Lexus coupe caught in spy shots actually RC, headed for Tokyo reveal?

Tue, 16 Jul 2013

Lexus may have pulled a fast one on us. The car our spy shooters spotted yesterday may not, in fact, be an IS F Coupe as we indicated. Rather, the car shown above may be a new model, dubbed RC, that will arrive at this year's Tokyo Motor Show.

Following a report from Automotive News, the RC is believed to be a pure coupe, rather than a hardtop convertible. This gels with information provided on the IS sedan's launch, when Lexus spokespeople said the IS Convertible would remain on the current platform. With styling based on the LF-CC from the 2012 Paris show, the new car will share a rear-drive platform with the IS and GS sedans.

Power is expected to come from a 3.5-liter V6 that turns out 306 horsepower. That car will likely wear the RC 350 badge. A hybrid model is expected to follow, but in a twist, it won't be coming to the US. The big news, though, is that the RC will spawn an RC F.

Sources told AN that a 460-hp V8 will replace the 416-hp mill found in the current IS F, allowing the RC F to really duke it out with Stuttgart, Munich, and Ingolstadt.

Where does that leave the IS F? We can't be sure, but with Mercedes-Benz and BMW both offering (now or in the future) fast, compact sedans, we wouldn't bet on Lexus sitting out. We can expect to see a production RC F at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show, with examples arriving in dealers later that year.

By Brandon Turkus