Back on December 27th, the Club F Facebook page posted a small section of the January 2014 issue of Best Car Japan featuring what looks to be a product correct RC F. I was able to grab a copy of this exact magazine and was able to take a closer look at the published photos. Upon closer inspection, the blue RC F depicted in the photos are a heavily photoshopped version of the red RC 300h at the Tokyo Motor Show floor. The rear 3/4 shot of the car clearly shows the cartoonish looking tail lamps taken from the 4th Generation GS and the rear valance and signature F staggered quad tailpipes are a bit unfinished. If you look closely at the rear 3/4 view of the car, you can see a BMW logo reflection which was the neighboring stand to Lexus at that moment. I wasn’t able to find the exact photos that were used for the rendering but I found some similar RC 300h photos taken at the Tokyo Motor Show. Nice try but you can’t fool me. Check it out:
Since the focus was on the apparent “leak”, the other important tidbits were blurred out. According to Best Car, this new “F” model is rumored to share the 2UR-GSE 5.0L V8 from the IS F, but may have 454 ps @6600rpm (450 hp), an increase of about 34 hp from the previous. Torque rating of 52.0 kg m @5000 rpm (376 ft/lb) torque, a small increase of 5 ft/lb. The stats also say an 8AT will be utilized, my guess is a carry over version of the Aisin AA80E, but hopefully with more engagement like the 3rd Generation IS 350 with G-AI (G-Force w/Artificial Intelligence) and dynamic rev matching like in the Toyota 86/Scion FR-S. The stats also say that the RC F will be longer, and wider than the RC by 5mm but it will sit lower than the regular RC by 5mm. Wheelbase for both the RC F and RC stays the same at 2730mm.
Now for the regular RC, it will be offered with carry over powertrains from the 2014 IS but finally a power increase for the first time in the engine’s 8+ year existence. RC 350 will feature the trusty 2GR-FSE 3.5L V6 mated to the 8AT but will now have 318 ps @ 6400 rpm (314 hp) and 38.7 kg m @ 6400 rpm (280 ft/lb) torque, that’s a very conservative 8 hp increase and 3 ft/lb torque increase. The RC 300h will have the 2AR-FSE 2.5L I4 hybrid mated to a CVT. Hopefully the CVT will feature simulated shift points like in the updated 2014 GS 450h.
The new RC and RC F will be going head to head with the new BMW 4 series and recently announced M4 which will give this sporty coupe segment some great competition. It’s been a long time coming for Lexus it will finally fill a void we’ve all been waiting for. Now will this new Lexus RC finally satisfy our hunger for a coupé? We’ll have to wait and see!
Magazine: Best Car Japan 1/2014
RC 300h photos: Morio/Wikipedia
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