What it’s like test-driving the new S$600,000 Lexus LC Convertible
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What it'south similar test-driving the new S$600,000 Lexus LC Convertible
A powerful naturally-aspirated V8 beast poured into a sleek, elegant and graceful class, Lexus' first-always LC Convertible is a bona fide attention-grabber. We took it for a spin to come across how it performed on Singapore'southward roads.
The LC Convertible is defined past its muscular proportions, huge spindle grille gear up between sharp, slender lights and overall sexy styling. (Photograph: Lexus)
18 Jun 2022 06:30AM (Updated: 10 Aug 2022 09:15AM)
It'due south a special kind of feeling when you meet a auto first equally a prototype earlier information technology goes into production and and so get to drive it two years later on.
It was December 2022 that I get-go laid eyes on the Lexus LC Convertible in person, when I serendipitously constitute myself a invitee of Lexus at Design Miami; the but Singapore journalist flown in to attend the influential global forum for design by its official automotive partner.
There, the LC Convertible was presented as a concept motorcar, showcased inside an immersive installation capturing the beauty of sunshowers, which describes a naturally occurring phenomenon in which rain droplets fall amid the sun's rays and often leads to the appearance of a rainbow.
The artistic display represented the coaction between the inside and outside, the indoors and outdoors, evoking the Japanese architectural concept of engawa while capturing the essence of the LC Convertible.
READ> How Lexus interprets the uniquely Japanese spirit of omotenashi
Much of Lexus's philosophy is highly conceptual and information technology was at Design Miami that I had the opportunity to meet and speak with its principal designer Tadao Mori on the inspiration and design thinking behind the carmaker's stunning new halo model.
For the Japanese designer, information technology all begins and ends with beauty. "But beauty has to have a right role," he said.
Complementing the coupe's sleek silhouette, for instance, is the sophisticated engineering behind the hydraulic-operated soft-meridian roof inspired by the traditional art of Japanese calligraphy and the movement of the ink brush expressing itself on paper, with attention even paid to the interruption between strokes. The mechanism is exceedingly elegant and graceful when retracting or closing, like motorised origami, if y'all will, and rather mesmerising to watch.
The first-ever LC Convertible oozes charisma and we guarantee all eyes volition be on you on the roads, especially when yous're stopped at a traffic light and make up one's mind to drop your acme, as we certainly did on our recent test-drive.
With the LC Convertible's muscular proportions, huge spindle grille set betwixt sharp, slender lights and overall sexy styling turning up the heat wherever yous go, you tin't be shy about all the attention y'all get driving this 2+2 coupe – that's a large part of the joy of a cabriolet.
And at an eye-watering half a one thousand thousand bucks, you'd probably want the world to know you've got good gustatory modality (and cash to fire).
READ> You can now purchase a Lexus auto online, without having to visit a showroom
Drib-Tiptop DREAMS ARE Fabricated OF THESE
The soft-elevation folds back (or forward) in fifteen seconds flat and the rapid closure is particularly appreciated when information technology begins to drizzle.
The iv-layer canvas roof, fabricated with aluminium and magnesium components, is thickly-insulated and you know Lexus has done a solid job and delivered peerless quality here as there's not a hint of flutter or rattle during the notably silent backward-forward do.
If you lot're going over 50km/h though, tough pause if y'all're on the expressway and it begins to pour, as you won't be able to activate the mechanism due to a safe measure built-in.
One nifty condom feature I practice like is that the buttons for retracting the roof are neatly concealed in a flip-top compartment in the eye console so you (or any passenger) can't accidentally activate it.
Getting the soft-meridian simply right was the biggest challenge in designing the LC Convertible, Mori had told me 2 years earlier.
"The first round [nosotros designed] was very bulky and so I asked the engineer to push information technology downward 30mm more considering if information technology'due south besides high, it'south not nice," he had shared.
Good call, Mori, as nosotros observed the soft-height pack nicely into the rear, without significantly intruding on the body and cabin infinite, as would be the instance with a heavier, bulkier retractable hardtop.
And, most importantly, it doesn't compromise the convertible's sharp styling and sporty profile. Very nice indeed.
THE DRIVE: UNBEATABLY GLORIOUS, Well-baked AND PRECISE
Having waited close to two years to become behind the wheel of the LC Convertible, the day could not come shortly enough when I would pick upwardly this highly-anticipated ride.
The LC 500 Convertible is an aspirational halo model of Toyota's luxury daddy. It's a topless variant of the LC 500 Coupe, and the yard tourer hits all the right spots inside and out.
It's a powerful animate being with a naturally-aspirated V8 engine displacing 5 glorious litres for the convertible that pours down the road with 457hp on tap, with peak power coming in at a delightfully raucous vii,100 rpm.
