BETTER PARTSLexus RCF AMG Hunter for everyone
AMG Hunter for everyone
Lexus, once the hybrid-driven comfortable flagship of the Toyota Group, is increasingly focusing on sportsmanship. After the LFA supercar and the BMW M3 rivals ISF comes with the RCF a coupe on the market, which is to poach in the world of AMG and BMW M.
Toyota's luxury brand Lexus showing teeth and moves into a new, more dynamic direction. For this new course is the RCF, where " F" in the Lexus alphabet stands for dynamism and sporty driving. After the restrained elegant design language of the coupe - cabriolets SC 430 Set de Japanese with the RC series af a design direction that you want the fancy Lexus arouse especially among younger buyers.
Behind the massive so-called Diablo grill works in the RCF is the strongest so far developed for Lexus V8. It generates from five liters capacity 335 kW/456 hp and accelerates the two-door model to a maximum of 250 km / h Although the V8 uses the fuel-efficient, but some low-torque Atkinson cycle, but " given the displacement does not fall into the weight, " says the RCF Yukihiko Yaguchi chief developer. The RCF may seem aggressive, for the driver but it should occur primarily as a controllable sports car with the typical Lexus genes. "We did not aim to achieve the best times at the Nurburgring, we wanted to rather develop a coupe as possible can easily drive on the ring with so many drivers. " Yaguchi knows whereof he speaks. During the development phase it has the RCF more than once controlled by the " green hell ". However, his lap time remains his secret.
© Lexus Lexus wants to penetrate into the world of motorsport, so ... The Lexus RCF is to open the brand and the motorsport stage. The benefits derived from the civilian variant GT3 with more than 540 hp, which is celebrating its world premiere in Geneva is sold from next year. This Yaguchi has no direct competitors in sight. "Of course we drive in the same league as the BMW M4 or the Audi RS5, but each of these models has its own identity. " Where the F models are aligned so that " cope even less talented drivers easily with them. " Therefore, it is give the coupe exclusively with a conventional automatic transmission. For the RC is the Lexus development team developed to Yaguchi an independent suspension, which is not based on existing solutions.
Despite the clearly sporty orientation of comfort in the development of the coupe was not too short. "By improving the torsional rigidity, we were able to avoid vibrations that the comfort benefits ," explains Yaguchi. Contributing to, among other things, the extra wide running sills and a cross brace in the front underbody and the special laser welding process.
The RCF is it solely with rear wheel drive. " We are there conventional procedure and leave the front axle, steering and rear axle drive ," explains Yaguchi 's development strategy. Whether there will be of the coupe an open version, says the engineer, " an interesting idea that has not yet been discussed. "