Lexus Chief Engineer Answers Questions About RC F

I wouldn’t necessarily call the RC F weird, but there are definitely weird things about it. The engine, for instance, is a naturally aspirated V8. BMW, Audi, and Mercedes have all been trending towards smaller engines with turbo chargers. Weirder still is that it uses the Atkinson cycle.

The engine is one of the biggest selling points for the RC F. Clearly, the body is the first thing that everyone notices, but the engine is where all the real engineering is.

Yukihiko Yaguchi, Lexus’ Chief engineer, discusses why they made the decisions they did in an interview with Lexus of the UK’s blog. Some of the questions have fairly obvious answers, but there are some good questions. Like “Why a v8 powerplant when BMW, for instance has decided o fit a turbocharged six-cylinder?” and “How hard was it to meet new emissions legislation with the new V8?” He claims the feeling of a naturally aspirated V8 is important to the character of the car.

I just like the sound it makes. Check out what he has to say in detail on their blog here.

via [Lexus UK]