Light-headed Lexus LC500 touches down in LA

Having confirmed the drop-top LC 500 back in June before showing a pre-production version a month later at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Lexus has not officially pulled the covers off the production model at the Los Angeles International Auto Show.

Remaining externally unchanged from the coupe apart from the four-layer soft-top roof that can be opened in 15 seconds and closed in 16 at speeds up to 50 km/h, the majority of the convertible’s changes have taken place underneath the skin where additional bracing has been added to make up for the loss in rigidity.

In addition, the suspension has been retuned with the rear suspension being made out of lightweight die-cast aluminium, the damper uprated for a more comfort biased ride and the rear suspension tower brace relocated. Also new is the front suspension that has been redesigned to reduce un-sprung weight.

Inside, the interior has been kept mostly unchanged, but now features a transparent polycarbonate wind deflector that rises when the roof is down and more sound deadening materials to cut down on cabin noise intrusion.

Departing from the coupe, the convertible also sports a brand-new climate control system designed adjust the temperature accordingly when cooler conditions are detected. To this end, the seats feature neck heaters while the steering wheel comes with a heating element. Specification is otherwise unchanged from coupe, but a choice of three colours are offered; Black, Toasted Caramel and Circuit Red.

Up front, Lexus has retained the normally aspirated 5.0-litre V8 that produces 351kW/540Nm, sent to the rear wheels via the 10-speed Direct Shift automatic gearbox. No performance figures where however revealed.

Limited to just 300 units in a choice of seven colours; Ultra White, Liquid Platinum, Atomic Silver, Cadmium Orange, Flare Orange, Smokey Granite Mica, Nightfall Mica, Caviar, Obsidian and Infrared with a choice of two hues for the roof; beige and black, the LC 500 Convertible will go on sale next year, although no word on South African availability has yet been made.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.