While Lexus is still keeping the flame of naturally aspirated V8s alive, one of those lights is about to go out. Come November, the Lexus RC F coupe will be dead. It’s been in production for a decade, and while that’s an awfully long production run, the premise of an atmospherically-fed V8 in a reasonably sized luxury coupe feels like an enticing anomaly given how much the car landscape has changed over the past ten years. However, I’m getting a strange feeling that the RC F will simply fade into the sunset.
This should be a big deal given the automotive landscape. Coupes are dying, with Mercedes-Benz having streamline three different coupes into one replacement model, Audi killing coupes entirely, Infiniti no longer offering a coupe at all, and Cadillac deep-sixing the ATS Coupe over the past few years. At the same time, naturally aspirated engines are an endangered species. The Germans got rid of them in the 2010s, and since then, Lexus is the only player in the mainstream luxury space offering an atmospheric V8.
We’ve seen used enthusiast cars matching this description gain significant interest over the past few years, from the V8-powered E92 BMW M3 to the naturally aspirated C63 AMG coupe. However, the RC F doesn’t seem to be going out to widespread trumpets and tributes. Why?
The story of the RC F starts with a gem, a five-liter naturally aspirated V8 with Yamaha-designed heads. Called the 2UR-GSE, it originally served duty in the 416-horsepower IS F, but Lexus wanted to turn up the wick for its next application. Compression was lifted from 11.8:1 to 12.3:1, the rev limiter was raised from 6,800 rpm to 7,300 rpm, and output climbed to 467 horsepower at 7,100 rpm and 389 lb.-ft. of torque from 4,800 rpm to 5,600 rpm.
However, that five-liter V8 also came with a weird chassis. See, the RC is a bit of a Frankenstein creation, with the front section of a GS, the midsection of the old IS convertible, and the rear section of the third-generation IS all coming together. From a cost perspective, it’s a relatively sensible move, and it got Lexus the rigidity it wanted, but weight was a sacrifice. At the same time when an F82 BMW M4 weighed 3,530 pounds, the RC F weighed in the ballpark of 4,000 pounds. Ouch. No surprise, then, that when Car And Driver first tested an RC F, weight was an obvious problem.
Mass is the RC F’s millstone. It has 400 pounds on a BMW M4 and weighs as much as the four-wheel-drive Audi RS5. In a three-way drag race, the Bimmer walks away, with the F and RS5 keeping pace through the quarter-mile. By 130 mph, the RC F has eked out a nearly two-second lead on the RS5. Keep your foot in it and a governor abruptly halts acceleration at 171 mph.
With all the data crunched, the RC F proves no quicker than the old IS F. Nor is it slower, though. We recorded a 4.3-second zero-to-60 and a quarter-mile time of 12.8 seconds, identical to a 2008 IS F. Identical, too, is the naturally aspirated V-8 wail. While muted in the cabin, pedestrians will flinch when the intake’s noise flap opens and the camshaft timing changes the engine’s rumble into a sweaty roar.
Alright, so an extra 400 pounds on a BMW M4 didn’t exactly help the RC F’s acceleration, and that makes you wonder how it might affect cornering. Sure, Lexus offered this performance coupe with a trick torque vectoring differential, but the laws of physics are enforced by a mechanism commonly referred to as “finding out”, and Evo magazine certainly found out the limitations of the RC F when pressing it hard.
The brakes cope pretty well but are groaning within a handful of really hard laps, the car is slightly clumsy on turn-in and understeer sets in quickly and that engine – which sounds fantastic and promises so much – feels overly burdened. It never feels the full 471bhp and simply doesn’t deliver the instant, bruising torque you’d hope to find. Nor does it sparkle at the top end… It’s all a little underwhelming.
On the road things are much better. The steering is really nicely weighted and fluid and seems well tuned to the car’s reactions as it tackles a series of corners. Grip and traction feel strong, the ride is pretty supple and the gearbox might not be dual-clutch precise but does a pretty effective job. But still it doesn’t really feel fast or alive to your inputs. It’s fun but somehow not very exciting.
Therein lies the rub of the RC F. It looks wild, it sounds epic, and yet from my brief experience with one, it wasn’t exciting enough for me to immediately come away wanting one. Perhaps as a result, it’s always been another player in the performance executive coupe segment rather than a big player. Still, that didn’t stop Lexus from improving it as time went on, with the most notable series of tweaks found in the 2020 RC F Track Edition.
