Lexus RC-F Unveiled Prior to 2014 Detroit Auto Show Debut

TTAC Staff
by TTAC Staff

From the same division that birthed the Lexus IS-F and LFA comes the RC-F Coupe, which will turn up next week during the 2014 Detroit Auto Show to punch both BMW and Mercedes-AMG in the face.

Though the luxury automaker hasn’t dropped any hard numbers thus far, Lexus claims the V8 behind the unmasked Predator face will be their most powerful yet. How powerful? The IS-F dropped 420 horses in its day, so it’s possible the former’s 5-liter will be massaged to expel 500 horsepower to the rear wheels through its eight-speed Sport Direct Shift Transmission.

Aside from the aforementioned beastly visage, the RC-F Coupe — based upon the original RC that debuted at the 2013 Tokyo Auto Show — features tons of creased surfaces broken up by flared wheel arches. The front bumper directs airflow over the car and toward the brakes and engine, while vertical air vents positioned behind the front wheels allow heated brake air to escape. Stacked dual tailpipes and speed-sensitive active aero in the rear complete the package.



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  • Numbers_Matching Numbers_Matching on Jan 09, 2014

    I'm more of a 'form follows function' guy and generally try to follow that idiom when buying a car. It is increasingly harder to do this in the marketplace. This car exemplifies the direction that many automakers have chosen - possibly Asian manufacturers more than others. When I look at this car and really squint, I see a silouette that looks attractive. But when my eyes are fully open, that silouette turns into a mess of creases, feature lines and flamed surfaces that follow a design approach taken from Japanese science fiction.

  • SixDucks SixDucks on Jan 09, 2014

    The styling is just a mess. Doubt it will age well.

  • Namesakeone If I were the parent of a teenage daughter, I would want her in an H1 Hummer. It would be big enough to protect her in a crash, too big for her to afford the fuel (and thus keep her home), big enough to intimidate her in a parallel-parking situation (and thus keep her home), and the transmission tunnel would prevent backseat sex.If I were the parent of a teenage son, I would want him to have, for his first wheeled transportation...a ride-on lawnmower. For obvious reasons.
  • ToolGuy If I were a teen under the tutelage of one of the B&B, I think it would make perfect sense to jump straight into one of those "forever cars"... see then I could drive it forever and not have to worry about ever replacing it. This plan seems flawless, doesn't it?
  • Rover Sig A short cab pickup truck, F150 or C/K-1500 or Ram, preferably a 6 cyl. These have no room for more than one or two passengers (USAA stats show biggest factor in teenage accidents is a vehicle full of kids) and no back seat (common sense tells you what back seats are used for). In a full-size pickup truck, the inevitable teenage accident is more survivable. Second choice would be an old full-size car, but these have all but disappeared from the used car lots. The "cute small car" is a death trap.
  • W Conrad Sure every technology has some environmental impact, but those stuck in fossil fuel land are just not seeing the future of EV's makes sense. Rather than making EV's even better, these automakers are sticking with what they know. It will mean their end.
  • Add Lightness A simple to fix, strong, 3 pedal car that has been tenderized on every corner.
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