The last time Lexus made an ultra-powerful sports coupe its stratospheric price tag was close to $400,000 and its availability

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very limited. The 2012 LFA should more accurately be categorized as a supercar than a sports coupe, yet many of the highly coveted model’s design cues and technologies can be seen in Lexus’ latest super-coupe, the much more affordable RC F, which to some may look more appealing and dare I say even drive better than the LFA.

The RC F bowed to much enthusiasm at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit last year, but now that it’s out here on the street it seems that past praise didn’t do it full justice. This rakish two-door looks even better next to its competition than it did on the rotating show stand. Lexus took everything we already loved about the long, low, wide-track RC 350, accentuated it, muscled it up,

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optionally layered on carbon-fibre outside and within, upgraded an already beautifully executed cabin with an exclusive colour scheme, higher end materials and every feature they could throw at it before shoehorning a 467 horsepower 5.0-litre V8 behind its spindle grille and an ultra performance-tweaked Sports Direct Shift eight-speed automatic transmission below the console, and by doing so made the RC F one of the more formidable sports coupes in its class. Our love has turned to infatuation mixed with deep respect, not to mention raw passion.

A wider and deeper grille surrounded in dark chrome nickel trim with squiggly black mesh inserts, massive brake ducts with the same mesh inserts, triangularly stacked rectangular LED headlamps, a reverse hood scoop set within a domed hood,

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gorgeous intricately designed 19-inch multi-spoke rims on 255/35ZR19 Michelin rubber, reverse L-shaped engine vents flowing off the front fenders, twin-stacked tailpipes at each rear corner set within a working diffuser finished in gorgeous gloss black paint, all topped off with an optional carbon-fibre roof and automatically deployable carbon-fibre rear wing (the four-link active rear wing, incidentally adopted from the LFA, is standard, with just the carbon upgrade being optional), while the cabin of my tester was dowsed in lightweight CFRP too, particularly the dash trim and door window switch surrounds.

Lexus has included additional interior trim elements such as real aluminum along the door panels and around the speakers, leather and suede door inserts with blue and white stitching to match the brilliantly comfortable and ultimately supportive blue

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and black perforated sport seats with contrast stitching, not to mention a perforated leather steering wheel plus shift knob and boot, both done out in the same blue and white stitched detailing while Alcantara suede covers all three front armrests. There’s even upward casting ambient illumination with light diffusion bars to make everything look even prettier at night. Interior design, materials quality, refinement, fit, finish and features are arguably best in class and certainly more interesting to look at than anything the Germans offer. The LS might be Lexus’ flagship, but this RC F is now the brand’s heart and soul.

Yes, this is an important car for Lexus, possibly the most significant new model the luxury brand has launched since the first LS arrived way back in 1989 (ok, the ’97

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RX might get that title on sales alone, but you’ll understand why the RC F matters so much in a moment). The LS was a brilliantly executed luxury sedan followed by many more superbly comfortable and amply capable cars, crossovers and SUVs, but the LS and subsequent models that have made Lexus a top-selling premium brand for decades have also defined it as a luxury marque first and foremost. While the RC F won’t come close to the numbers the new NX or best-selling RX will achieve this year (2,553 and 3,171 YTD respectively for 2015), with Lexus Canada only targeting 100 examples compared to about 1,000 for regular RC 350 variants, it fills the critical role of seconding the motion first made by the 2008 through 2012 IS F sport sedan, showing everyone that Lexus’ first foray into mass-market performance wasn’t just a one-off exercise. Along with the upcoming

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2016 GS F, this year’s RC F leaves no question that Lexus is just as serious about performance as it is about luxury, while going far to cement the “F” sub-brand into our collective cerebral cortex in the same manner as M, AMG and RS have become synonymous with “affordable” performance from BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi.