Here, Lexus shaved a significant 176 pounds off of the RC F’s curb weight thanks to a whole host of measures. The CV axles were now hollow, the intake manifold shaved down, the spring brackets fabricated from aluminum rather than steel, and the rear bumper beam swapped out for a composite aluminum and carbon fiber piece. The hood was made from carbon fiber, the brakes were carbon ceramic, the wheels were lightweight BBS forged units, and the muffler was crafted from titanium. Even the air conditioning compressor was replaced with a smaller item, dedication to weight reduction without substantially affecting usability. At the same time, stiffer steering rack bushings targeted better road feel, stiffer rear subframe bushings reduced deflection, and the final drive ratio leapt from 2.97:1 to 3.13:1. Add in an extra five horsepower and the result was a more desirable RC F, albeit one that came at a price. The RC F Track Edition stickered for $97,675 and that’s just way too much money.
Mind you, it’s not like Lexus learned nothing from the Track Edition. In fact, the shorter final drive, hollow CV axles, smaller air-con compressor, composite bumper support, aluminum spring brackets, and the bump in horsepower all made it to the regular RC F as part of the 2020 facelift, but it might’ve been a bit too late.
These days, the RC F has two big problems, and they’re called the LC 500 and the IS 500. If you love Lexus’ five-liter naturally aspirated V8 more than the idea of a coupe, the IS 500 offers the same rip-snorting power as the RC F but at a lower cost. At the same time, the stunning LC 500 simply took over from the RC F as Lexus’ halo car. Sure, it might be priced in a different league, but it’s the Lexus coupe that everyone desires.
In a way, the writing was on the wall for the RC F. With production ending in Japan this November, it’s getting one last special edition to celebrate a decade of life. Called the Final Edition, it gains a new shade of silver paint, a black-and-red interior, and plenty of carbon fiber. On the outside, BBS wheels, black mirrors, and red calipers add a subtle bit of punch to go with the carbon fiber lip, roof, spoiler, and diffuser, while on the inside, expect solid quantities of suede. It’s a bit anticlimactic, but it fits the somber situation.
Here we are, a performance coupe with a naturally aspirated V8 is dying and nobody seems wildly shaken up over it. The Lexus RC F is likely better than we remember considering how heavy cars are now, serious time has passed since its introduction, and we’re all okay with letting it ride off into the sunset. Ten years is a long time for a car to be on sale for, and it might be best to think of the RC F as a stepping stone. It laid part of the foundation for the exciting IS 500, the emotional LC 500, and the gone but not forgotten GS F. Will it be collectible ten years from now? I guess we’ll just have to see, won’t we?
(Photo credits: Lexus)
Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member.
-
Lexus Officially Makes More V8-Powered RWD Performance Cars Than Dodge
-
The V8-Powered 2024 Lexus IS 500 F Sport Performance Makes You Wonder If Every Other Sports Sedan Is Missing The Point
-
Why Every Car Reviewer Goes Nuts For The 2024 Lexus LC 500
-
The 2024 Lexus LC 500 Gets New Infotainment To Become A Perfect Car
Please send tips about cool car things to tips@theautopian.com. You could even win a prize!
There is an orange RCF in my area that I pass from time to time and man does that thing sound good taking off from a red light but it sure isn’t easy on the eyes
Yes, I’ll miss it. I had an RC 350 AWD F Sport for 3 years that i put 60K miles on. I traded it in on an RDX because I wanted to be able to more easily take along friends and adult children. The RDX let me down and I got an IS 350 like i should have done in the first place.
Look, the RC isn’t a sports car. Its a GT. Its been the best GT available for years now under 100K. Take it from from a former bimmer enthusiast. The RC was far and away the best car I ever owned. None of the germans build to the Lexus level of quality any more. The materials, fit and finish, all excellent. My Audi owning friends drove my car a few months before i traded it in and they were astonished – it drove like new, no squeaks or rattles, tight as a drum, and the interior still looked brand new. It had the best factory paint I’ve ever seen. Better than a lot of custom paint jobs. The clearcoat had no orange peel at all, the Atomic Silver had like 5 layers of paint, and was bright silver in the sunshine and took on an almost gold hue in the evening. Remarkable depth and gloss.
I started off looking to buy a german coupe and found that Lexus was the only manufacturer to offer a loaded car that let you have ventilated seats in an interesting color. And the V6… It sings. Not to mention the AWD made it a BEAST in the snow and ice – I’m talking upstate NY lake-effect winters.
My next two favorite cars are my “forever” 240Z and the 2017 BRZ Performance Package i used to have, and of course my current IS.
If i can add a few more cars to my collection some day when they meet the bottom of their depreciation curve, they would be a yellow RCF and another BRZ.
So yeah, pour one out for the last great coupe. Rad Coupe, indeed.
