I turned the dial sprouting out of the right side of the main instrument hood to put the LC 500 in its high-performance Sport S+ mode. Once the driver in front of me disappeared over the horizon of the uphill left turn, I slowly and firmly pushed my right foot down. All 471 horses came out charging with a mania and a fury, and pulled me behind them. The apexes of each of the course’s turns were marked with cones. Those bright orange beacons showed me where to go; getting to them was up to me. The majority of the track’s corners were tight; some changed in radius while simultaneously increasing or decreasing in elevation. It quickly became clear that Eagles Canyon was a complex and technical course. Having never driven it before, I wasn’t going to set any lap times. I was going to enjoy connecting the orange dots, though. The LC 500 felt low, planted, flat, unphased by fast speeds or rapid transitions. It coolly and casually glided from point to point, its 10-speed automatic shifting to the perfect spot from which to process the next bend in the tarmac. Coming out of one particularly tight corner, the back end broke loose. For that split second of sideways, I had the same cavalier attitude that the LC 500 approached every dip and direction change with. It kept its composure when under pressure, but it knew how to have fun – and let me have some, too.
I returned to pit lane thrilled and satisfied by the LC. It was thoroughly different from the LC 500h yet offered the same transcendent driving experience. Lexus’s engineers didn’t just combine metal and leather and rubber to create a car. They fused the mechanical with the anthropomorphic, giving their machine a life force greater than just an engine.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
Where do you go for answers when you have a Lexus with a gorgeous leather interior but are not sure about how to maintain that luxurious look? The "Club Lexus" forums, of course.