This said Lexus aligns with Mercedes and Audi while leaving BMW out on its own when it comes to the powertrain. Behind the RC F’s gaping spindle grille and under the car’s bulging raised hood lies a naturally aspirated V8, just like its Stuttgart and Ingolstadt rivals, whereas the Munich-based contender has eschewed sonorous V8 propulsion for a more guttural turbocharged I-6. They all sound fabulous, but alas the Bimmer is more NASCAR than F1 these days, while the three V8s offer up distinctive V8 growls all their own, both from behind as they

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race past and from within the cockpit. The RC F’s note, enhanced by Active Sound Control in similar fashion to how BMW adds excitement inside the cockpit of its latest M cars, is at least as adrenaline inducing as the rest of this go-fast pack, Lexus holding nothing back in its new relentless pursuit of performance.

Compared to the car this RC F will likely be compared to most often, the M4 responds slightly quicker to throttle input due to slightly more torque available way lower down the rev range, which is normal for a turbocharged powerplant. Still, at 4.5 seconds to 100 km/h the RC F is almost as quick off the line and sounds a lot better when you get on the power, while maintaining its glorious song all the way up to and slightly past its 7,300 rpm redline, a pulse-quickening process you can be enjoyed at least seven times on the RC F’s way to an electronically

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limited top speed of 270 km/h (or so I’m told). This seat of the pants G-force surreality combined with blurred scenery rushing past each side window and the rapidity at which the roadway ahead approaches is all-consuming, yet all the while a brilliant LFA-inspired primary gauge package helps keep brain in charge of eager right foot so your fun behind the wheel doesn’t become too expensive.

The driver selectable and programmable “LFA Full TFT instrument cluster” is filled to the brim with colourfully animated info that will either provide every kernel of granular information required to fulfill your voracious technical appetite or leave you dumbfounded in electronic overwhelm. But don’t let it get the best of you, as given a little time you’ll likely find it provides all the basics in an highly legible set-it-and-forget-it

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format. Along with the usual speedometer and tachometer it also tracks torque distribution, rear wing position, plus G force and lap time info, although my “lap” up a local mountain road (and additional lopes throughout Vancouver and various suburbs) wouldn’t allow use of this particular feature.

The RC F’s 389 lb-ft of tarmac blackening torque makes itself immediately known upon takeoff and really comes to form as revs rise to 4,800 rpm where it makes peak twist, all power routed to the rear wheels as most will agree is best scenario for a high-powered super-coupe. Certainly Audi makes a case for all-wheel drive with its Quattro-equipped RS 5 Coupe, but BMW’s M division and Mercedes-Benz’ AMG department could make their respective M4 and C 63 AMG all-wheel drive if they wanted to (pretty well every other model in their respective lineups are propelled by four wheels), but choose not to due to the performance advantages of

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rear-drive. Lexus does likewise and the result is a car that feels every bit as buttoned down as the aforementioned Germans, its canyon carving capability otherworldly with an absolutely unshakable resistance to plowing off its chosen course. Yes, no matter how hard I pushed the RC F it wouldn’t dare understeer, yet while stuck to its lane with the adherence of a barnacle to a boat hull it could easily be pushed into oversteer in its sportiest driver selectable mode.

As noted Lexus has taken a straightforward stance on the naturally aspirated engine and conventional drivetrain layout, but the engine utilizes some innovative technologies

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to maximize fuel economy and transmission incorporates a sophisticated assortment of electronic wizardry to enhance performance. Despite making considerably more power than the outgoing IS F’s 416-horsepower V8, the RC F’s engine uses less fuel by borrowing some hybrid mechanicals utilized in Lexus’ (and Toyota’s) range of HEVs, particularly fuel-saving Atkinson-cycle technology that in the new 5.0-litre V8 switches on automatically under light loads. Additionally, Eco-mode, which I used a lot while mired in the clogged bogs of city traffic, automatically shuts the engine down when it would otherwise be idling, another bit of hybrid kit that contributes to the RC F’s 15.2 L/100km city, 9.5 highway and 12.6 combined fuel economy rating.

