The Lexus LFA lives on in the details in
the LC 500h; the drive mode control
stalk mounted on top of the instrument
cluster (left) is one example.is a joke, only working up to about 15
mph with a feathered throttle.
Open it up on a built-to-thrill road,
and the LC falls apart quicker than my
last woodworking project. Ignoring the
shrill soundtrack piped into the cabin
in Sport+ mode, it seems like none of
the LC’s powerplants or transmissions
like being paired with one another. The
main electric drive motor is underpow-
ered and thus unable to make up for the
V-6’s complete lack of low-end torque.
The LC’s transmission is also overcom-
plicated; one senses conflict between
the surging of the e-CVT and the rough
clunks of the four-speed planetary auto-
matic as you attempt to build up a decent
pace on a good road.
The Lexus’ chassis and suspension
tuning can’t keep up, either. “As soon as
we started charging up the hill, the chassis
and driveline fell to pieces,” road test
editor (and very fast man) Chris Walton
said. “Understeer in this corner, oversteer
in that one. There was absolutely nochance of keeping up with the NSX or i8
in front of me.”
Ultimately the LC, as my dad was
always fond of saying, is all show and no
go. The potential for a great sports car
is there (the V-8 LC 500 proves it), but
the LC 500h will never get there with
this hybrid system. Although Lexus has
squandered its early lead in hybrid tech-
nology, it thankfully has lots it can learn
from our top three finishers.3 rd Place: 2 019 BMW i 8 Coupe
Weird for Weird’s Sake
It’s hard to believe, but BMW deserves
the lion’s share of the credit for estab-
lishing this segment. Its i8, when it
launched in 2014, was the first car that
answered the question of what a perfor-
mance hybrid would (or should) look like.
Space age, it turns out. Even five years
after its debut, the carbon-fiber-bodied
i8 looks simultaneously modern and
futuristic (though who knew the future is
full of blind spots and high-silled carbon
tub and sitting-in-the-bathtub seats?).
Underneath the carbon butterfly doors
and Formula 1–inspired aerodynamics
sits a mid-mounted 1.5-liter turbo-
charged I-3 (exactly half of BMW’s classic
straight-six) bolted to an electric motor
and a six-speed automatic transaxle
responsible for driving the rear wheels.
Up front sits one more electric motor,ENJOY THE BMW i8 WHILE YOU CAN;
DEALERS WILL STOP SELLING IT THIS YEAR.
34 MOTORTREND.COM APRIL 2020