This Lexus coupe prototype has been caught on film about a week ago, while it was undergoing testing the Nurburgring. It's significant for two reasons: because it's a brand new nameplate for Lexus, the "RC", and secondly because it's their first performance model in a long time.
The RC F is a coupe model that will directly rival the BWM M4 coupe. It's been rumored that the Japanese don't want to use a big V8 any more and will find another solution but guess what – the prototype sounds like a V8.
That's because Lexus doesn't do turbos, and making an affordable performance hybrid would have been tricky. Expect the engine to be the familiar 5-liter V8 tuned to produce 460 hp.
The other thing we leaned from the clip is that the shifts are long, like on an automatic. This means the car is likely equipped with the 8-Speed Sport Direct Shift. This was first developed of the IS F and later dropped into the rear-drive 2014 IS 350. It's a decent gearbox, but maybe a little off the pace from what BMW has planned for the M4.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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