Lexus LF-LC coupé spotted testing ahead of 2016 launch

The upcoming Lexus LF-LC performance coupé has been spotted testing for the first time ahead of its anticipated launch in 2016.

The 2+2 model, which was previewed by the LF-LC concept car at the 2012 Detroit motor show, will act as a flagship model for Toyota's luxury brand and will add Lexus to the growing ranks of car makers looking to challenge the £120,000 Porsche 911 Turbo.

Under the skin of the 2017 Lexus LC500

Even from these early spy pictures, it is clear the production car will keep the same overall shape as the concept, albeit with some of its styling features slightly toned down. However, Toyota boss Akio Toyoda is said to be a big fan of the concept and has insisted that the production car doesn't stray too far from it.

Front-engined and rear-wheel-drive, the car will use an “advanced hybrid system” when it is launched, the company’s engineering boss Hideki Watabane has confirmed.

Although he wouldn’t elaborate, Autocar understands this will be a combination of a V8 engine and an electric motor, which together will give a power figure in excess of 480bhp. The engine could be the naturally aspirated 471bhp 5.0-litre V8 engine that also features in the firm's RC-F performance saloon.

Watabane said the Japanese company is finalising the “production of the technology” that will underpin the car, which is expected to be unveiled at the Detroit motor show in January.

The LF-LC concept, first shown in 2012, featured several driver-orientated details that are expected to reach production, including lightweight, race-inspired front seats and a racing-style steering wheel containing integrated controls including a start button.

It also featured a remote touchscreen system that allowed the driver to operate controls without shifting their position or altering their line of sight. Twin 12.3-inch LCD screens provide information and navigation displays.

It isn’t clear whether the production car is based on a shortened version of the next-generation LS or GS’s platform, or whether a new platform would be developed specifically for the car.

For production the car is likely to revive the SC badge, albeit as a far more focused sports car than the model that previously used the name until production ended in 2010.

Speaking to Autocar in 2014, Lexus Europe’s vice-president Alain Uyttenhoven revealed that a production version of the LF-LC was due as part of Lexus’s plan to launch a new model every year up to 2020.