found in the LS 400 sedan and debuted first as the brand’s flagship coupe offering. Following later in the year was the less expensive SC 300. That one was much more Supra-like in its character, with the 3.0-liter 2JZ inline-six shared with the upcoming A80 Supra in 1993. SC and Supra shared a platform, though the SC had a five-inch wheelbase advantage for reasons like coming with length and luxury. When the production Supra appeared, it was 13 inches shorter than the SC. For customers of the SC 300, a manual five-speed transmission shared with naturally aspirated Supras was available, along with the four-speed automatic that was mandated on the SC 400.

Changes were few on the SC, as it seemed Lexus didn’t quite know how to revise their coupe once it was in production. 1996 saw an upgrade in the SC 400’s power, 260 horses from a prior 250. The next year, VVT-i arrived, and V8 thrust increased to 290 horses. Inline-six buyers made do with 225 horses throughout the SC 300’s life. 1997 was the last time buyers could select a manual transmission in their SC 300, and in 1998 the four-speed automatic gained another forward gear. The transmission update also brought with it a front and rear lighting revision, which carried the SC through its final model year in 2000. By the end of its long nine-year run, sales slumped against other coupes which had moved on from their early Nineties designs or been canceled altogether.

In 2001 the new (not coupe) SC 430 debuted, which was a step backward in most ways apart from appeal to elderly Floridians. I’ve harped on that topic before though, so I won’t rehash today. At least the LC 500 presently exists as Lexus’ flagship coupe and is utterly spectacular. Likely my next car purchase, too.

Today’s Rare Ride is one of the dwindling number of SCs still in excellent condition. The 400 is certainly easier to find in a preserved state than the 300, as its Supra-adjacent nature and parts meant most were destroyed in the 2000s by The Youths. Our example today isn’t the commenter-provided one, as that one sold already. However, it’s the same late-run style, in Corey-approved pearl over tan. With 126,000 miles, it asks an optimistic $19,900.

[Images: Lexus]