Lexus RC F 2019 UK first drive

Mid-life revisions for Lexus’s offbeat two-door, driven on British bitumen for the first time and in range-topping RC F form. 

It’s difficult to find exclusivity in the mid-sized premium coupé market, simply because it has been sewn up entirely by the German trio. Their unwavering dominance has forced those traditionally able to offer a more original take on the format - think Volvo and Alfa Romeo - to give up. But Toyota’s luxury brand has kept its toe in.

It’s all the more refreshing given that European sales figures are so tiny. Lexus shifted around 1300 RCs across the region in the whole of 2018. Audi registered nearly 6000 Audi A5s, Audi S5s and Audi RS5s in March of this year alone. 

Yet there’s major selling points to Lexus the RC. Bizarrely, in our ever-electrified world, it’s the only car in its class that can be had as a hybrid. The RC F, too, has one of the very few naturally aspirated V8s left on sale in the UK.

The one we’re driving here also comes with a £9750 Track pack, bringing lightweight forged wheels, a torque vectoring rear diff and carbon-ceramic brakes with red Brembo calipers. That’s not to be confused with the Track Edition, an altogether more serious - and expensive - proposition. 

Much as before, appealing in a flawed yet likeable way. And an strange dichotomy between the old-school and the high-tech. 

Neater LED lights and bumper tweaks do little to change the RC-F’s divisive looks, although compared with the Lexus already striking RC, the sporting model’s treatment is less in-yer-face than the German equivalents. You still get those neatly stacked (and refreshingly un-fake) tailpipes and a retractable rear spoiler to mark it out. 

Changes inside are even less dramatic. The focus is on a number of minor quality improvements here and there, boosting the already richly trimmed, impeccably solid cabin's appeal. Oh, and you’ll be pleased to hear the previously woeful infotainment has been updated with a larger, glossier screen and easier menu navigation. 

Of more interest is that beguiling atmospheric V8, which - contain yourself - has less power than it did in the old one. You can thank the hoop jumping and emission reducing required for it to meet WLTP regulations. So power is down by 13bhp and torque down by 7lb ft.