New Lexus V8 Engine to Debut at Nürburgring 24 Hrs Race

With 4.0 liters of displacement and 600 HP, this soon-to-debut V8 might be in a Lexus road car earlier than you might think.

Most people recognize the Lexus LC500 as the company’s flagship grand tourer. However, this car has had an impressive and successful motorsport career since it replaced the RC-F as the brand’s leading race car. In Japan, during the Super GT Championship, the country’s most popular and highest level of GT racing, the LC500 chassis won more than a single season since its introduction in 2017. In the GT500 class of Super GT, the Lexus factory team has won both in 2017 and 2019.

The LC500 might be a absolutely stunning street car, but it seems to be doing even better as a race car. However, improvements are coming according to a recent article by Road and Track. In the Super GT series, all engines regardless of manufacturer are the same, a 2.0L 4-cylinder turbo. However, this LC500 will be prepped for the 2020 24 Hours of Nürburgring race. This allows the team to use the original or just about any engine configuration for their chassis. Lexus announced the engine used during the race will be a brand new twin-turbo V8 model. Let’s find out a little bit more about this new powerplant.

According to the article this engine will be making its way into the road car. Endurance races are grueling testing methods for new components. 24 hours of 100% of any mechanical components capacity will quickly show areas of weakness. You can expect this engine to be dead-reliable when it makes into a production car. We are sure 99.9% of LC owners won’t be redlining their engines for a day straight under any context.

Road and Track states that their sources said this new engine should make somewhere in the range of 600 HP and have a displacement of 4 liters. While we don’t know exactly where this engine will end up in the Lexus line-up, it is safe to assume it will be the LC. It is possible there will be a high-performance model of the LC powered by the turbo-version. Maybe an “LC-F”.

Toyota’s Gazoo racing will be doing their best to test other new innovations for the chassis as well. This includes features such as new stability control and ABS control systems. Hopefully soon we’ll hear some sound clips of this engine at full-tilt. Be on the look out for the Toyota team next year during the race in May, we will be watching!

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Daud Gonzalez

Hi! My name is Daud Gonzalez and I am a local Southern California car enthusiast who loves motorsport to the core. I have spent many years diving deep into modifying, building, and racing cars since beginning my journey with a 2011 BMW 335i Sedan back around 2015. Since then, I have built alongside many close friends several cars for motorsport, including several road race and drifting builds. Few experiences can replicate the full-body immersion that driving a car at the limit on a race track provides. Until that gets boring (which currently seems like never), I will remain dedicated to enjoying motorsports! Thankfully I was able to combine that passion of racing and high-octane adrenaline with another pleasure of mine: writing. I hope you enjoy reading these articles as much as I enjoyed writing them. If you are in SoCal, find me on the racetrack!