Designed to be nothing but stylish, the Lexus RC coupe hopes to shrug off the country club

By Stephen Edelstein Published November 4, 2013

Lexus is trying to leave the country club behind with the 2015 RC coupe, which will debut at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show later this month.

The RC is the production IS coupe that Lexus has been teasing for some time. The LF-CC concept that previewed the IS sedan as a coupe, after all.

The RC brings Lexus’ recently-introduced styling theme to what could be the ultimate canvas: a two-door coupe. The Japanese luxury brand has been busily applying its Cylon-esque “spindle grille” to sedans, SUVs, and crossovers. But how will it look on a car that has no other purpose than to be stylish?

It looks pretty good, actually. The styling probably won’t convert people turned off by the 2014 IS, but the grille and other details give the RC an aggressive look perfectly suited to the two-door body style.

Lexus will show two RC models at Tokyo. The RC 350 will have a 3.5-liter V6, and the RC 300h hybrid will have a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine and an electric motor.

Lexus did not divulge either model’s power output, but the powertrains seem to correspond to those of the IS 350 and IS 300h sedans, which make 306 horsepower and 220 horsepower, respectively.

Like the exterior, the cabin borrows its styling theme from the IS and other recent Lexus models. The dashboard is divided horizontally into an upper operational zone and a lower display zone. The former includes the gauges and seven-inch infotainment screen, while secondary controls are mounted on the lower center console.

The RC also gets an updated version of the Remote Touch infotainment controller.

The seats utilize a special integrated foaming construction method – similar to what is used in racing seats, Lexus says – for a sportier feel.

The RC will debut at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show on November 20. Lexus hasn’t announced an on-sale date, but don’t be surprised if it starts showing up at dealers next year as a 2015 model.

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Stephen Edelstein

Contributing Editor

Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…

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