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2018 Lexus LC 500 | Drivers' Notes

The 2018 Lexus LC 500 is the latest and greatest sports coupe from Japan. The 471-horsepower luxury spaceship looks like something straight off the auto show floor. Few cars have made the transition from concept to production with so little change, and unsurprisingly, the LC gets plenty of attention. While sports cars are great on winding roads and flat-out around a racetrack, the compromises in pursuit of performance can show when you actually try to live with one every day. That said, a car that pulls at your heartstrings can be forgiven for a lot. Senior Green Editor John Beltz Snyder: On my night with the Lexus LC 500, I was tasked with picking up my toddler, Wolfgang, from daycare. I wondered if I'd even be able to shoehorn the child seat into the coupe's tiny rear row. I moved the front passenger seat up as far as it would go and folded it forward, unclipping the seat belt from the shoulder strap holding it in place. I was able to get the child seat in its rear-facing position (my son's not quite two years old), and was happy to see that the LC had latch brackets, which made installation a little easier. I had to leave the passenger seat moved up and leaning forward, but the child seat fit properly. When I escorted Wolfgang out of daycare and to his ride, he said "Crazy car, Papa." Then I had to climb in the rear seat on the driver's side to clip him in. Totally worth it, though. He loved the car, and wanted to check it out more completely when we got home. And the LC 500 got a lot of looks from other motorists. Rubberneckers slowed down to check out the car on Woodward, and lingered as they passed me on the highway. The one thing I couldn't share with them was the full song of the car's 5.0-liter V8. Only in a couple instances when I was alone on a clear, country road could I mash the right pedal to enjoy the throaty sound of the exhaust as the engine revved to the top. In regular traffic, with a 10-speed automatic transmission keeping the revs low, the sound is much more subdued. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore: The LC 500 is one of the most drop-dead gorgeous cars I've driven this year. It's simply a stunner. The curves, the angles, and the creases all work in harmony to create the rare design that's busy yet also cohesive. Everything plays a role, even if it's a bit over the top. It attracts a lot of attention.

Lexus showing two concept cars at Pebble Beach

Lexus is readying itself for the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, and for the occasion, the carmaker is introducing a new concept version of the LC in a striking color scheme. The Flare Yellow exterior paint is coupled with dark, forged alloy 21" wheels and a carbon fiber roof. The yellow color continues on the inside, as the alcantara door panels match the outside. The leather seats also feature yellow stitching, as do the instrument panel, the center console and the glovebox. The yellow car is the second stage in the Lexus LC Inspiration Series, and it was preceded by a blue LC500 in October 2017. Well, we say blue, but Lexus claimed the special paint itself had no blue pigment, and the impression of color was just the product of nano-structures embedded in the paint, which reportedly took eight months to produce. With the yellow paint, there are no such claims, but we wouldn't be surprised if Lexus told us it was made from crushed yellow pearls. In addition to the yellow LC concept, Lexus is also displaying a customized version of the UX 250h. The VIP Auto Salon-built UX, wrapped in blue, comes with exterior enhancements together with a sportier suspension and exhaust setup, as well as a custom bike rack that holds a Lexus F Sport road bike. View 8 Photos Related Video:

8 things you should know about the Lexus LC 500h powertrain

Lexus unveiled the LC 500h today in The Netherlands, and I got to take a look inside its new hybrid system. On one hand it seems like a box of magic – it combines two seemingly incompatible transmission types into one package. But that's also the ingenious simplicity of the thing. We don't have all of the details on how it all works yet, but here's a rundown of the high points.Efficient business in front, low-key party in the back. What makes it all work is the mullet of transmissions. For the new hybrid transmission, Lexus used the Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive/Lexus Hybrid System – which consists of an e-CVT with a planetary gearset and two electric motors (one for charging the battery, the other for motivation and regen) – and grafted a conventional four-speed automatic onto the back. The two units actually coexist in one package, with the e-CVT making things efficient and the automatic expanding the capabilities. So at the low end, the system can deliver more torque, and the engine can also run at lower rpm on the highway. It's all thanks to those fixed gear ratios, and it's surprisingly simple.Except it's not that simple. This is where the virtual gear ratios come in. Like current Lexus hybrids, the system has ratios it can call up with the e-CVT. In this case, there are six virtual ratios to complement the four real physical ratios, for a total of 10 "gears" at the transmission's disposal. (Not coincidentally, the V8 LC 500 coupe has a 10-speed automatic.) One of the four fixed gears is always engaged when the car is moving, so the 10 ratios come about from combinations of what the e-CVT in front and the automatic in the back are doing. In other words, all 10 ratios are variations on the four fixed gear ratios, which means that all 10 gears could be considered virtual.It won't use all the gears all the time. In Eco mode, the car will start off on electric power and skip the first couple of "gears." When it's set to Sport or Sport +, the engine will be engaged from a stop and the transmission will select the lowest ratio. The sportier modes will also ignore the top couple of gear ratios.It can drive faster with the engine off. In a Lexus GS 450h with the Lexus Hybrid System, for example, at speeds above 62 mph or so the engine has to start up. This is because something needs to take up some slack from the battery-charging motor-generator or else it will start spinning too quickly.