I had a black over red RC F Sport from 2015-2018 living in California and I will say, the car got a ton of compliments at gas stations and even a few lookie-loos/thumbs up on the road. I loved having a luxury coupe that wasn’t the typical BMW you saw at every stop light. I think after all these years, they are still very unique and have aged well being 10+ years old at this point. The interior was extremely high quality with some of the most comfortable and plush sport seats I’ve ever sat in. The upgraded premium mark levingson stereo was something like a $2,000 option and still to this day one of the most crisp audio systems I’ve ever had in a luxury car, probably only second to the one in my Range Rover. I look back fondly on my time with this car.
If they would have given it the RC350 Sport instrument cluster that moved like the LFA, it would have been perfect. But they didn’t, so boo.
I had a RC350 (always regretted not getting the RC F a bit) for 4 years and loved every second of it. I still miss it now and grieved a bit when I read about it being discontinued. Me and my buddies called it The Whale due to the blue color and significant heft, but it absolutely excelled at being a fabulous GT.
With their V8, Lexus cracked the code on delivering a luxury high performance powertrain with a far superior visceral experience than it’s competition, while avoiding all of the pitfalls of German unreliable crappiness.
You can buy a Lexus V8 and trust that it will be as reliable as a Corolla. They are cheap to run and an absolute used car bargain, so if you’re anything like me, you want one but buying new is not a reality.
The most attainable way is an ISF, but these are getting old and the engine is lower spec. Still a great choice though.
Then we have the gem that is the GSF. These were very well reviewed, but unfortunately they are extremely rare and still expensive.
Next we have the LC500 which is still way too expensive for me.
Then there’s the IS500, same problem.
That brings us to the unloved RCF. Thanks to not great press, the values are dipping into the attainable range, even for later models.
Who gives a shit if a BMW is better on a racetrack?
As a daily driver, I think this car would be a dream, and as others have said it’s an awesome used car buy.
So the only argument for buying a soft Lexus is that it’s loud and cheap to maintain?
No wonder they don’t sell
Don’t get me wrong, I love a fast bimmer or Audi. The thing is, I can’t afford to buy any fast luxury car until it’s a few years old and depreciation has done it’s thing.
At that point, the Bimmer or Audi represents a huge risk of requiring a huge repair that’s unaffordable and likely not worth doing.
The Lexus doesn’t have that problem, so you can enjoy it on the road, which is a much more satisfying experience than watching it sit on a lift.
I saw a GS F on the road the other day here in San Diego. I’m sure my passengers thought I was an idiot trying to get a better look in traffic to just a “lexus sedan”. It was the first GS F i’ve seen in the wild.
Fat, ugly, and dull is no way to go through life. I won’t miss these because I never noticed them in the first place.
This here. The article didn’t address the elephant in the room, namely the traditionally overwrought Lexus styling that would embarrass me to be seen in this thing no matter how well it drives.
If Lexus had just built an IS coupe, it would’ve been better looking and lighter. Instead, the RC is an odd Frankenstein creation, compromised on practicality, and yet its few strengths are mostly sensible ones. I’ll mourn the IS500 when it dies, but not this.
The definition of a car that makes sense when gotten used and for a good deal
Funny that you mention that, £13759 A 2015 car with 43780 miles and a very good fsh Arrived today Going on Saturday for £24000. The temptation to wring the thing out is very high! My track record of trashing nice(ish) cars the day a customer turns up is bad bad. The very good mobile valet (detailing) folk are coming tomorrow.
Because it’s ugly and not very good. Expected reliability will only get you so far, and much like a manual transmission, an NA V8 is something only a subset of car nerds care about, and an infinitesimal subset of those people are actually willing to buy one new.
If you think nobody will miss the RC F, the fact that the entire RC line is dying and that isn’t mentioned here speaks volumes.
An IS500 is on my list of possible replacement cars if my current car was ever totaled. I’m a bit worried about size, they are fricken tight to get into, but driving the base model alone was fun. I can’t even imagine it with the power of the V8…
I always thought the car was beautiful, but its price isn’t justified by the performance.
These are rather underrated really. Certainly the LC500 is way better but it also costs way more. While the RC started out the class heavyweight I’m pretty sure it is now on the light end as every thing else has gotten fatter and hybridy. And any Lexus with that V8 is a great time, sounds glorious. Transmission could be better (the 10 speed in the LC is fire for example) but it’s not bad, and as much as I prefer a manual on most cars I’ve come to admit I don’t actually want one when dealing with major power levels like this anyway. And it’ll be as reliable as a rock, unlike any of its competitors.
I miss a gt350 if it had Yamaha heads more. If I want a IS-F I’ll buy a 2017 gt350 first even without Yamaha heads.
Missed opportunity by Toyota.
No PDK, no manual transmission, it was excessively heavy, other than the V8, it’s not notable. It’s an OK grand tourer, but that’s about it.
They would’ve been more successful with a twin turbo inline six engine, but they took themselves out of that market more than 20 years ago.
