Toyota and Lexus are pulling out all the stops when it comes to performance vehicles at the 2019 North American International Auto Show. In addtion to the worst kept secret in the industry today (the revived Toyota Supra,) Lexus has teased its own performance king, the 2020 RC F Track Edition ahead of the glitz and glamor that will descend on the Motor City in 2019.
Unlike the Supra, the upcoming RC F Track Edition has done a much better job eluding detection, thus fine details surrounding the bulk of its exterior styling are still unknown. What we do know is what Lexus kindly supplied via teaser image, which depicts a giant carbon fiber embossed rear wing (the typical calling card of a spicy performance model.) The car also appears to be painted in a matte grey hue which will undoubtedly be paired with the blue accents that are exclusive to the F performance brand. A highlight item for us is the cool way the F logo appears to be woven directly into the carbon fiber material itself. With all the claims Toyota has made about how it intends to expand its use of carbon fiber (as well as some baby steps made towards expanding its in house production capability) recently, this single detail could be another example of Toyota’s ongoing research into this unique lightweight material.
Look for the interior to also be tailored towards the extreme performance driving that the RC F Track Edition is expected to face with upgraded seats, splashes of carbon fiber, as well as other touches that help this beast stand out from the rest of the RC lineup (including the RC 350 F Sport that we tested late last year.) We would also like to see Lexus engineers try to shave some serious weight off of this car, which is one of the heaviest in the luxury performance coupe segment due to the cobbled together nature of its stiffened platform.
The headline however is the fact that this will be the most powerful Lexus road car ever produced, but the company has chosen to keep the official horsepower figures to itself, and instead, we will have to wait until the official unveiling to find out more. But the very thought of how much power could indeed be lurking under the RC F Track Edition’s hood is quite compelling in its own right. The former king of the mountain was the LFA Nürburgring edition which made 562 horsepower, and was a notable upgrade over the 552 horses wielded by the “base” LFA. Meanwhile, the most powerful Lexus currently on sale is the LC 500 which is equipped with a soulfully divine 471 horsepower V8. While we highly doubt the RC F Track Edition will breach the 562 horsepower barrier established by the LFA, it’s a safe bet to assume that at least 500 horsepower will be on hand, with the engine most likely being a tweaked version of the same 5.0 liter V8 that currently sees duty in the base RC F, as well as the fore-mentioned LC 500.
All will be revealed on January 14th, when the RC F Track Edition will make its debut at the 2019 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Car-Revs-Daily will be live on the ground when that happens, and we look forward to seeing just what the RC F Track Edition has to offer. The lone item that we were able to ascertain from Lexus execs prior to the unveiling is that production of this model is expected to be very limited, which could make the RC F Track Edition an instant classic among collectors though the luxury brand stopped far short of revealing just how many units will exactly be built.
Carl Malek has been an automotive journalist for over 10 years. First starting out as a freelance photographer before making the transition to writing during college, his work has appeared on numerous automotive forums as well as websites such as Autoshopper.com.
Carl is also a big fan of British vehicles with the bulk of his devotion going to the Morgan Motor Company as well as offerings from Lotus, MG, and Caterham. When he is not writing about automobiles, Carl enjoys spending time with his family and friends in the Metro Detroit area, as well as spending time with his adorable pets.