Lexus LF-LC Gets Painted Blue for Australia; Rumored to be Built

LexusLexusJapan, 1989 > present26 models
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has been showing the LF-LCLexus LF-LCJapan, 2012 > present20 photos
concept for nearly the past year. The concept was unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in January and has toured the world since then. Its latest stop is the International Motor Show in Sydney where it has received a new Opal Blue paint scheme. Lexus s now openly admitting to plans to try to put the concept into production. 

"We want to make it and it’s looking better that we could possibly make it," said Karl Schlicht.

The LF-LC started as a pure, one-off concept. At NAIAS, it said that the car was a playground for stylists and engineers. They were free to design the car however they liked, and there were no plans to build it. However, the car received a great reaction in Detroit and everywhere else it has been this year. 

The car is Australia has the new exterior paint and gets a new brown and white interior as well. Otherwise, it is identical to the original concept. 

However, Lexus is talking about the engine for the first time. The LF-LC uses a 500hp V8 hybrid, presumably a tuned version of the 5.0-liter V8 hybrid out of the LS600h L. It would be the brand's most powerful hybrid model. 

“LF-LC is part concept, part reality: the concept hints at what’s to come from Lexus, while the reality has us actively studying how we can engineer and build a vehicle like this in the future," said Lexus Australia's Tony Cramb.

Lexus sees a hole in its lineup between the $119,000 LS hybridLexus LS 600hJapan, 2013 > present9 photos
and the $375,000 LFALexus LFA Gen.0Japan, 2012 > present4 versions
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. The LF-LC could probably be sold for around $175,000 and give the brand a second halo car, but this time it would be a halo car that people would actually see. Lexus has built just a few hundred LFAs. The LF-LC could be the brand's halo GT to match is halo sports car. 

Source: Autocar