Three things we fell for:
1 - Ace drivetrain
2 - Great seats
3 - On-track talent

Three things we got sick of:
1 - Track pad
2 - Track pad
3 - Tr... ok, firm ride

Update 2: Weekend Warrior

RC F reveals its personality on a Sunday drive

I have a problem.
Lexus says MOTOR’s long-term RC F is fitted with its Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS), which was added as part of an update in late 2016. This makes sense, as at a similar time the RC F’s four-door twin, the GS F, scored an identical upgrade which substantially improved its day-to-day ride comfort, erasing one of our key criticisms of an otherwise very likeable car.Herein lies my problem. According to Lexus: “AVS has seven damping-force control strategies. In Eco, Normal and Sport, the system prioritises ride comfort while … in Sport Plus mode the focus of the damping-force control is handling stability”. Trouble is, as much as I flick the dial between Normal and Sport Plus I can’t feel a blind bit of difference.



Now, I’m not at all suggesting Lexus hasn’t fitted the AVS, rather that the difference between the damping strategies must be relatively slight. Or I’m a terrible road tester, which hasn’t been ruled out at this stage.

The cloud to this is that the ride isn’t exactly great – not terrible, but irritatingly reactive to smaller bumps – however the silver lining is that the RC F can be driven around in its most aggressive Sport Plus mode with little to any deterioration in ride quality. This endows Lexus’s 5.0-litre V8 with the crisp throttle response you’d expect of a naturally-aspirated engine as well as ensuring as much of that eight-cylinder growl – artificially enhanced by the Active Sound Control system – enters the cabin as possible.

It’s not an engine that offers the instant gratification of today’s over-torqued turbo units but it sneaks up on you, continuing to gain pace as the revs rise all the way to the 7100rpm cut-out.
MORE Second month report

A long drive over the Christmas break in tandem with DC in a BMW M4 Pure proved the RC F’s potency. Out of corners the M4’s generously endowed mid-range would steal it a couple of metres, but from there on it was virtually level-pegging as the Lexus dug into its sweet spot higher up the tacho.

Having an M4 along, perhaps not quite the benchmark in this segment – that would be the Mercedes-AMG C63 S Coupe – but certainly a formidable foe, proved instructive on a number of levels.
MORE BMW M4 v Lexus RC F v Jaguar F-Type V6 SUsually cars perform better in insolation only for their flaws to come into sharp focus when compared to their peers – see the Lexus LC500 at PCOTY in this month's issue – but in this instance it was the RC F’s strengths that came to the fore.



Aside from that stonking V8 (though it’d be nice if the noise was less manufactured) the RC F’s brakes – 380mm rotors with six-piston calipers up front twinned with 345mm four-potters at the rear – are far superior to the BMW’s in feel and stamina, its behaviour at the limit is less edgy and its stability control system far more lenient and subtle in its intervention, though the amount of opposite lock it permits in ‘Expert’ mode means the name isn’t meaningless marketing rubbish.

The eight-speed auto can’t match the shifts of the M4’s dual-clutch for swiftness, but it’s brisk enough to prevent annoyance. Working against it is its weight. Virtually every negative compared to the M4 – specifically insufficient urge under 4000rpm, a relative lack of agility and lower ceiling in terms of outright grip – could be largely nullified by a hefty diet.



Very stiff the structure may be, combining the front of a GS sedan, the reinforced centre section of the old IS Convertible and rear end of the IS sedan, but no wonder it’s heavy – it’s made out of three cars! A little more weight to the steering wouldn’t go astray, either.

Nonetheless, the Lexus earned plenty of points this month. I appreciated its differences to the German hegemony before, but there’s now a greater appreciation for how much engineering depth is behind those polarising looks. But is there enough to withstand some hot laps at one of Australia’s fastest racetracks? More on that next month.

Update 3: Heavy Hitter

Time for the flabby Lexus to do some exercise

"I’ll take a punt and say it’s a 10”. Scott Williams’ answer is not a welcome one.

The senior Bureau of Meteorology forecaster was asked to rate the storms scheduled to lash Victoria out of 10 and he delivered the maximum score among phrases like “unprecedented” and “top end of rainfalls seen in the last 30 years.”These aren’t words you want to hear when you’re booked to tackle Phillip Island, one of Australia’s fastest and most challenging racetracks. We’re fortunate to spend more time on track than most here at MOTOR, but practice is only valuable if you know what to practice, so a day’s instruction with Evolve Driving would double as an opportunity to spend some time on track in the RC F.



Few standard road cars can withstand the rigours of a full day at a circuit. Usually, a couple of hard sessions, a half-day at most, will cook the vast majority of road-based brakes and tyres. Lexus F models are exceptions to the rule.

Despite substantial kerb weights, their brakes display impressive stamina and Michelin Pilot Super Sports handle track day stresses better than most. Neither of these things are particularly relevant right now during the first track session as the heavens open with a ferocity that would have Noah going back to the drawing board.

Giant rivers form across the track and having seen first-hand what happens when a car aquaplanes on PI’s front straight – a Mercedes E63 barrel-rolled in front of me at an AMG event a few years ago – discretion is definitely the better part of valour. Yet caution is still not enough.

Despite having the electronics fully on and wiping almost 100km/h from a typical dry speed on the main straight, as soon as I brush the brakes on the downhill run into turn one the car snaps sideways on a river.

It’s amazing how life goes into slow motion at moments like this. The whole situation is over in a handful of seconds but every one is crystal clear: the futile attempt at opposite lock; the “uh oh” thought as the car hits the wet grass followed by “don’t touch anything!”; the relief as the car rejoins the circuit, a patch of dirt on the turn one apex the only evidence of the misadventure.
Thankfully, from then on the day runs much more smoothly. The RC F’s naturally-aspirated V8 is a huge advantage in slippery conditions; lacking the massive turbocharged torque of its rivals (M4, C63 Coupe) means it’s much easier to meter out the power and avoid wheelspin.‘Expert’ might be a fairly cheesy name for its sports ESP setting but it’s also an apt one as it allows a very generous amount of slip before intervening. It’s perfectly calibrated for circuit use. If you really want to have fun, turning the electronics off opens the door to massive slides, the RC F a natural drift car thanks to decent levels of feedback, good balance and lots of steering lock, though it requires quick initial reflexes.



The wet weather provides a great opportunity to work on driving technique and allows for plenty of laps as tyre and brake wear is negligible, but questions still remain over the Lexus’s ultimate ability.

Thankfully, the final session is dry but a day of tip-toeing around has left me far too cautious. Switching to the passenger seat, Evolve owner Dean Sammut demonstrates just what the RC F is capable of, as well as the correct way to drive it.




Oddly, the big Lexus feels more at home here at Phillip Island than just about anywhere. The pace it can carry through PI’s long, sweeping corners is staggering – when you get the line right, that is – the speedo showing north of 200km/h on the exit of Turn 3.

Only now with repeated dry-weather laps do the brakes begin to feel the strain, but impressively the groans and graunches slowly disappear as normal driving resumes. Unlike Scott Williams, I’m not going to get carried away and say the RC F is a 10, but as a track car it definitely defied expectations.