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Lexus reportedly working on two different successors to the LFA

The successor to the Lexus LFA is beginning to take shape — in unofficial rumors, at least. The firm's next supercar will reportedly make its debut in the coming years with a V8 under the hood, and it will be followed by a battery-electric model due out at the turn of the decade. Citing anonymous inside sources, Japanese magazine Best Car wrote that the long-awaited car that will take the torch from the limited-edition LFA will land in showrooms in 2025. As we've previously reported, it will be powered by a gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain built around a mysterious 4.0-liter V8 engine fitted with two turbochargers. The publication adds that the coupe, whose name hasn't been confirmed, will be launched as a regular-production model and that it will be built on a version of Toyota's TNGA-L platform. This is the same architecture found under the LC and the LS, among models, and using these foundations should allow Lexus to keep the car's cost in check. Engineers could peg the hybrid system's total output at around 700 horsepower, and Best Car reports that the car's front end will borrow styling cues from the Electrified Sport concept (pictured) introduced in December 2021. If the report is accurate, sales will start in 2025. Speaking of which, the Electrified Sport will make its debut with a battery-electric powertrain in 2030 at the earliest. Its design will evolve over the next eight-plus years; it sounds like what we saw in December 2021 more accurately previewed the hybrid supercar than the electric one. It could hit 60 mph from a stop in under 2 seconds, and it could offer a maximum driving range of over 430 miles. Interestingly, the same report points out that the Electrified Sport might use solid-state batteries. That technology's not ready, but Lexus has plenty of time to fine-tune it. Toyota GR GT3 Concept View 8 Photos On the Toyota side of the family tree, the GR GT3 concept unveiled in January 2022 is allegedly on its way to production (in one form or another) as well. It will initially spawn a race car built to GT3 specifications, as its name implies, and it will benefit from the lessons that engineers learned while designing a road-going, Le Mans-inspired hypercar that Toyota consigned to the automotive attic in August 2021. Whether the GR GT3 will be related to the LFA's successor is up in the air, though it doesn't take a significant stretch of the imagination to speculate that some parts will be shared.

2021 Lexus LC 500 Convertible gets an $8K base price increase

When the 2021 Lexus LC 500 Convertible arrives in dealers this summer, it will carry a price tag starting at $102,025, including the $1,025 destination charge. That's $8,050 more than the base 2021 LC 500 Coupe.  As we learned when the droptop LC was revealed at the L.A. Auto Show last year, Lexus did more than simply saw off the roof. Engineers improved chassis rigidity by adding, reshaping and/or relocating structural braces, including the rear suspension brace tower. To counter this, weight is reduced at the rear by using a die-cast aluminum suspension brace, and a unique dampener is used to ensure comparable ride quality as the coupe. Unsprung weight at the front suspension was also reduced. In total, only 217 total pounds were added for the convertible over the 2019 LC 500 coupe. The new soft-top has four layers, and Lexus says its fabric was selected to make sure that it would stay tight and prevent wrinkling. Excellent sound insulation is promised, but Active Noise Control is also employed, whether the roof is raised or lowered, to further suppress noise. The roof is lowered in 15 seconds and raised in 16. A rigid tonneau cover is employed when the roof is lowered. Design changes for the convertible include a trunk lip that's been raised slightly and widened. The center brake light is integrated into it ͖ it's normally above the back window. The beltline and rear molding were also reshaped to suppress wind, while a transparent plastic wind deflector is integrated neatly behind the back seat. Should that not sufficiently keep the chill out, an available neck-level heater has been added to the seats similar to what you'd find in various Mercedes convertibles.  Other feature updates include the addition of Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Amazon Alexa connectivity, but the LC's version of Remote Touch does not get the RX's touchscreen functionality.  Now, should you really be digging the Structural Blue paint job pictured here, along with the very Santorini-like complementary white interior, know that it's exclusive to the Inspiration Series. It'll be restricted to only 100 units and costs $18,800. Besides the unique paint and interior, the LC's other options are included along with a two-piece set of Zero Halliburton Pursuit Aluminum luggage designed specially for Lexus. Swank.

2020 Lexus GS F Review & Video | Looking past the numbers

You don't hear much about the 2020 Lexus GS F. It's been out for a while now, the model having debuted for 2016 and the base GS sedan stretching all the way back to 2012. That's an awful lot of time for the automotive world to whiz by, especially in the upper echelon of performance sedans. Packing 467 horsepower is suddenly weak sauce when rivals have crested the 600-hp plateau. The fact that Lexus still hasn't convinced the automotive enthusiast community at large that it actually makes compelling performance machines certainly doesn't help.  To be perfectly honest, I have avoided testing the GS F for several years now. "Who's going to buy that?" I've pondered, considering all of the above plus its $85,000 price tag. Nevertheless, I've got more time on my hands these days to test more cars and a Lexus Flare Yellow paint job is impossible to ignore, so hey, why not? Well, after a week, I didn't want to turn over the keys. When faced with first-world automotive journalist problem of picking between the the Flare Yellow GS F and the BMW M340i also parked out front, I quickly chose the Lexus. And if I had $85,000 to spend on a high-powered luxury sedan, I honestly think I'd happily choose it over the Germans that outdo it on paper. Many of you will think that stupid and will point to the numbers at hand. The GS F's 5.0-liter V8 sends 467 hp and 389 pound-feet of torque to the rear wheels only, and is capable of a 0-60 run of 4.5 seconds. A BMW M5 has 600 hp and hits 60 in 3.2 seconds; the lesser M550i has 523 hp and a 3.6-second time. That M340i xDrive also in my driveway? It hits 60 in 4.1. Over at Mercedes-AMG, the E 63 has 603 hp and a 3.3-second time. Only the lesser E 53 is comparable to the Lexus with 429 hp and a 4.4-second 0-60 time. Its torque is also comparable, unlike the rest of those Germanic monsters that utterly roast the Lexus. However, all of that extra output and all of those quicker times are also indicative of the very reason the GS F remains so desirable. It doesn't have a turbocharger, ensuring unencumbered response, a zesty 7,800-rpm redline and marvelous noises that don't require the sound enhancement feature Lexus throws in anyway (and that I turned off). It also doesn't require all-wheel drive to quell elephantine gobs of tire-shredding turbocharged torque, thereby letting the front wheels simply handle the steering. The rears, meanwhile, can smoke away and swing loose should you disable the appropriate settings to do so.