No Concept
February 3, 2026
Alex KiersteinPerformance isn’t difficult to achieve, but specialness is. The Lexus LC was special.
Driving a few hundred cars in the last decade or so has brought one truth up to the surface for me: special cars are rare. There are lots of competent cars. Performance is abundant. And many cars, which aren’t quite special, are extremely good. I still think about the Honda Civic Sport hatchback I had with the manual sometimes; I liked it better than the Si for some subtle and subjective reasons.
The Lexus LC, which will soon cease production, was special.
I think the main reason for this is that Toyota didn’t set out to make the LC particularly superlative in any attribute except specialness. It was not a performance-above-all-else machine. The 5.0-liter, naturally aspirated V8 version’s 471 hp is objectively decent, but the LC 500 is heavy: 4,300 pounds. Adequacy is a dirty word, like centrism, but the 2UR-GSE is more than adequate. Its character perfectly suits the car. It’s a purists’ engine, and the LC 500 certainly wasn’t slow.
As for the LC 500h, let’s just say the overly complex powertrain didn’t substantially ruin the LC experience, but it also didn’t add to it. I can appreciate the ambition—in fact, the LC’s other charms would have supported something even more ambitious—but it requires some suspension of disbelief during driving. Moments that pull you out of the experience.
Experience is actually a good word for the LC overall, but divorce it from the marketing-speak conception of “experience.” Think of it instead as elevating the act of driving into an experience. That requires committing to the bit, which the LC did, particularly aesthetically. It translated a very European idea of grand touring with an attention to detail, harmony of shape and aesthetic, that Aston Martin couldn’t dream of.
The lasting first impression for me wasn’t the shape, but the way the door cards flowed into the dash and wrapped around the occupants. The sort of thing we were told for years were concept car flourishes to be toned down for production. Very little of the LC was toned down at all, it was all full-strength, to its credit. And that made it special.
Lexus has put it out there that LC production will wrap in August 2026, after a solid eight-year run. Lexus sold more than 15,000 of the things, making it a success in my mind for a halo car that was (as far as halo cars go) somewhat attainable. And may remain so in the market, perhaps, taking up for this era that admirable place that the Mercedes R129-generation SL had for a long time. A good value for a great car, that is to say.
One response to “No Concept”
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After i sold my ’06 Ford GT in 2024, I ordered a ’24 Lexus LC500 coupe as I wanted more of a real GT car that was easy to get in and out of and delivered solid performance, a commanding exhaust note, and Lexus quality. It took longer than six months to build it based on the batch-building of LC500s. I wanted a black interior with red exterior and most of the red cars were being built with camel/tan /saddle interiors. I had to wait until that combination was being built. It was worth waiting for. Superb GT car in every respect. Plus, styling and body lines of a true “concept” car.
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