2021 LEXUS LC 500 CONVERTIBLE
2021 LEXUS LC 500 CONVERTIBLE
Posted on August 12, 2020
The Lexus LC 500 coupe has always been a much-admired sports car and gets more attention out on the road than any other Lexus model. Lexus describes it as a flagship and it certainly fits that description in every way, though the big LS sedans come close. It’s probably the most expensive Lexus and the cars are quite uncommon, giving owners the bonus of exclusivity.
For 2021, Lexus is bringing us a convertible version of the car and if anything, it’s likely to garner even more attention than the coupe. Transforming the ultra sleek LC 500 into a ragtop must have been something of a challenging job for the design team at Lexus, but they pulled it off in style.
The top itself is fabric and can be opened in a scant 15-seconds, an easy job during a pause at a stoplight. The top was designed to rise into place without showing any of the frames it’s built around, so it looks very neat and uncluttered. Lexus must have considered a folding hardtop for this car, but there simply isn’t room for the complex mechanism involved. As it is, the fabric top is a straightforward and uncomplicated answer to the problem.
One fascinating aspect of this car’s design is that the HVAC system was designed to allow the driver to comfortably drive top-down, even in wintery conditions. Apart from automatic temperature control, neck heaters and upper body heaters are included to keep driver and passenger cosy at quite low temperatures. Also aiding comfort are seat heaters and a heated steering wheel. Owners may never want to put the top up!
The engineering team stiffened the bodywork so there’s no loss of rigidity caused by the “missing” roof. According to Lexus, the car has similar handling characteristics to the coupe, which means it performs very well indeed.
Power is delivered by a 5.0-litre normally-aspirated V-8 developing 471-horsepower. It drives the rear wheels via a 10-speed direct-shift automatic transmission. Performance figures are identical to those of the coupe variant.
Like all Lexus products, the LC 500 is beautifully built with a level of fit and finish that’s often used as a benchmark by rival luxury automakers. The products also have an envied level of long-term reliability and resale value.
The LC 500 convertible is a welcome addition to an impressive range of sports cars and however much fun the coupe is to own and drive, the ragtop offers just that little bit more. The 2021 cars go on sale late in the summer of 2020.
SPECS AT A GLANCE...
BODY STYLE: Two seat, two door sports roadster
ENGINE: 5.0-litre V-8
TRANSMISSION: 10-speed direct drive auto
PERFORMANCE: Zero to 100 km/h in approx. 4.5-secs
FUEL ECONOMY: 11.6 litres/100km combined
PRICE: $122,500 MSRP
