6 Ways the Lexus RC F Made the Luxury Brand Better

Going Racing

As has been the case for a few years now, the Lexus RC F remained a niche product in 2023, only selling in scant numbers compared to the luxury brand's ultra-popular crossovers and SUVs. However, the RC F continues to chug along as one of the very few luxurious, performance-focused coupes left in the world, and it has also played a pretty important role in Lexus' motorsports efforts as well - efforts that have since trickled down to its road-going models, too. 

Photos: Lexus

It Was Never Meant To Be

While the RC F is Lexus' slowest-selling model, its racing counterpart - the RC F GT3 - has helped the brand become a serious competitor in the GTD and GTD Pro divisions of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series. However, Toyota Racing Development U.S.A. President David Wilson recently explained to Automotive News that the RC F wasn't designed from the start to serve double duty as a race car. "The RC F was kind of at the front end of that product planning cycle where there was a genuine intent to build performance as a credible brand attribute," he said at the recent Rolex 24 of Daytona race.  

Photos: Lexus

Trickle Down

It was a couple of years after the RC F went on sale that the GT3 debuted, in fact, but Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda's desire to build exciting cars wound up paying off in that regard, and is what Wilson credits for its success on the track. Perhaps more importantly, the things that Lexus has learned from the RC F GT3 are already being put to good use. "We are working actively on the development of the next generation, a proper GT3 car, that will of course have a fully homologated production variant," Wilson said.

Photos: Lexus

Surprising Success

In the meantime, despite all the odds being stacked against them, Lexus continues to enjoy surprising success in a car that was never meant to be a full-fledged racer. In fact, Vasser Sullivan won the 2023 GTD Pro manufacturers championship in its very first full season in that particular division. 

Photos: Lexus

Putting In Work

As one might imagine, achieving this level of success in such a highly competitive series wasn't exactly easy. "We're racing against brands that have been doing this for 100 years, literally," Wilson said. "For Lexus to credibly build performance as a brand attribute, you just gotta race every week, every month, and every year. I'm just super proud that in eight years we are as committed as we've ever been."

Photos: Lexus

Building a Brand

One of the most important things Lexus' GT3 efforts have achieved is more of a separation from its parent company - Toyota - after it previously enjoyed some on-track success after winning three straight Rolex 24 at Daytona races in the early 2000s in what were essentially "badging exercises," according to Wilson. That's no longer the case, as the RC F GT3 is based on the production RC F - not some Toyota model. 

Photos: Lexus

Paving the Way

Thus, it's pretty easy to see why Lexus keeps the RC F around, even if it doesn't sell in large quantities - it's all about raising awareness. "For that car to be a few years old and had that kind of awareness, there was certainly some type of correlation to having a greater presence on track with people who are speed-minded and like to come out to watch us and see and learn about the car," said Jeff Bal, Toyota Motor North America's senior manager of motorsports. "That to me is a telling testament of why this matters to be here, to continue to drive consideration for the brand and more performance for the cars."

Photos: Lexus

>>Join the conversation about the RC F right here at ClubLexus.com.

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