Glorious really is the word to describe this magnificent drive. Response is instant and superb, and ability commitment seamless. Steering is perfectly-weighted; light and precise, cornering effortless, and the LC Convertible handles beautifully and crisply, even at loftier speeds with the top downwards.
There are four drive modes (ECO, Normal, Sport and Sport S+), and the century dash is done and dusted in an exhilarating iv.9 seconds – impressive and extremely agile given its heft (simply over two tonnes) – while the auto tin be pushed upward to a pinnacle speed of 270 km/h on the rail.
All in, the LC Convertible is an aggressive roadster that will really go pulses racing, turn heads, and fulfil GT ambitions with the wind in your pilus.
SOUNDTRACK FOR THE AGES
We like that the mindful blueprint even extends to calibrating the sound compages for the commuter's (and pedestrians) aural pleasance.
The multi-layered canvas roof, combined with sound insulation and assimilation techniques, is designed to block out unwanted racket and unpleasant sound frequencies, and continue the cabin equally free from outside noise as possible
But yous'd of course hear the patter of pelting more so than in a regular hardtop vehicle – a small sacrifice to pay for the awesomeness of owning a droptop.
Much attention is paid to designing your audio feel in the cabin whether the driving with the elevation downward or up. The transparent polycarbonate current of air deflector, for instance, helps suppress wind catamenia within the cabin, enabling you to better relish your favourite tracks through the 13-speaker Mark Levinson Reference Surround Sound System when the top is downwards.
The arrangement comprises an 11-channel amplifier and speakers embedded into the rear seat headrests that, altogether, work to replicate the precise sound stage that reproduces the position and depth of each instrument – though this might be an unnecessary luxury given that the back seats are unreasonably bolt upright that they're practically unusable unless yous're so super fun-sized y'all make Hobbits wait human. However useful for extra stowage though, given the wee 149-litre boot capacity.
And when the pinnacle is down, the organisation automatically adjusts the sound architecture in real-time to evangelize the audio quality you would enjoy with the roof closed in an endeavor to harmonise with the audio of the engine in an open up-air environment.
Now the fact that the V8 is naturally-aspirated – rather rare for new models coming onstream – is an added treat, equally information technology means it revs faster and growls louder than your everyday turbocharged engines.
So yous'll hear more than of that powerful roar enhanced by an frazzle valve and made even more sensual through a sound generator on the dash console when the tiptop is down.
TOUCH & Go
Remarkably absent-minded for a auto that costs a cool one-half-mil is a touchscreen (so basic at this stage and segment) function for its ten.3-inch digital display. Instead, yous have to operate it via a touchpad on the console below. It's kind of awkward, not as efficient and a tad old-fashioned.
Given the lack of touchscreen, what's nice though are the quick access buttons on the console for the media, radio and map, etc in lieu.
And here's that CD histrion over again (it was also present in the Lexus IS 300), reprising its role like comfort food for those afraid of being left behind in a earth subjugated by applied science.
READ> Why is the new Lexus IS withal equipped with a born CD and DVD player?
Well, at least the system tin can at present sync up with your smartphone via Android Auto and Apple tree CarPlay, too. Although you may huff and puff your way through trying to play your Spotify playlists via CarPlay because the connection gets sketchy and your music constantly gets disrupted whenever you're charging your phone using a cable.
Firstly, it's not a first for a Lexus (why haven't they stock-still information technology yet?) and secondly, it makes you wish even more that they had included a wireless charging feature on this model.
Things we were happy to come across, though: An always-useful Head-upwardly Display and, for kicks, a large, digital dial on the instrument panel that literally slides to the centre when yous push into Sport mode.
Enjoying the current of air in your pilus and the envy of onlookers for distraction, it's easy to forgive the touchy media controls in this cute, sexy animal sitting on 21-inch rims.
Lexus has certainly done a spectacular job with the LC Convertible and its blueprint solitary will become a long way in uplifting not just the lucky 1 behind the wheel but its passenger(s) and everyone it rolls by, too.
Equally Mori put it, "Blueprint can contribute to people's emotions and make them happy. If at that place'southward no design, everything is grayness and there's zippo interesting; no distinctiveness, no emotion."
Well, we can say this much: The LC Convertible certainly made this writer'due south life that much more interesting – for two first-class days, at to the lowest degree.
LEXUS LC 500 CONVERTIBLE SPECIFICATIONS
ENGINE: 4,969cc V8
Ability: 470hp at seven,100 rpm
TORQUE: 540 Nm at 4,800 rpm
Manual: ten-speed automatic with paddle shift
ACCELERATION (0-100km/h): 4.9 seconds
Acme SPEED: 270 km/h
FUEL CONSUMPTION: 12.7L/100km
PRICE: S$572,800 with COE
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