If this had a stick that may well be in my driveway now, but alas!
This. I wanted one of these but the lack of a stick killed any enthusiasm for anything Lexus.
If I were in the market for a $100k car, especially the convertible (which I really want), then yes.
They don’t make an RC convertible. You’re thinking of the LC500 which is a beautiful car.
Oh yea… Sigh I’ve never been good with alphanumeric names… But this brightens up my day knowing that it’s still in production should I be in a position to buy one lol.
These were cool, are cool, and will always be cool. I get some of the “there’s nothing special but the engine” critiques that both the RCF and IS500 get, but hear me out: I don’t care. This engine is so goddamn unique and special that it doesn’t matter. The engine is enough.
What other luxury product can you get a 5 liter NA V8 that revs out to 7300 in? These things sound absolutely fantastic…and best of all you don’t look like a boy racer when you’re driving one. Absolutely no one outside of the nerdiest enthusiasts has any goddamn idea what an RCF is.
No one is going to try to race you at stoplights. Your car isn’t going to invite any extra attention from people with less than wholesome intentions. They’re just big luxury coupes. People seem to say that in a derogatory way but I think it’s great. These are basically a Mustang in a fancy suit.
If you don’t think that’s cool I don’t know what to tell you, and while I get that the comparatively soft edge of these cars can’t compare to the unhinged nature of a full M or AMG…do you really NEED it? I’d be willing to bet maybe 1 out of 50 of those cars ever sees track duty, if that. And if you’re not going to be an HPDE day warrior, would you rather have a rough riding, obnoxiously loud, over caffeinated German car or a luxobarge with the heart of a muscle car?
I rest my case. JUSTICE FOR THE RCF!
Name one other car in it’s class that has the dependability of a Camry.
That in itself is special.
First Gen Honda NSX has entered (re-entered?) the conversation.
Not that I have ever wanted to spend that much on a car…
I don’t have Bill Gates money or anything like that to spend but if I did, it would be on a turbine-powered helicopter and not something like this that really can only travel in two dimensions.
Oh Lord, won’t you buy me an EC-145.
These also make an awesome sound. Possibly my favorite V8 sound.
They do sound magnificent. They really toe the line between traditional, muscle car rumble and bass and wailing exotic quite well. My dream car is an LC500…my semi attainable dream car is an IS500, although I do worry that that car is a never meet your heroes situation given its more set up for comfort than shenanigans…although I’m sure a few mods would change that.
The IS500 is very high on my list of cars to own. I had a 2014 IS350 for a couple years and that’s the one car I wish I still owned.
A decontented version of this should have been the Supra.
The Supra deserved this V8 for sure
I always read that word as “unhappy or dissatisfied” before realizing that’s “discontented”
It’s defiantly an underserved side effect.
Love my 2018 with the carbon roof and spoiler. Sure it’s not as fast as a lot of cars but you can’t beat it as a grand touring car. Made the trip from Cincinnati to Franklin, TN last year a great time. It’s not a winter car so it’s currently sitting in the garage but it always puts a smile on my face when I get to take it out.
I have a feeling in a couple years all of them will be replaced. sad though, I feel like Toyota could probably use a bunch of he base parts and great engine and rebody it to compete with the mustang. but that is of course pie in the sky hooliganism hopes of course.
RIP to the least ugly modern Lexus
LC500? GX?
No.
Not the IS? Which looks identical but with 4 doors
Hideous.
The extra doors make it hideous? Because otherwise it looks like the RC that you say isn’t bad, so I don’t know what you’re talking about.
The most hated design feature on a lexus is usually the grill, which looks identical on the RC and IS
Proportions matter. Yes, the extra doors make it worse.
Ok, you are entitled to your opinion I guess.
The RC is a bastardized version of the IS design wise. The proportions look worse (to most people) on the RC because it was designed as a 4 door. The door shut-line doesn’t look right, and there’s too much flat space in the rear quarter.
I would love to drive one of these, my guess is it would munch miles really well and be problem free to own. The biggest issue is people think it is a sports car, when it is really a GT.
In my opinion, these also look much better in person than in pictures. There is a deep red one near me and it is striking to see.
If you put me in a darkened witness room and asked me to identify a lineup of the RC, LC, or RF, I’d probably put them all behind bars by mistake.
I’m not an idiot, it’s just a case of alphabet soup and low production/purchase numbers.
“Now, RC, just say the line.”
“Gimme the car keys, you co…”
The RC has always been a car with unfortunate styling and ungainly proportions. They may have cleaned up the styling as the years went on, but they couldn’t fix the proportions which is why it never stopped looking odd to me.
From all accounts the GSF was a far better chassis to drive too, with reviews favourably comparing it to older M5s. Whereas the RCF only really got praise for its engine.