Lexus LC: From Visionary Concept to Amazing Road-going Car

Chief Engineer and Chief Designer reveal the story behind the new luxury coupe

Britain will have its first sight of the new Lexus LC coupe this weekend when it goes on show and takes to the track at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The story behind the car’s development is as intriguing as its award-winning design, revealed by the men who led its development from a show-stopping concept car into an equally radical road-going machine.

Chief Engineer Koji Sato and Chief Designer Tadao Mori headed up their teams in an unprecedented collaboration, embracing new technologies and advanced materials alongside established Lexus manufacturing traditions such as the hand-and-eye skills of the Takumi craftspeople.

They have given their personal insights into the project in a series of interview features that cover the key development challenges, including how they succeeded in translating the stand-out styling of the original LF-LC concept car into the packaging of a viable production model.

“It was probably the greatest challenge since Lexus created the original LS,” Sato declares, explaining how the whole team, designers and engineers alike, committed themselves to working together to make the car a reality.

The interviews are available to read on the official Lexus UK blog, covering the development project, the Lexus Multi Stage Hybrid System featured in the LC 500h, dynamic performance and the bloodline that links the LC to Lexus’s LFA super car, and Takumi craftsmanship.

The fruits of their labour will given a high-profile platform this weekend at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where the V8-powered LC 500 will be making runs on the famous hill climb course and will be on public display as the centrepiece of the Lexus stand.