THE Performance PATH

1 0 0 PRESENTING 101 PRESENTING THE PERFORMANCE PATH THE LEXUS RC F IS MORE THAN A POWER macHINE— IT’S THE VANGUARD OF A YEARS-LONG PERFORMANCE-DESIGN SURGE TExT by KEvIN Watts 03 thing different altogether that, like the IS F, showcased high-tech design enhancements, along with the sleekness of a two-door body would eventually lead to the new RC F: the such as an enormous touchpad center con- and the LF-CC’s protruding spindle grille; it LFA supercar, itself the product of 10 years of sole. Not surprisingly, Lexus Chief of Design also holds the distinction of being the first intensive performance research. By the end of Takeshi Tanabe indicated that the LF-CC rep- completely new production model to come the LFA’s production run in 2012, Lexus had resented a “new era” of Lexus design. More with the spindle grille. banked some serious performance credibility, than that, though, the concept was shaped And there are, of course, signs of the LFA and began applying supercar attributes to with the confidence that comes with experi- as well—the RC F will be offered with carbon new concepts and models. ence—it almost screamed that something fiber parts built using a similar process, and Enter the LF-CC, or Lexus Future Con- new was coming to the production line, which the single-dial instrument panel and active cept Coupe, in 2012, a vehicle whose fla- arrived first in the form of the Lexus RC. rear spoiler (which helps hold the vehicle to vor directly hinted at the two new vehicle When the RC F arrived soon after, though, the ground at speeds above 50 mph) also pay designs that would become the RC and RC F. it was clear that Chief Engineer Yaguchi—the homage to the Lexus supercar. By this time, a new Lexus design move- very same mind that brought us the first IS F Although the Lexus IS F, LFA and LF-CC ment was in full swing, with nearly every 10 years ago—had taken both the best of Lex- all form part of the RC F’s DNA, Yaguchi model adopting more expressive styling and us’s IS F performance thinking (the RC F draws designed the RC F to stand on its own and a spindle grille that debuted with the launch from his previous creation with its bulging influence future models. It’s the future of of the fourth-generation GS in 2012. Even hood and swooping fender vents) and the for- Lexus performance, the purest form of the so, there was something different about the ward-thinking LF-CC aerodynamics. Like the new Lexus design language and the next LF-CC. The design was bolder, and the interior 01 LF-CC, the RC F sports enormous air intakes, chapter in Lexus’s ongoing reinvention. 04 Two months after the Lexus RC coupe’s debut had set his sights on a new challenge: create at the Tokyo Motor Show, Lexus introduced a high-performance Lexus sports sedan that the latest addition to its F performance line, could compete. the RC F, a distinctive high-octane version of With a small team and a limited budget, the vehicle. It’s a car, in the words of its chief Yaguchi-san set to work modifying the exist- engineer, “that’s made for the track.” ing IS sports sedan into something much Despite its implied adrenaline-charging more potent, replacing the powertrain and sensibilities, though, the Lexus RC F isn’t reworking the body until it breathed fire. simply a super-powered version of the RC To set the model apart from the rest of the 02 coupe. Rather, it’s a significant milestone lineup, Lexus created the F series, a special The new RC F (01) is the latest expression of Lexus’s ongoing in the ongoing Lexus design language—the designation that emphasized performance performance-design direc- latest thrust of Lexus’s ongoing commit- above all else. Lexus gave the F series its own tion, carrying the F series logo ment to premium performance design. logo, stylized to resemble one of the cor- introduced by Chief Engineer It’s also a story years in the making, and ners at the world-famous Fuji Speedway yaguchi (02) Conceptually, the it begins, in part, with a secret project that in Japan, and Lexus named this new sedan RC F, like its non-F-series RC began 10 years ago. the IS F—Lexus’s first high-performance cousin, comes from the Lexus LF-CC (03) , although the RC F’s Back in 2004, after a career spent working production vehicle. back end (04) will offer an active on the first and second Lexus LS, and the first From that point, and on a separate per- rear spoiler that draws from the Lexus GS, Chief Engineer Yukihiko Yaguchi formance-design track, Lexus unveiled some- Lexus LFa supercar.

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