Updated Lexus LC Coupe - 10 amazing facts 01.07.2020: The LC Coupe is one of the most striking and innovative cars Lexus has built, its elegant and powerful styling widely acclaimed as a masterpiece of modern vehicle design. Of course, there’s much more to this multi-award-winning model than its impressive g

The LC Coupe is one of the most striking and innovative cars Lexus has built, its elegant and powerful styling widely acclaimed as a masterpiece of modern vehicle design. Of course, there’s much more to this multi-award-winning model than its impressive good looks, as our collection of just some of the amazing facts about the LC reveals.



From advanced paint technology to the shape of the door handle and even the rivets used in putting the car together, the LC brings together a wealth of intriguing elements. Each one is an example of the painstaking attention to detail and craftsmanship quality that Lexus invests in every model it makes.





Structural blue: natural world colour created with paint technology


When you look at the brilliant blue of a tropical butterfly, the intense colour you see isn’t actually in the insect’s wings. It’s created by the way they reflect light. This is how Structural Blue came to be created, a paintwork colour made with a pigment containing micro-particles that mimic the light reflection, the phenomenon found in the natural world.



Look at the LC directly, and the blue is strikingly vibrant. Move your gaze to an angle and the shade becomes perceptibly darker – an effect that highlights the coupe’s dramatic curves. So complex is the paint process, just three cars a day can be painted, and production has been limited to only 300 examples.




Spindle grille: interpreting a signature Lexus design detail


The spindle grille is a design feature of every new Lexus, each one designed to capture the essential character of each model. Where the LC Coupe is concerned, the grille comprises of hundreds of individual block shapes that form a mesh with a strong 3D effect.



The pattern changes in size and visual tension from the bottom to the top. The design doesn’t sit in isolation, in fact it generates dynamic lines that flow back through the bodywork to the rear of the car. And if you have an eye for detail, you’ll notice the grille’s chrome outer frame doesn’t extend across the top. Instead there’s a break that draws the bonnet itself into the spindle design.




LED headlights: compact brilliance


Lexus applied a new technology to create ultra-compact LED headlights for the LC, using a Polaric Ellipsoid System (PES) lens that is less than half the size in diameter of a normal LED lamp. Although small, they provide excellent illumination and allow for a slim and elegant headlight unit. Each contains three projector LEDs and daytime running lights arranged in Lexus’ signature lamp design.




Door trims: design excellence

The impact of the LC’s design isn’t confined to its dramatic bodywork. Equal attention was paid to perfecting the coupe’s cabin, notably the door trims. These have a draped effect with flowing, incised lines that create an attractive shadowplay. The use of chrome detailing and contrasting upholstery materials add a high tactile quality, and contribute to the luxurious ambience.



Door handles: functional beauty


The LC features Lexus’ first flush-fitting door handles. When the door is closed, nothing protrudes from the door’s surface, so there’s no interruption in the sculpted lines of the bodywork and no impact on the car’s aerodynamic performance.



When the handle is presented, the surface of the door immediately below is illuminated for 15 seconds; when the door is closed, the light fades gently before being extinguished.




Rear air ducts: aerodynamic detailing


It’s usual to think that a car’s air ducts are necessary for cooling, but on the Lexus LC they also play a part in perfecting aerodynamic performance. The rear inlets located just behind the doors, smooth the flow of air down the side of the vehicle, so there’s less disturbance and noise.




For the driver, this increases the feel of the rear tyres being in full contact with the ground, while also contributing the coupe’s excellent handling and driving performance.

Manhattan Orange: coloured by New York City


For 2020, Lexus introduced an exciting new colour option for the LC’s interior. Called Manhattan Orange, it’s inspired by the famous Manhattan Henge – the brilliant natural light effect that occurs twice a year when the setting sun aligns perfectly with the city’s famous grid pattern of streets. Inside the coupe, it creates an exclusive and avant garde feeling.

Self-piercing rivets: innovation on the production line


You can’t see the self-piercing rivets that are used to help make the LC Coupe, but you will certainly appreciate the benefits they bring in making the car stronger and stiffer. These qualities are key to responsive handling and better protection in an impact.



The rivets are an innovative method for securely joining different metals together when conventional welding can’t be used. In the LC they are used to join aluminium and steel in the car’s underbody, located with laser guides to ensure perfect accuracy.





Paddle shifters: feel connected to every drive


Lexus wants every driver to feel completely at one with the car when they take the wheel of the LC, so a human-focused approach has been taken to every detail. That includes the design of the paddle shifters that let the driver take control of the gear shifts.



They’re crafted in cool, tactile magnesium and shaped so that they’re instinctive to use when the driver’s hands are in different positions around the steering wheel. Their top-quality design and construction ensure they keep their superior finish and feel.





Body materials: building in strength, saving weight



The LC Coupe isn’t only a perfectly balanced car, it’s also constructed using different metals and materials to provide strength and save weight. It’s important to use the right material in the right place, so the bonnet and front wings are made from aluminium, which saves weight and reduces the risk of injuries to pedestrians.



The doors use a mixture of materials, including a sheet-moulded carbon fibre composite (CSMC) and aluminium. This construction saves about half the weight of a conventional car door, contributing to the LC’s low centre of gravity and excellent handling performance.
   




- Stephan Lesuisse, photos Lexus