Lexus RC F (USA) review

Half a lap into driving the TE, it’s clear that this is the car we always wanted the RC F to be. The understeer is not gone completely but you can now steer the car on the throttle at will instead of having to bung it into corners. The naturally aspirated V8 might lack a bit of the turbo and supercharged competition’s grunt out of corners, but the way you can now so finely meter the throttle lets you get on it earlier and harder, so you can perfectly control the TE’s attitude.

RC F Chief Engineer Yuuichi Tsurumoto says throttle steering was the key attribute he wanted to dial into the RC F chassis, and he has delivered with the TE. The standard RC F, while some way from being as much fun as its more extreme sibling, is still markedly improved over the model it is replacing. It doesn’t share the TE’s hooligan-style diagonal corner exits, preferring to round off the edges of response on the limit. But it’s still more fun to throw around.

We didn’t get a huge amount of time to assess the TEs carbon brakes on track, but after several sets of three-lap sessions there was very little degradation in the stopping performance. So all we can report is that they didn’t fade throughout and had enough feel and power to slow and blend smoothly into Thermal Raceway’s apexes.

This choice of racetrack was a brave one for a car that has traditionally suffered from weight and understeer issues. With sequences of late apexes it highlights every pound of extra weight and every degree of steering that doesn’t send the car in the right direction. Once set up for the corner, the TE had a benign linearity to its actions, allowing you to tighten and widen at will using the throttle. That’s real progress.

But none of this is at the expense of road manners and performance in the TE. The multi-modal engine and chassis management system allows you to turn the savage-sounding track beast into a calm cruiser. The ride stays calm, composed and subtle. The fine, linear, predictable responses still there, just buried a layer or two down. You could go comfortably on a long tour in this car and never know about its weapons-grade performance ability.