A design to make Audi weep? Yes indeed.

The Lexus LFC2 made a huge splash today in LA as a highly stylized and clever look at a future RC convertible.

But while the main proportions and packaging say RC very clearly, the detailing is divine and clever and fresh from all sides. Let’s break out nsome favorite elements, starting at the nose.

Here, we have a very cool and chic interpretation of the RC’s singleframe grille — but this time with elegant waterfall elements flowing cleanly into the F Sport style of zig-zag lines in the lower portion. It is a very, very cool new take on a desing of the RC that itself is still quite new.

The triple-LED lighting elements are newly-refreshed with crystalline elements in their more artful internal lenses, combined with an even darker internal black light shroud than the RC-F.

In the lower bumper corners, we see some lovely folded intake pieces that are new versus the RC350 F Sport and RC-F — all bathed in this nice and rich golden yellow paintwork.

In front 3/4 angle, we have perhaps the most lovely piece of subtle design creativity in the intersecting lines above the front fender — lavish, lux and beckoning the fingers to touch.

A lower bodykit and sill extensions liven up the lower body in profile, and a matched folded surface intake lives just ahead of the rear wheels as a brake cooling duct. Lovely. Similar lower-body love appears on the trunk sills and diffuser, creating a sunken and low-riding stance for the LFC2.

The rear LED brake lights have free-form strakes of light above the body panels in a new way, and the trunk-top and tonneau cover is now a cool crinkle of design to match the pyramid shapes in the rear aspect.

This painted element flows through the rear cabin in a roadster flourish — lending the LFC2 all the glamor LA deserves — yet previous design guru’s Audi have failed to deliver with the Prologue.

 

 2014 Lexus LFC2 Concept

 

Lexus LF-C2 Concept Dazzles at the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show With World Premiere of 2+2 Roadster

Open Air Luxury GT Concept Explores The Lexus Brand’s Design Themes 

November 19, 2014

LOS ANGELES — Nov. 19, 2014 — Beautiful sunshine, warm weather, and winding roads are the perfect complements to the Lexus LF-C2 concept that made its global debut at the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show today. The LF-C2 concept is a design study in the form of a 2+2 roadster and explores key styling themes involved in the Lexus brand’s future, bolder styling direction. The LF-C2 is also a luxury Grand Touring concept inspired by the brand’s passion for driving.

“The LF-C2 concept shows what’s in store for our brand’s future design direction,” said Jeff Bracken, Lexus group vice president and general manager. “This concept shows consumers around the world Lexus’ devotion to emotional designs as well as our passion for an exceptional driving experience.”

The LF-C2 concept involves a highly styled 2+2 layout, and is derived from a pure and simple sports coupe idea. Its open-air design allows the driver and passengers to feel the wind through their hair, while enjoying the car’s performance characteristics on their favorite twisty road. As a roadster concept, the LF-C2 concept does not have any kind of top covering the cabin. 

The exterior styling of the LF-C2 was influenced by the way various surface shapes interact with different types of light. Designers created edges, planes and curvature that would allow the LF-C2 to exude a different character when seen from different angles and under different lighting conditions. This objective when combined with Lexus’ layered paint process results in a striking and progressive interpretation of an open top luxury GT.

The brilliant, golden yellow is produced by a multi-layer paint process. The first coat is a primer, followed by silver, a clear coat, then the yellow that reflects off the silver to give the brilliant luster. A final top coat is then applied.

“We’ve been instinctively drawn to and inspired by those things that capture the beauty of light,” said Yasuo Kajino, chief designer LF-C2, Lexus Design Division. “When you put something in the right light, people see it in a way they never have before.”

The front fascia of the LF-C2 is highlighted by a more experimental expression of Lexus’ signature spindle-shaped grille. The concept’s grille features a refined braided mesh theme that exemplifies Lexus’ high level of craftsmanship and changes its appearance when viewed from different angles and lighting conditions. It sits between triangle-shaped LED headlights, a signature element of Lexus sports cars, and stylish indicator lamps that initiate the character line of the LF-C2. The character line sweeps through the car’s arrow-shaped body and ends at the abbreviated rear deck. Vents in the front bumper send cool air to the brakes as well as help manage airflow through the body to help keep the front end stable at high speed.

The LF-C2’s profile shows a swooping line from the car’s front bumper fin to the steeply-angled A-pillar. Small vents in the side sills direct air to the rear brakes and out the fin-like rear diffusers. The rear end of the LF-C2 is highlighted by Lexus L-shaped taillight bulbs, an exhaust system with chrome-covered quad exhaust tips, and an expressive new rear diffuser design. The concept’s impactful stance is planted by five-spoke 20-inch alloy wheels.   

Step inside, and the LF-C2 treats its occupants to a luxurious and spacious cabin that flawlessly matches the sporty elegance of the exterior. The exterior extends into the cabin as the center console originates from the rear deck and runs down the length of the cabin all the way to the dashboard. The dashboard design is presents functional simplicity with an attractive-yet-straightforward instrument cluster, a central video monitor controlled by a Remote Touchpad on the center console and a classically-styled analog clock placed between the central air vents. The thick leather-wrapped steering wheel implies that this is a driver’s car, as do the form-fitting seats.

The LF-C2’s interior designers opted to instill a balanced atmosphere of power and simplicity that harmonizes with our primary senses. White-and-gray leather surfaces are soft to the touch while LED lights that run along the length of the interior below the windows. The inviting cabin of the LF-C2 blends the open-air excitement that results from an eye-catching roadster blended with a heavy dose of Lexus luxury.
 
 
LF-C2 Specifications

Length	4,715 mm	185.6 inches
Width	1,840 mm	72.4 inches
Height	1,385 mm	54.5 inches

 

 

Lexus launched in 1989 with two luxury sedans and a commitment to pursue perfection. Since that time, Lexus has expanded its line-up to meet the needs of global luxury customers. Lexus is now going beyond its reputation for high quality vehicles with the integration of innovative technology, emotional exterior and interior designs, and engaging driving dynamics and performance.  With five models incorporating Lexus Hybrid Drive, Lexus is the luxury hybrid leader. Lexus also offers six F SPORT models and two F models, including the LFA supercar, for top-of-the-line performance. In the United States, Lexus vehicles are sold through 234 dealers who are committed to exemplary customer service.