The Lexus LC 500 might just be the greatest grand touring car you can buy today, anywhere, at any price point. The LC 500h is, predictably, one naturally aspirated V-8 short of the mark.
The very first thing anyone seemed to notice about this particular Lexus LC 500h is the interior. It’s a bright orange, from the suede headliner to the asymmetrical door cards. Combined with the rich blue exterior, the stunning color combination makes the LC look even more exotic than the absurdly stylish exterior design could on its own. Waiting outside a friend’s Brooklyn apartment before setting off on a quest to map out Road & Track’s Hudson Quattrocento rally, it was a magnet for stares and questions. One observer even yelled down from a balcony to ask about it. Not the car in general, the interior color in particular.
Lexus calls the color Manhattanhenge and, unfortunately, I think it’s a must. The total interior treatment is part of a Lexus Bespoke Build, a more exclusive configuration program that’s even hosted on a different part of the website than the standard LC configurator. Here, the exclusive Manhattanhenge interior options are a $3600 charge on top of everything else. In return, you get to brighten the day of everyone around you, all the time. The orange adds warmth to an already well-lit interior and gives you a nice distraction every time you’re forced to remember that this car, for some reason, has a touchpad-based navigation system. In a car this indulgent already, it’s the right way to go.
And the LC is indulgent. This is an exceptional grand tourer to drive and live with, better at that particular job than the current Aston Martin DBS when tested weeks apart, but on some level, a grand tourer is for other people. These are cars made to be driven in a very specific way, but they’re also cars made to be seen in. The LC is a particularly good place to be seen, with standout styling that still raises the same question it did when we first drove the LC in 2017: “What is that?” Each time someone asks, you get to explain all over again that Lexus does in fact make this, and the person who asks gets to learn all over again that this is a car that exists.
In this particular car, you get to explain something else. This is the LC 500h, a hybrid. A hybrid with two fewer cylinders than the base car, at that.
Yes, the long-serving 2UR-GSE Lexus V-8 is not in this car. Given that it’s a particularly good engine, a 5.0-liter naturaly-aspirated thing with variable valve timing, it’s already a pretty substantial loss before you get to the difference in horsepower. While the hybrid starts at a base price $6000 higher, the combined output of the gas and electric systems of 354 hp is actually substantially lower than the 477 hp the base car boasts.
Does the hybrid system add something the V-8 LC is missing? Unless fuel mileage is a major concern, no. The car gets unsurprisingly exceptional mileage with the hybrid in comparison to the naturally aspirated V-8, an advantaged of 10 MPG in the combined cycle. The hybrid wins that one, 29-19. Here, it meant an entire first day of spirited driving without stopping at a gas station once.
It’s hardly a surprise, but anyone familiar with the V-8 LC will find the hybrid’s sounds particularly disappointing. The 2UR-GSE V-8 in the LC 500 is among the best-sounding engines in the world, not just at its price point or for a mass production car but anywhere. The 8GR V-6 in the LC 500h is shared with a Lexus LS and still sounds like it would fit in a luxury-first sedan.
While neither car is particularly fast compared to some of the absurd performance bargains at this price point, the V-8 LC is substantially more competitive in-segment. Both are excellent cars to drive, however, and neither is slow enough to hold you back from enjoying yourself.
There is something to be said about the sheer novelty of a truly great performance car that happens to be a Lexus hybrid. It is an exceptional representative for the brand in this form, proof Toyota can take all the stuff it does on its decade-defining hybrid cars and apply them to a truly great traditional car in a segment that has never previously been helped by electrified assistance. If you’re trying to solve why the LC 500h actually exists, this is your answer.
In a world where Lexus does not make a V-8 LC, we would view the V-6 hybrid LC as a triumph. This is still an exceptional GT car and still a lovely place to spend a whole day, all while capturing what Toyota does best in a new and novel way. Unfortunately for the LC 500h, Lexus will sell you this exact car with my ideal engine for this segment, for less money up front, and you can get it as a convertible. If it’s not the best grand tourer of the modern era, it’s certainly the best you can buy today, without question.
Keyword: The Lexus LC 500h Is Two Cylinders Off the Greatest Grand Tourer You Can Buy