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It’s preposterous, wildly excessive, unaffordable, somewhat overt, impractical, and it just says to the boss’s secretary: Get in, lube up, Palazzo Versace. That’s just the top five reasons why I love the LC500.
These strut towers are works of art. Hand carved by Takumi ninjas from unobtainium alloy. When I take over the world and move into Dr Evil’s office - I’m going to have a stack of these just to the left of the big trapdoor over the shark tank. [LOOKS AT ENGINE] And the 5.0-litre V8’s not bad either...
So - if you ever get the chance to test drive the LC - head for a tunnel, crank down the windows and give it a real squirt. It’s just brilliant. There are three drive modes - dominatrix, De Sade and Gitmo. Do it in ‘Gitmo’ - for the full aural rush.
Lexus actually calls those modes ‘comfort’ (counterintuitively) ‘Sport’ and ‘Sport+’. I’m sure they had a meeting about that.
To me, this is how a Mustang or a Camaro would feel if Ford and GM allowed its engineers to build them properly. This car feels rock-solid - and I’m quietly confident it’s going to feel that way in 100,000 kays, too. Squeaks and rattles would be such a big ‘no-no’ at strut-tower carving ninja head office back in Motomachi...
Of course, let us not forget the LC500 is twice the price of the Aussie-converted right-hand drive Camaro 2SS, and three times the price of a Mustang GT - so there’s that to consider. They are emphatically not direct financial competitors…
...but they are all members of a threatened species (the rear-drive atmo-V8 club). I know it’s heresy: Using the word ‘Lexus’ in the same breath as ‘Mustang’ or ‘Camaro’. I know the Lexus badge doesn’t have the tyre-shredding pedigree, but there’s no arguing this is built better…
… in fact, I’ll have a proper engineering assessment (meaning a ‘beer-garden physics’ assessment) of one aspect of that a little later in this report. [GoPro 7] And the drive is … it’s a precision, high-performance device. So, in that context it’s a luxury 2+2. But it’s not luxurious like an LS.
It’s harsh, on the spectrum of luxury, and in Sport+ it’s ever so slightly ‘yes, drill sergeant’. The primary driving ergonomics are terrific for a performance car. Really nice wheel, you’ve got great lateral restraint, so you don’t have to expend all that much effort keeping your delicate three-axis accelerometer oriented upright during heavy cornering - and that’s always nice.
This car is built on the GA-L platform. It stands for ‘Global Architecture - Luxury’. Lexus says it has the highest torsional stiffness of any Lexus ever made.
It certainly feels that way, too. Unlike a muscle car, this thing wants to turn - it’s gagging for it. And it’s glued to the road. Near perfect weight distribution (54:46). That’s something of an achievement for a front-engine car with a V8. Low polar moment of inertia too. It really wants to change direction. Admittedly this car has the $15,000 handling enhancement package with the carbon roof, four-wheel steering and variable ratio steering.
The 10-speed auto - also brilliant. Perfectly integrated with the engine. Knows exactly when to shift, using what Lexus says is kooky AI logic …
...which is not really the same thing as ‘paperclip maximiser’ AI, thankfully (you might have to look that up)…
...but it’s pretty good at picking what gear to be in, whenever. And the spacing between every gear and those adjacent is equal - and you hardly ever see that.
The paradox of cars like this (and don’t get me wrong; I do love it. It’s impossible not to) but the paradox is: If you own a car like this the chances are you can never even get close to the limit (unless of course you crash). It’s safe to assume you’re pretty close to the limit if you manage that...
Two reasons, right: One (obviously) - its limits are insanely high, meaning insanely higher than the driving ability of most people who ever own cars like this.
So you might be driving fast for you - but the car’s thinking ‘yawn - six out of 10, again’. And, reason two - driving near the limit of a car like this on a public road is unsafe, antisocial and a great way to put your licence in the shredder. And this is a pretty expensive (albeit enjoyable and aurally exciting) way to shred one’s licence.
2 авг 2019
