The 2023 Lexus LC 500 has always been in a very peculiar place in the two-door GT segment. The model seeks to dethrone many of the segment heavyweights, but it brings an old-school charm to its look that aims to appeal to a wide range of customers. Lexus is so confident in the model that it has carried over mostly unchanged for the 2023 model year. But is this policy of light updates a good long-term solution in a segment where rapid evolution has taken hold?
LC 500 Sails Full Steam Ahead Into The New Model Year
As mentioned, Lexus is not making any major updates to the LC for the 2023 model year, and as a result, the bulk of it is carried over largely unchanged. The only major change that the company did make is one new paint color: Cloudburst Gray, which replaces the outgoing Smokey Gray color. That’s fine with us since the LC is still a very beautiful coupe to look at. The front end gets Lexus’s signature spindle-style front grille, flanking the large grille by sleek-looking LED headlights. The overall profile is futuristic in its appearance, with plenty of sweeps and curves baked into the design. The rear is still very handsome looking and gets LED taillights with special mirrored pieces in the assembly.
Large 21-inch wheels are standard on the LC, making the coupe look attractive and stylish. While a few of its rivals, like the Mercedes SL, have undergone multiple revisions and benefitted from new styling, the LC is resisting the rigors of age well, and it still looks current, which should please LC loyalists.
Elegant Interior Still Looks Like A Yacht’s, Software Continues To Hobble It
Slip inside the 2023 Lexus LC, and you’ll find a very familiar environment, especially if you are moving from the outgoing model. Like the exterior, the interior has been carried over from the outgoing model, with the vivid red inserts in the seats and doors being contrasted by the black-on-black color scheme. The leather sport seats are still very comfortable places to spend time in, and the suede inserts help keep occupants firmly in place during spirited driving. The back seats are still meant for children or unruly relatives, but you can use them as leather-adorned cargo shelves when you don’t have any of those to deal with.
Other elegant details (including the handsome dash-mounted clock) help enhance the luxury vibe further, but the older Lexus Enform infotainment system still hobbles the LC. Lexus has been slowly introducing a new infotainment system in some of its other models. Still, for now, we might add the flagship LC (the pinnacle of the model lineup) will continue to feature the old system, which might turn off tech-focused buyers looking to experience Lexus’s latest flagship technology in their LC purchase.
V8 Performance Continues To Be Ticket To LC Success
Performance for the 2023 Lexus LC lineup will still come from two different engines. While a hybrid-equipped 3.5-liter V6 is available, we suggest that you stick with the 471 horsepower, 5.0-liter V-8. This engine is not only lighter than the V6, but it’s also the engine that allows the LC to tap into its full performance potential. A 10-speed automatic is the lone transmission here, and it’s still a curious case of Jekyll and Hyde, with the smooth operation at high speeds being balanced out by clunky shift behavior when cruising through the city.
A trip to Farmington Hills to see a friend reinforced our initial findings, and it’s a shame because the LC can achieve so much more if the transmission manages to get on the same page as the wailing V8 all the time. At least the variable electric steering rack and rear-wheel steer system make the big coupe feel smaller than it really is. Fuel economy is what you would expect for a V8-powered coupe, but most LC buyers don’t really care about that and will instead focus on how much luxury and performance the LC will deliver every time they go for a drive. The V8 engine is also rapidly becoming an outlier in a world where turbocharging and less cylinders are rapidly becoming more common.
Value Quotient
Pricing for the 2023 Lexus LC lineup starts at $99,550 for a base LC 500 coupe model, with the droptop model starting at $107,050, a noticeable premium over the coupe. Our V8-powered coupe example arrived with a small sprinkling of options, which caused the final price to go over $100,000. This pricing structure allows the LC to undercut many of its German rivals with the BMW 8-Series and the Mercedes SL, featuring higher pricing than the Lexus.
That said, we hope that Lexus will eventually bring more extensive updates to the LC in the future. Taking it easy with updates is a message of confidence on Lexus’s part. Still, with many of its rivals embracing newer interior technology, smaller engines, and even styling upgrades, it will be very interesting to see how Lexus will respond to the needs of the segment during the next few years and whether it will give the LC the updates it truly needs to still hang with the segment.
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.