August 29, 2016
Lexus has always been known to be a great luxury car brand. They have offered vehicles that are as luxurious as their German counterparts while also providing the reliability of the Toyota brand. In the past few years Lexus has entered the sports car market, introducing vehicles that are great for both everyday driving as well as the track. In 2010, Lexus proudly introduced the LFA which was their first ever supercar. Starting off at $375,000, the LFA is not an easy vehicle to purchase. They only produced 500 vehicles and released 20 a month. Even leasing the vehicle costs about $12,000 a month with a $60,000 deposit and a rigorous background check. Weighing only 3,200 lbs, this car is equipped with a powerful naturally aspirated 4.8L V10 engine which produces 553 horsepower allowing the LFA to run 0-60 in just 3.7 seconds. A few years after the LFA was released, Lexus introduced the RC which replaced the old SC coupe and now starts off at $39,000. This vehicle is sporty as well as comfortable, offering seating space for up to 4 people. The interior is as luxurious as any other Lexus and when you are behind the wheel it is a joy to drive. The base model comes with a turbocharged 2.0L 4-cylinder engine which gets up to 32 mpg on the highway. Lexus also offers the 350 F sport model which is powered by a 5.0L V8 engine which produces up to 467 horsepower allowing it to have a 0-60 time of just 4.4 seconds. This puts the RC F-type in the same class as the AMG and M class vehicles from Mercedes and BMW. Recently, Lexus announced that they will be producing the LC 500 which will cost right around $100,000. This car will have two engine options, one of which will be the same 5.0L V8 which is offered in the RC type F and other one will be a hybrid. Lexus aims to target the low six figure car market with this LC 500 and compete with cars such as the Mercedes S-Class, Jaguar Type- F and BMW 6-series coupe. With the success of their RC Type-F and LFA vehicles, there have been talks of Lexus and BMW working together to come out with a new high-end sports car in the near future. Known for their luxury vehicles, Lexus was not expected to hit the luxury sports car market so hard. With a supercar and sports car that is already popular among car enthusiasts, the new LC 500 brings them one step closer to staying in the high-end sports car market.