Motor Australia – May 2019

0-100km/htimea claimed4.3sec,twotenthsquickerthanthe
oldRCF. TheTrackEditionalsousesa passivedamperset-upin
placeoftheadaptiveunitsofthemoreplush‘base’RCF.
Togetherwiththenewheadlights– featuringDRLsthatlook
likea swishofa samurai’ssword– theweight-savingmeasures
arehighly visible from the outside, creatinga busily styled,
butundoubtedlyaggressiveJapanesesportscoupewithclear
motorsportDNA– andonewithsomeseriouson-roadpresence.
Today,though,we’reonlydrivingitonatrack,whichdoes
seemfittingfora TrackEdition.WillowSprings,aboutanhour
anda halffromLosAngeles,USA(Lexusis ostensiblymore
an American than Japanese company) is one of the oldest
racetracksintheStates.Itsconfigurationhasnotchangedsince
it openedin1953,fourkilometreslongandnineturns,a former
testtrackofCARTduringitshalcyondaysofthe1980sand’90s.
Thisisa fasttrack;it’sa bitlikecombiningthespeedandlong
cornersofPhillipIslandwiththetired,bumpysurfaceofCalder
Park.Andthenmadetolooklikea giantversionofWakefield
Parkdroppedonthesideofa biggerhill,ina dryanddesert-like
environment.LikeAliceSprings.
SittingintheRCF TrackEditionis a bitlikegoingbackintime,
theloudredandblacktreatmentremindingusofthedaysFord
andHoldenusedtodothesamewithitsownhotted-upFalcons
andCommodores,manymoonsago.There’sacuriousblend
ofToyota-derivedblandswitchgearandfonts combinedwith
youthful,PlayStation-esqueTFTgraphicslikethetachometer
andinstruments. Andit’sjustaswell we’reon atracktoday
anddon’t havetointeract,atall,withthe notoriouslyfiddly
infotainmentsystem.
Blastingoutofpit-lane,wearelikingtheRCF TrackEdition
almostimmediately.Passionandeffortisobviouseverywhere,
fromthe interiorand exteriorstylingtothe enthusiasmand
noiseofthatatmoV8.If theRCF TrackEditionwasa person,it’d
beveryeasytolikethecutoftheirjib.
Theenthusiasmextendsontrack.TheRCF feelsenergeticand
agilefromtheoff– a poofteenthmorethanwhatweremember
oftheoldRCF – acceleratingwitha deep,loud,V8intakenote
bubblingupasiffromwithin thedash itself.Inthisage of
turbochargersweforgetthatintakenoiseusedtobea thing.The
RCF soundsgreat,a highlystrung,high-revvingbellowmaking
it innowaysurprisingthefacttheenginewasco-developedby
a motorcyclecompany,Yamaha.Thisisindeedanenginethat
wants,andneeds,torev.
Firstbigbrakeapplicationandthecarbonceramicsbitehard
withconfidence,althoughthereisstraightawaytheimpression
youneedtobesensibleaboutwhereyou’restartingtobrake
from.TheRCF TrackEdition,withitsfree-revvingengine– asif
takenfroma lightercar– canlullyouintoa falsesenseofsecurity
abouthowmuchit weighs.
It’sthegripofthenew,specificallydevelopedMichelinPilot
Sport4Styresthatcreatesthissenseofcomplacency.Lateralgrip
levelsarethroughtheroof,concealingjusthowmuchweight
ismovingaboutandmakingtheRCFfeel,mid-corner,about
100kglighterthanit is.Hencetheneedtoremindyourself,asyou
barreldownthestraight,thatbanzaibrakingis notaspossibleas
thelateralgripofthelastcornerhasledyoutobelieve.
Frontend?Doesthejob.Thesteeringisquickofrack,sharp
andeager,buttypicallynumbanda bitforgettabletouse.The
transmissionhas comearemarkablylongway, quickupthe
gearsandnottoobadbackdownthem,butthisis notwin-clutch
’box.Fortunately,it issupersmoothatregularspeeds.
Aerois nota thingonthiscaraswell.Therearwingdoescreate
somedownforce,Lexussays,althoughyou’dbehardpressedto
noticeanythingotherthansomeextrastabilityattopspeedon
aGermanautobahn.UnlikesomethinglikeaGT3RS,which

BELOW

Thesewouldmakea

listofthebestcar

seatsever– artful,

comfortable,original

andyetsupportive.

Bestinteriorfeature

LEFT

Lexusprovesdigital

tachometerscan be

ascoolandaseasy to

readasanalogue ones;

a bitofobvious LFA

DNA,too

OPPOSITE

Nomajorchanges

inRCF cabinforthe

facelift.Veryniceand

wellbuilt,evenif some

ofit stillfeels 10 years

old.Likelybecauseit is

➜

makesCupCar-rivallingdownforce,youarenotemboldenedto

‘holdit flat’throughfastercornerswhereyourbrainis tellingyou

notto.IntheTrackEditionit isstillwisetolistentothatvoice.

BeltingaroundintheTrackEdition,a fewotherthingsbecome

apparent.First, longevity –on a warm day the RCF never

getsupset,lettingyougolapafterlapatfullnoise,noissues

whatsoever.Thecarbonceramicsholdupwell,andnodoubt

thewholeshebangishelpedbya newlyfittedtransmissionoil

cooler.If a so-calledTrackEditionmustbeabletospenda whole

day,nosweat,ata trackday,thisoneticksthatbox.

Anotherthoughtistheattitudeyoumustbringtothiscar.

Ithasa plush,fullleatherinterior– anditisnota Porsche 911

GT3.Norisit,frankly,a cartheexperiencedtrackdayaddict

buystochipawayattheirPB,astheRCF’somnipresentweight

leadsit towiltif youarelookingtospendmostofyourtimeat

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