
The LC 500 is stunning. It’s low and long with short overhangs, and in glinting Infrared paint it looks dangerous and gorgeous all at once. Bunched under the buff wheel arches are 21-inch forged wheels ($2,650), and the tall and wide Lexus spindle grille does not look out of place here. It draws the eyes up over the hood, the carbon fiber roof, then down the sides to the sleek vents between the pinched doors and flexed rear wheels. The rear is really where the LC 500 sticks out. Curved and muscular, it’s wider than the rest of the car, as if it spends as much time at the gym as it does on the track. Execution of the aesthetic carries over to the inside. Soft beige headliner makes it feel as if you’re ensconced in a suede slipper at a spa. The low height and center make it a squeeze getting in, even with the seat in its lowest position. We comfortably fit two adults up front and wedged two tweens in back for an extended outing, though a wide tunnel divides the 2+2 seating position. Oh, yes, the driving. The 471-horsepower V-8 mated to a 10-speed transmission hits 60 mph in 4.5 seconds, according to Lexus. There are other six-figure rear-wheel drive coupes that are quicker, but few with a naturally aspirated V-8. The contained rumble of the free-breathing V-8 engine is what made me fall in love at first sound on a rainy day at the track. It sounds as good as it looks. But it has to deliver. It throws you back in your seat, simultaneously lifting up and back as 398 pound-feet of torque hits the rear wheels. In turns and under full throttle, the rear slides as loose as last call dancing at the club. Thanks in part to four-wheel steering, that temperamental looseness provides an ever-present reminder of understeer and its consequence: the spin out. It’s a thrilling reminder that sport mode demands the driver to actually drive.