The Lexus SC430, which ran from 2001-2010, was a V8-powered, rear-wheel-drive coupe convertible that could run from 0 to 60 mph in 6.2 seconds. The SC430 even had a wide-bodied brother competing in the Super GT Race Series. And yet, people called it a “mom car.”
Critics called the styling “feminine,” but they were, in truth, slightly off-base: the 430’s chief designer Sotiris Kovos was inspired by yachts that sail in the French Riviera. So it’s not a mom car. It’s a boat.
Regardless of the old SC’s reception, there’s a new model on the way, and it looks to be taking major cues from the radical LF-LC Concept.
The LF-LC wowed during the 2012 Detroit Auto Show, and you can probably see why. Its sharp, edgy styling would make it look at home in the next Tron movie, and it backs up its aggressive stance with a 500-horsepower hybrid powertrain under its carbon fiber body.
This rendering by Holiday Auto shows what the next-gen SC might look like, based on reports of a full-scale clay model of the upcoming luxury coupe. Monotone paint, wider side mirrors, and traditional headlights bring the concept into the real world, but the rendering does still retain the knife-like charm of the original.
More concrete, however, are details on the powertrain. The base model will carry the RC-F’s 450-hp, 5.0-liter V8, which is a far cry from 2010’s 288-hp block. A more powerful, hybrid SC will carry the 500-hp gas/electric unit from the LF-LC concept, which uses an Atkinson-cycle combustion engine mated to a high-energy battery pack.
If the outstanding RC-F and LFA are any indication of Lexus’ sports car ideology, the next generation SC is bound to be world’s better than the old one. It couldn’t possibly be worse than this.
(Rendering by Holiday Auto Magazine)
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