2021 Lexus LC500 Convertible Review
2021 Lexus LC500 C
MSRP: $101,100
Specs: 5.0 Liter V8 : 471 HP / 398 TQ
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Guy who did stuff: Yousef Alvi
The Lexus LC is a car that shouldn’t be here in this day and age…in its place should have been a large full size three row crossover. A vehicle that would have sold out in immediately, backordered until the end of time and sent their stock prices soaring.
But they didn’t. Lexus made a grand touring sports coupe in an era where no one buys grand touring sports coupe. So the other smart move would have been to partner up with another manufacturer to share a common platform and drivetrain (IE: BMW and the Supra) but they didn’t do that either. The LC is a Lexus vehicle through and through.
So what we have here is a six figure, low volume along with selling vehicle that will end up being a loss leader for the brand….
“...and thank you Lexus for being brave enough to produce it! This LC is a rolling wonder!”
Now this is where I would normally attempt to distill a vehicles attributes as succinctly as possible with a Great, Good, Bad and Ugly. But with the Lexus LC…I’m not going to. Why you ask?
Because, to reiterate once more, this is a vehicle that shouldn’t exist. For Lexus to produce a vehicle that they are going to lose money on…doesn’t make any sense. But they did so anyway and trying to nitpick a vehicle like this to death is disingenuous to say the least. Because I want MORE manufacturers to take a leap of automotive passion and produce vehicles like this…because it helps prove to the world that they are passionate about automobiles and not after the bottom line!
“Oh sure, I could nitpick this to death BUT to do so feels wrong. It is wrong. Because I want MORE manufactures to follow their hearts and produce vehicles like this LC. Why? So they can prove to the world they care about cars and not just their bottom line”
In a world dominated by numbers, as with every Lexus vehicle, the numbers do not do it justice. There is not an insane horsepower figure to get your attention, there is not a Nurburgring time to wallop a Porsche into submission and there is not a stratospheric price tag to make your eyes water. The LC is about style, feel and effortless driving enjoyment.
The Lexus LC is a vehicle that is more rolling modern art than anything else on the road today. It’s a vehicle that causes you to stop, stare and admire. It’s full of minute details, like the best looking set of tail lights ever fitted to a vehicle to the raw carbon fiber found on the inside of the doors. Taking the top off only elevates that experience from the way the rear deck appears to your eyes to the way the windshield as that perfect rake to it…the LC500 Convertible is a vehicle that you just plain enjoy looking at!
Then stepping inside you a greated with not just an interior…but quite possibly the best interior ever fitted to a Japanese vehicle! It feels bespoke. It feels special. It feels fantastic, rich and superbly well made. In the LC500 C, it only highlights the interior’s craftsmanship with the sun’s rays caressing every immaculate surface for you to appreciate.
With the top down as well you can fully enjoy the beauty, wonder and aural experience that is the 5.0 Liter V8. In a world full of fake exhaust sounds and nothing else….the LC is fills the air with actual induction along with exhaust noise that sounds like nothing else on the road today. Sonorous, visceral and harmonic…the V8 hits all of your senses at once with a envelopment that only a convertible can deliver.
Adding all of those factors together and if you are wanting a comparison to something…the LC500 is the Thinking Man’s Aston Martin DB11 (V8)** They are both gorgeous looking grand touring vehicles and both are vehicles that greater than the sum of their parts. Of course each has their own merits but the Lexus LC500 has a better interior, build quality, ride, comfort and is cheaper to boot.
So needless to say at this point…I’m a fan and I love the LC500!
**(disclaimer: not ragging on Aston Martin. I’m the guy that has Aston Martin memoriable all over the place and on a monthly basis thinks about selling a kidney for a 2007 DBS).
