The Lexus only penetrated my consciousness when the Putin-like Russian president in House Of Cards accused Frank Underwood of offering him a Lotus deal when he deserved a Lexus. The metaphor distilled the profound mistakenness of the expensive-car-fancier: “I’m rich because of some innate superhuman power, mirrored in the power of this extremely expensive engine, which I can afford because – did I mention? – I am rich. Plus, I am young and slim, because my car is new and slim.” Circular logic, category error, primitivism, plain delusion: all play a part in the purchase of a car for £66,415. And the big-ticket car itself, trying to keep up with the status hopes vested in it, is packed with features that pretend to be about driving but no regular act of driving could possibly unleash.
So, the Lexus RC F Sport is low, red, racetrack-ready. You could beat anyone off the lights; I don’t think I came across another car with this horsepower (450bhph, their most powerful engine ever), let alone the eight-speed sports direct shift. I don’t know what I’d have done if I had. Maybe bared my teeth or done a moonie. The handling is solid and nimble, but then I’d dropped (hypothetically) £3.5k on a torque-vectoring differential – it transmits torque independently to each wheel – so if the traction hadn’t been better than a regular human driver would have any use for, I’d want my (hypothetical) money back.
I surrendered to more of its charms on the motorway; I can’t imagine what acceleration you’d have to require to see this car struggle. Across speeds that are anything like legal, it glides, like a cheetah. The cabin’s like a Tardis. Executive pewter seats are hard-upholstered, I guess to give you the impression you’re driving for your life, not going 50 yards in a 20mph residential zone, to show off.
The other downside of being at the cutting edge of everything (apart from all this amorphous suspicion you generate, from people like me) is that nothing seems very intuitive. I could have grown a beard trying to figure out the satnav; I had to open the manual to discover that all the features were controlled by an unmarked grey touchpad I’d been using as a cup-holder. Emissions and fuel economy, as you may have guessed, are woeful – I didn’t even know tax disc bands went down to L. It’s like finding a new GCSE grade between E and U. Combined mpg is 26, but I don’t think I got even that. I was constantly thinking about petrol.
Never let anyone tell you this isn’t an enjoyable drive. Is it enjoyable enough to warrant this heady waste? Of course not; to be that much fun, it would have to have a personality. Maybe wings.
Lexus RC F Sport
Price £66, 415 (starts from £60,000)
Acceleration 0-62mph in 4.5 seconds
Combined fuel consumption 26mpg
CO2 emissions 252g/km
Eco rating 1/10
Cool rating 6/10
