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New Models
AUTOS: Lexus Plans Exotic Sports Coupe
The luxury automaker hopes to add excitement to the brand by producing the evocatively designed LF-LC concept that debuted at the Detroit Auto Show.
The Lexus LF-LC coupe concept provoked plenty of interest when it debuted at the Detroit Auto Show in January. (Photo: Lexus)
The wild Lexus LF-LC coupe concept that wowed visitors at the Detroit Auto Show is on track for development, signaling a new direction for a brand that has fallen from first to third in the U.S. luxury sales rankings.
Toyota is on a mission to make Lexus sportier and more compelling to potential buyers, and it starts with the LF-LC, which was designed at Toyota's Calty studio in Newport Beach, Calif.
Company executives said in January that the flashy 2+2 sports coupe was not planned for production. But several Lexus insiders now say the overwhelming reaction means it almost certainly will come to market.
Dealers could see the coupe in their showrooms within three years. Toyota registered the trademark for LF-LC in February, after the Detroit show.
"There has been a lot of interest from dealers and distributors," a Lexus official said.
The LFA V10 supercar was a first step in the effort to give Lexus more flash, but only 500 are being built worldwide. Company insiders have said that a production version of the LF-LC would be more advanced technologically than the dowdy, heavy SC 430 coupe that was killed in 2010 – more of an LFA "lite" than a traditional coupe.
It also would be targeted further upscale, against the Porsche 911 Turbo and Aston Martin Vantage, both of which tickle the $120,000 mark.
Lexus dealers recently were sent crystal sculptures with a 3-D laser rendering of the LF-LC etched inside the crystal. Inscribed on the crystal were the words, "2012 GS Challenge ... 27,500 Sales." The underlying message: Hit the sales target for the mid-sized sedan and get the cool coupe.
But the Lexus source said the LF-LC probably would be produced even if dealers don't hit the GS sales target.
Lexus' 11-year reign as the best-selling luxury brand in the United States ended last year as it slipped behind BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Lexus continued to trail BMW and Mercedes in the first half of this year.
The 2011 earthquake in Japan hurt sales by pinching production, but executives concede the brand's staid lineup needs to elicit more surprise and delight from buyers through styling and performance.
Mark Templin, Lexus' global and U.S. chief, said recently: "In the past, we talked about the perfection of our product. But the 'Pursuit of Perfection' idea lacks emotion."
Toyota is on a mission to make Lexus sportier and more compelling to potential buyers, and it starts with the LF-LC, which was designed at Toyota's Calty studio in Newport Beach, Calif.
Company executives said in January that the flashy 2+2 sports coupe was not planned for production. But several Lexus insiders now say the overwhelming reaction means it almost certainly will come to market.
Dealers could see the coupe in their showrooms within three years. Toyota registered the trademark for LF-LC in February, after the Detroit show.
"There has been a lot of interest from dealers and distributors," a Lexus official said.
The LFA V10 supercar was a first step in the effort to give Lexus more flash, but only 500 are being built worldwide. Company insiders have said that a production version of the LF-LC would be more advanced technologically than the dowdy, heavy SC 430 coupe that was killed in 2010 – more of an LFA "lite" than a traditional coupe.
It also would be targeted further upscale, against the Porsche 911 Turbo and Aston Martin Vantage, both of which tickle the $120,000 mark.
Lexus dealers recently were sent crystal sculptures with a 3-D laser rendering of the LF-LC etched inside the crystal. Inscribed on the crystal were the words, "2012 GS Challenge ... 27,500 Sales." The underlying message: Hit the sales target for the mid-sized sedan and get the cool coupe.
But the Lexus source said the LF-LC probably would be produced even if dealers don't hit the GS sales target.
Lexus' 11-year reign as the best-selling luxury brand in the United States ended last year as it slipped behind BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Lexus continued to trail BMW and Mercedes in the first half of this year.
The 2011 earthquake in Japan hurt sales by pinching production, but executives concede the brand's staid lineup needs to elicit more surprise and delight from buyers through styling and performance.
Mark Templin, Lexus' global and U.S. chief, said recently: "In the past, we talked about the perfection of our product. But the 'Pursuit of Perfection' idea lacks emotion."
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