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2016 Lexus RC 200t Quick Spin

Cars like the BMW 4 Series, Cadillac ATS coupe, and Audi A5 exist not as volume cars, but as aspirational products designed to draw in the young and the young at heart. The humble four-cylinder turbo, offered in each car listed above, provides an accessible point of entry for lifestyle buyers that want the statement of a sporty coupe without the eagerness, fuel inefficiency, or cost of a big six-cylinder engine. Now, Lexus is throwing its hat in the ring with a turbocharged version of its polarizing RC coupe. We took the new RC 200t out for a day on the winding roads of the Pines to Palms Highway near Palm Springs, CA, and found that while Lexus' new engine will draw new customers, they probably won't like what they find. Driving Notes The RC joins the IS, GS, and NX as members of Lexus' four-cylinder turbo clan. There's 241 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque on offer here, numbers that compare favorably with the BMW 428i (240 hp and 260 lb-ft) and Audi A5 (220 hp and 258 lb-ft). None of that matters, though, because the turbocharged RC is easily the slowest car in its class. You'll struggle to keep pace with stuff like the Hyundai Veloster Turbo. The RC 200t somehow takes 7.3 seconds to get to 60 miles per hour. That's a second slower than the A5, and over half a second slower than the 4 Series or Cadillac ATS. You can't drive a car that looks as wild as this and take that long to get to 60. Blame it on the RC's 3,737-pound weight. Lexus only saved 11 pounds by switching out a 3.5-liter V6 for the 2.0-liter turbo. The BMW and Cadillac both weigh well under 3,500 pounds. Even the RC's four-door fraternal twin, the IS 200t, is 150 pounds lighter (and only takes 6.9 seconds to get to 60). The RC needs a diet, plain and simple. If Lexus truly wants to compete against the Germans and Cadillac, a snappier transmission is in order. Like the GS we talked about yesterday, the Aisin eight-speed is fine on upshifts – it's still not as fast as the 4 Series' ZF eight-speed auto – but it suffers when it's time to change down. Around town, it's less of a problem, but on the twisty mountain roads outside of Palm Springs and on the freeways, the RC's gearbox kept tripping over itself. We'd love to see what the 2.0-liter turbo engine could do in a lighter car, because it's a real charmer. The broad 1,650-to-4,400-rpm torque peak gives drivers a lot of space to play, although the RC does feel flat-footed as you crest 5,000 rpm.

2019 Lexus ES is first mass-produced car to replace side mirrors with cameras

Concept cars have been trying to replace side mirrors with cameras for decades, and now Lexus is actually going to do it on a production car. There's one important caveat though: It's only for Japan. First implemented for the recently redesigned (and recently reviewed) 2019 Lexus ES, the side mirrors are being replaced with small, aerodynamic camera stalks. Those small cameras tucked into the stalks provide a constant video feed to five-inch screens placed at the base of the car's A-pillars. The biggest reason manufacturers are pushing this kind of tech is to improve aerodynamics. Swapping those side mirrors out for something much smaller creates less drag, and ultimately, better fuel economy. Lexus says there are a couple other advantages for going digital here too. For one, the camera modules are able to resist the accumulation of raindrops and snow due to their design. There's also less wind noise since the mirrors cut through the air so well. This will become even more important as silent electric cars trickle their way onto the market. The actual visibility is supposed to be better as well. Lexus says that the view is "enhanced" when you activate a turn signal, and helps provide better rearward vision when put into reverse — think Honda LaneWatch, but way cooler. We won't be seeing this futuristic-looking side mirror technology in the U.S. for some time, because it's still not legal here. The technology is legal to use in Europe, but Lexus says it'll only be offered in Japan for the time being. Audi, though, will be bringing its side camera mirror technology to Europe by the end of the year with the E-Tron. There's still no release date on the electric SUV, but it might be the first to market with the tech on that continent. Audi wants to bring side mirror camera technology to the U.S. in its E-Tron, but the regulations still need to be changed to allow that here - the E-Tron is expected to be for sale in the U.S. sometime in 2019. Buyers in Japan will be able to scoop a Lexus ES with the tech this October. Related Video:  

Lexus RC F is a predatory sport coupe with a 450-horsepower beating heart

Take a look at that face. We can't be the only ones who see an automotive Predator staring back, right? Certainly, the Lexus RC F Coupe boasts a visually striking design that some are going to love and others are going to hate, but we can at least appreciate that it's aggressive, especially compared to the standard RC Coupe that we saw at the Tokyo Motor Show. And with good reason - there's a 5.0-liter V8 engine sitting under that massively domed hood with "more than 450 horsepower," along with a newly calibrated eight-speed automatic gearbox.
Interestingly, Lexus has tuned the RC F's engine to run on an Atkinson cycle under most circumstances, while it switches to the more typical Otto cycle when more power is required, presumably using some sort of advanced variable valve timing technology. Helping put that power to the ground with all those ponies wreaking havoc underhood is a torque vectoring differential, a first from Lexus.
Also involved in keeping the RC F planted is an aero package that includes wings and ducts galore. The headline bit is an active rear wing that deploys at 50 miles per hour and retracts back into the deck when the car drops back to 25 mph. A clear-coated carbon fiber roof can optionally join that carbon rear wing. There are apparently going to be three 19-inch wheel options, including the ones you see in our live image gallery above.