Eco-mode comes as part of Lexus’ standard Drive Mode Select system, which also includes

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Normal, Sport S and Sport S+ modes. Depending where you set it a number of electronically governed systems are affected, from throttle response to shift points, etcetera. You also get the choice of automated or manual modes, a normal option for an automatic-equipped car in this class, but if you’ve spent the extra coin for the Performance Package a TVD button sits next to the Sport VDIM (Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management) off and Snow mode switches on the lower console, TVD an abbreviation for the electronic Torque Vectoring Differential system (which replaces the standard Torsen limited slip diff) that allows you to choose Standard, Slalom (think autocross) and Track settings, all of which can be altered further via the aforementioned Drive Mode Select settings. TVD apportions twist to the rear wheel with the best grip whether under power or not ¬- a world’s first for a front engine rear drive vehicle, incidentally.

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When TVD and S+ mode are simultaneously employed the stability and traction control systems get shut down with only torque vectoring keeping the rear wheels in check – yippee ki-yay!

A bit more on the gearbox: it includes a torque converter that fully locks in every forward gear except first when driven in manual mode, and while most will want to flick the paddles in order to take control of the 5.0-litre fire breathing beast ahead of the firewall it’s actually way more interesting if you leave this sophisticated transmission to its own devices. It uses something called AI-Shift control (yes, AI referring to artificial intelligence) that senses a number of parameters including G sensor info in order to downshift automatically with perfect rev-matched intervals during braking, the quickness of which is dependent on how hard you get on the binders. Additionally it’ll automatically find the ideal gear

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when ramping up speed and does so at incredibly fast increments, plus will hold the correct gear through the corners. This just might be the best automatic transmission ever offered on the open market, and one that might make you very glad a traditional manual gearbox was never on the menu.

By the way, when you turn off the Sport VDIM system a “hidden” Expert mode shuts down the car’s stability and traction control system and thus lets you drift to your heart’s content, only interfering with your fun when the fun stops and an immanent spin is detected. Expert mode also adjusts the ABS so the engine doesn’t retard its spark when all four wheels leave the ground after hitting the curbs a bit too hard on the track, so that you can accelerate immediately upon landing or alternatively get hard on the big fade-immune Brembo brakes without the

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ABS going into pulsating convulsions (possibly Lexus should consider renaming the high flying RC F, RCAF). Word has it there’s another hidden setting that disables all electronic safety features, but it’s only used in-house by Lexus for R&D work and therefore the process to unleash it isn’t available to customers let alone dealers.

That Performance Package upgrade I mentioned a moment ago doesn’t only get you TVD, but also comes with those 19-inch forged multi-spoke alloy wheels I spoke of before and all that premium carbon-fibre kit. The addition of CFRP on the roof deletes the glass sunroof, mind you, but I’m going to guess that anyone willing to spend $7,400 to reduce the weight of their car while adding track-oriented performance tech will also want to lower its centre of gravity.

That’s

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the only optional package you can get, incidentally, the base RC F amply fortified with features for its $81,650 price tag (plus $2,045 for freight and pre-delivery prep of course). The standard equipment list is long, a shortlist including automatic LED headlamps with auto high-beam, proximity access with pushbutton ignition, auto-dimming rearview and side mirrors, a heatable and powered tilt and telescopic multifunction leather-wrapped steering wheel, leather covered eight-way powered, heatable and ventilated front seats with driver’s memory, seven-inch infotainment with navigation, a backup camera, 17-speaker Mark Levinson audio (that sounded brilliant) and a fabulous new touch-sensitive Remote Touch Interface that controls it all, plus dynamic cruise control, automated parking, blind spot monitoring, lane departure alert with rear cross traffic alert, lane change assist, pre-collision system, a full assortment of airbags with front knee blockers, front knee blockers, 2+2 seating, a usable rear trunk with a handy centre pass-through and so much more.

Of

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course, what makes the RC F so special isn’t this list of components but rather the sum of its combined parts. The car has a soul that feels totally alive, something I’ve never experienced so fully in a Lexus before. More so, it’s a car you can get a lot out of even if you’re not an expert, the RC F making good drivers great and great drivers superb. Follow the crowd if you want to, or instead get something truly unique with technologies none of its competitors offer. I’m not going to say the RC F is the best GT on the market, but it’s certainly right up there at the top.
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