Over the years, there have been plenty of excellent Lexus cars. The hybrid RX was probably the first large SUV to deliver car-like fuel economy and it also looks quite sharp. The GS is also among the most appreciated cars Toyota has ever made. Just look at the thousands of people that love them and lavish them with attention. But there's something about all these these reliable, well built and affordable premium class cars that's missing. It's not tangible, it can't be bought or added. It a certain je ne sais quoi, a certain wakaranai if you will.
The automotive X factor is what makes every Porsche 911 cool, it's why all Russian drivers secretly wants a yobbish BMW X5 or Range Rover and why people will pay millions for rare motors. I will admit that in Japan, there are a few Toyotas that have Chemical X appeal (2000 GT, Hachiroku and the like), but outside the land of the rising sun, I struggle to find the illusive cool T or L.
Oh sure, the IS and GS have won quite a few dynamic comparisons and are selling very well. But saying the IS is better than an Audi A4 and thus cooler is like bragging about winning an office chair race.
However, Lexus did come tantalizingly close to making a cool car a couple of times. The LFA could have been perfect if they hadn't stuck a $375,000 price tag, admittedly justified by nerdishly awesome engineering. I know that saying a car isn't cool because it's expensive doesn't make any sense. But thing of it this way: Ferrari vs Lambo is a never ending discussion, Rolls-Royce vs Bentley… not so much. It's that Chemical X that drives your neurons into a frenzy, and the LFA doesn't have enough of it per $.
There's another close call for Lexus though. In 2006, several automotive publications reported Lexus was secretly working on a higher performance variant of the IS. When it came out, the IS F showed it had lot of things going for it, more than any upstart project ever, in fact. Strangely, it followed the same basic formula as the V8-powered BMW M3 that came out about the same time, so it couldn’t really shine like it was supposed to. It was a little too heavy, a little fake and unfortunately also had the wrong badge.
Now Lexus has a chance to get what nearly was their coolest car ever just right. I'm talking about the RC F Coupe, officially confirmed for the 2014 Detroit Auto Show. It's actually the only unrevealed car coming in the next 3 months that I'm excited about. You want to know why? For starters, it packs a 460-hp V8 and while it's not the downsized turbo motor everybody is offering, this makes the Japanese the rebels of the industry.
Unlike the IS F, the RC F will also have looks on its side. I’m a huge fan of LED lighting technology and Lexus has resigned a cool jewel-like cluster for this car. They also say their red paint is four layers deep and that’s the sort of detail that makes of breaks a performance coupe, it’s the Chemical X that’s been missing. I think not a lot of BMW of Mercedes cars look good in red, and that’s just down to German conservativeness. Am I alone on this?
This story needs an ending and I need to convince you that the RC F is the bee’s knees. How do I do that?! Hmmmm… it’s not easy, so I’m going to leave it to Lexus themselves. But think of it this way, the Japanese have always been good at making their own versions of European products. Most come out average, but some are just brilliant because they fix a lot of problems. This car is the Audi RS5, the Mercedes C63 AMG and BMW M3… only with Godzilla, Gundam robots, mount Fuji and sushi on top. It’s the Sony Walkman and the PSP. It might not change the world, but it will make it better.
Oh sure, the IS and GS have won quite a few dynamic comparisons and are selling very well. But saying the IS is better than an Audi A4 and thus cooler is like bragging about winning an office chair race.
However, Lexus did come tantalizingly close to making a cool car a couple of times. The LFA could have been perfect if they hadn't stuck a $375,000 price tag, admittedly justified by nerdishly awesome engineering. I know that saying a car isn't cool because it's expensive doesn't make any sense. But thing of it this way: Ferrari vs Lambo is a never ending discussion, Rolls-Royce vs Bentley… not so much. It's that Chemical X that drives your neurons into a frenzy, and the LFA doesn't have enough of it per $.
There's another close call for Lexus though. In 2006, several automotive publications reported Lexus was secretly working on a higher performance variant of the IS. When it came out, the IS F showed it had lot of things going for it, more than any upstart project ever, in fact. Strangely, it followed the same basic formula as the V8-powered BMW M3 that came out about the same time, so it couldn’t really shine like it was supposed to. It was a little too heavy, a little fake and unfortunately also had the wrong badge.
Now Lexus has a chance to get what nearly was their coolest car ever just right. I'm talking about the RC F Coupe, officially confirmed for the 2014 Detroit Auto Show. It's actually the only unrevealed car coming in the next 3 months that I'm excited about. You want to know why? For starters, it packs a 460-hp V8 and while it's not the downsized turbo motor everybody is offering, this makes the Japanese the rebels of the industry.
Unlike the IS F, the RC F will also have looks on its side. I’m a huge fan of LED lighting technology and Lexus has resigned a cool jewel-like cluster for this car. They also say their red paint is four layers deep and that’s the sort of detail that makes of breaks a performance coupe, it’s the Chemical X that’s been missing. I think not a lot of BMW of Mercedes cars look good in red, and that’s just down to German conservativeness. Am I alone on this?
This story needs an ending and I need to convince you that the RC F is the bee’s knees. How do I do that?! Hmmmm… it’s not easy, so I’m going to leave it to Lexus themselves. But think of it this way, the Japanese have always been good at making their own versions of European products. Most come out average, but some are just brilliant because they fix a lot of problems. This car is the Audi RS5, the Mercedes C63 AMG and BMW M3… only with Godzilla, Gundam robots, mount Fuji and sushi on top. It’s the Sony Walkman and the PSP. It might not change the world, but it will make it better.
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