2024 Lexus RC: Is There A New Lexus RC Coming? Lexus revealed the updated version of the IS in 2020, but there has been no word on what will become of the RC coupe since it was first shown in almost a decade ago at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show.
That is about to change as Toyota Racing Development President David Wilson has hinted that a new RC will be released in a couple of years and would take its cues from the Toyota GR GT3 prototype that was shown earlier this year.
Wilson said that the current RC F GT3 was designed as a “afterthought,” and that they rapidly found that this is “not the way you bring a GT3 vehicle to market.” Wilson was speaking with Car & Driver. This is a not-so-subtle suggestion that the next-generation radio-controlled automobile and the RC car it will compete against will be created together.
Despite the fact that Wilson chose his words very carefully, he did tell the outlet that it is “pretty safe to link the connections and say that it may be a prelude to the next global GT3 vehicle for Lexus.”
Wilson has suggested that a true racing vehicle may follow “hopefully in a couple of years” after the completion of a running prototype of the GR GT3 concept, which is scheduled to be finished by the end of the year. It is likely that it will be released at around the same time as the revised RC.
Toyota Gazoo Racing stated their intention to “employ comments and technology perfected via involvement in different racing events to produce both GT3 and mass-production vehicles” when the GR GT3 concept made its debut at the Tokyo Auto Salon a month ago. They also dropped hints about sustainability, which appears to go in the direction of an electric powertrain.
2024 Lexus RC
Next-Gen Lexus RC
Since the Lexus RC coupe has been on the market since 2014, we have been curious about the future plans that Lexus has in store for it. According to a recent claim, the next-generation Lexus RC will be inspired by the Toyota GR GT3 concept. Lexus has not disclosed any substantial facts regarding the next-generation RC at this time.
Car and Driver had the opportunity to speak with David Wilson, the head of Toyota Racing Development, who provided some hints on what to anticipate from the subsequent RC.
Since Wilson said to the media that the RC F GT3 racing vehicle was an afterthought, it may be deduced that the current iteration of the RC was not originally created for use in motorsports. The Lexus RC F GT3 is a massive vehicle with a high frontal area that contributes to increased drag and lower peak speed while traveling in a straight line since it was never intended to be a racing car.
Wilson made the statement that “what we’ve all come to realize is that it’s not the way you bring a GT3 vehicle to market,” and he was right. “Before you put your first line on paper, you make the decision that you are going to race that vehicle, and it defines the design characteristics, as well as the performance specifications, of that production car.”
Toyota has realized its mistake, and the company has decided that the future generation of the RC will be designed with racing in mind. According to Wilson, the Toyota GR GT3 concept that we saw at this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon is a decent notion of what we might anticipate for the next RC.
We saw this concept at the annual auto show in Tokyo. “It’s quite reasonable to draw the dots and imply that that may be a prelude to the next worldwide GT3 vehicle for Lexus,” Wilson added. “That’s because it has a lot of the same characteristics.”
2024 Lexus RC Interior
Engine
The Lexus RC is not without its allure. The RC F has a sleek appearance, it is a nice everyday driver, and it is available with the sonorous 5.0-liter V8 engine that Lexus offers.
Even in its spruced-up and carbon-fiber-infused RC F Fuji Speedway Edition configuration, the vehicle is not a precise-cornering track expert, which is one of the reasons why it is not a fan favorite among automobile aficionados. Nevertheless, this could be set to change with the generation that comes after us.
Car and Driver had the opportunity to talk to David Wilson, the head of Toyota Racing Development, not too long ago. The modern Lexus RC was created before the company planned to race it, which resulted in a decrease in performance for the GT3 racing vehicle.
However, Wilson has assured that the next generation would be developed with racing in mind from the very beginning. He also told Car and Driver that it would be “pretty safe to draw the dots” between Toyota’s Batman-esque GR GT3 concept and the eventual next-generation RC F. He said this in response to a question about the connection.
Everything points to the new RC coming in a reasonably short amount of time. Before the end of the year, it is anticipated that Toyota will have a prototype of the GR GT3 that is operational.
It is time for a redesign of the current version of the RC, which entered manufacturing in October 2014 and has been in use since then. And it would definitely have to come soon in order to have a full model run in before Lexus switches to all-electric vehicles in the year 2030.
Changing the RC’s track personality should increase sales of the product. In 2021, sales of the RC decreased by more than 20% year over year, while sales of the more costly Lexus LC more than quadrupled over the same period of time. Despite the fact that there are no hydrogen fueling facilities in the United States that are located outside of California, sales dropped to the point that the hydrogen-powered Mirai came close to outselling the RC.
A Lexus RC with sharper edges would further Toyota’s pivot toward track performance under the leadership of part-time racing driver and CEO Akio Toyoda. This pivot already includes the resurrected Supra, an all-new GR86, and an upcoming GR Corolla hot hatch that is based on the GR Yaris sold internationally. Here’s hope that we get some additional information (and get to drive it) shortly.
2024 Lexus RC Exterior
Changes
Even though it was initially shown to the public in 2014, the Lexus RC is a sleek-looking automobile; nonetheless, the coupe has always been a little bit on the pudgy side. The additional weight has a negative impact not just on the performance of the road vehicle but also on the car’s ability to compete in racing in the GT3 category.
Car and Driver had a conversation with David Wilson, head of Toyota Racing Development, during last week’s Daytona 500. Through this conversation, they discovered that we may not have to wait too much longer for a more dynamic next-generation Lexus coupe that was created with an emphasis on racing.
Wilson referred to the current RC F GT3 racing vehicle as a “afterthought,” despite the fact that it was created with motorsports in mind. The current RC road car was not developed with motorsports in mind. Because of this, its performance on the track has suffered.
The RC F is heavier than its GT3 competitors and has a bigger frontal area, both of which contribute to an increase in drag and a reduction in maximum speed in a straight line. Wilson elucidated that “what we’ve all come to realize is that this is not the way you put a GT3 vehicle to market,” and he said that “we’ve all come to learn that.” “Before you put your first line on paper, you make the decision that you are going to race that vehicle, and it defines the design characteristics, as well as the performance specifications, of that production car.”
