Lexus RC F Racecar Will Stab You if You Get Too Close
When you think of Lexus, your mind doesn’t normally think about racing, but with Lexus’s new zeal on becoming a true competitor for Mercedes and BMW, that means it needs a vibrant and winning racing program. That’s why the RC F has received the racing treatment, full of wings, scoops, carbon fiber, and roll-cages for Japan’s Super GT series.
The racecar is a symphony of angles, and cut-outs that would make Picasso jealous. The car uses, oddly, a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that pumps out a pretty respectable 500 hp. That’s seriously not bad to get all that horsepower out of the little mill. My only concern would be longevity. Anyone who knows or follows racing, knows that longevity is key for teams to stay in the series. Costs in racing are astronomical, especially at this level. Anything that can be done to keep costs down is greatly beneficial to the team.
I mention this because at the moment, Super GT and DTM are merging rules for the new season, and while Super GT uses whatever motor you can come up with, DTM mostly uses 4.0L V8s. And Lexus has a couple really great reliable V8s they can use for the car. It just seems odd that Lexus would choose to use the four-cylinder rather than the eight, especially since the models it’s trying to emulate will only come with the V8.
Who cares, though? What this car means is just another manufacturer coming to high-level road racing, and that is always good. If you want to catch the car in action, I believe CBS Sports airs DTM and Super GT every so often.
Who cares, though? What this car means is just another manufacturer coming to high-level road racing, and that is always good. If you want to catch the car in action, I believe CBS Sports airs DTM and Super GT every so often.