NALLYWHENyouthink of a track car, you imagine
glow and squatto the ground, covered in carbon
g onstickytracktyres,with a clear and uninterrupted
ote and rocks audibly tickling the underbody in
und deadening being removed. Fixed-back bucket
antarainexcess,perhaps a half-cage and adjustable
n. And, if you’re really lucky, maybe some choice
e springyLexanwindows, a giant fixed rear wing and
juttingfrontlip.
LexushasbeenreadingHow To Make A Track Car For. Aspartofa faceliftfor its RC Coupe, it has created
RCF TrackEdition,channelling a bit of GT3 car here,
erthere,tocreatethequickest Lexus since the fabled
a somewhatbravecreation, as the RC F has until now
beena caryouitchtotake on a racetrack, unless you
thesoundofsaddlingup a rhino and trying to ride it
n equestriancourse.
wegettotheTrackEdition treatment, a refresher on the
Makenobonesaboutit,this is an old car underneath
thisfacelift,Lexushaspopped it in the microwave
er 90 seconds.Partsofthe RC platform – which is a
S frontanda currentISrear bolted together with the
onoftheoldIS– dateback to 2005. Same is true of
hercomponentsincluding the eight-speed automatic
ion, butone bitwe’dbe happy to have around for
another 12 yearswould be that engine. Yes, the 2UR-GSE 5.0-
litre,all-alloynaturally aspirated V8 might date back to the IS F’s
debutin2007,butwhat’s the saying, if it ain’t broke?
Indeed,if naturalaspiration wasn’t becoming a ‘unique selling
point’,we’dallrubbish the 2UR-GSE for being a breathless old
nail.Thecompression ratio has crept up over the years, to now
12.3:1,butpowerof351kW and 530Nm is unchanged in this
facelift,andnothingparticularly special in the specific power
stakesasFord will sell you a naturally aspirated 5.0-litre V8
Mustangwithalmostthe same power/displacement as the RC F,
andfora lotlessmoney.
Insteadoftippingdevelopment dollars into the deep, black
holethatisgettingmore power from an atmo engine, Lexus
instead did what it needed to do to make the 5.0-litre meet Euro 6
emissions regulations (it does, impressively) and focused instead
on weight. Of which there was plenty to work with.
This is where the Track Edition comes back in. Turning to
its experience with carbon fibre, gained from the LFA, Lexus
has lavished the beautiful glossy black weave all over the Track
Edition – the bonnet, roof and a new, gorgeous, almost artful
fixed rear wing are all CFRP. The wheels are spindly, forged BBS
items hiding huge carbon-ceramic brakes (together reducing
unsprung mass by 25kg), while the exhaust is now made from no
less than titanium (saving 6kg), the tips with the trademark blue-
purple discolouration. Lexus has also ditched the computer-
controlled electronically locking ‘TVD’ rear differential for a
simple Torsen mechanical LSD, saving approximately 35kg alone.
With other small gains like a lighter, manually adjustable steering
column and a newly hollow driveshaft, the RC F Track Edition’s
weight has dropped 65kg to 1715kg – less than, the Japanese
engineers will smirk, rivals like the Mercedes-AMG C63 S Coupe
or Audi RS5 Coupe. The Track Edition treatment improves the
RC F’s power-to-weight from 197kW/tonne to 204kW/tonne,
equivalent to another 12kW from the engine, forgetting all the
other gains made in ride, handling, braking, economy and
consumables likes brakes and tyres. More so, though, the gains
are harder to measure in moving the RC F’s weight distribution
in the right direction – backwards and downwards – with a focus
on crucial unsprung weight.
The torque converter auto now has launch control, too, theBELOW
Forged BBS 19s look
tops and hide serious
380mm carbon discs
(F/R) with mono-block
Brembo calipers, six-
pot front, four-pot rearABOVE
Fixedcarbonrearwing
honestlycouldgoin
anartmuseum(check
outthe‘F’woveninto
theendplate);provides
onlytokendownforce
RIGHT
TrackEditionnot
a limitededitionbut
just 100 tobemade
globally– initially.
Just 10 coming
toOzfornow➜
48 may 2019 whichcar.com.au/motor