Lexon Lexus LC 500 Debut
The 36th annual Tokyo Auto Salon has come and gone and has given us a lot of insight into where the Japanese tuning community is taking car customization. Some of the new styles may become trends and some may even make their way around the globe.
As we maneuvered our way through crowd totaling close to 320,000 people, we noticed a few trends for this year from the 880 cars that were on display. There were a lot more U.S. manufactured cars and trucks, an increasing number of exotics, and three stand-out cars: the Toyota H-CR, the Honda NSX and the Lexus LC 500.
Speaking of the Lexus LC 500, there were a lot of entries this year, from the very aggressive to the subtle. Even though Lexus began production in March of 2017, most tuners chose to wait to reveal their product lines until this year's Tokyo Auto Salon. There were plenty of variations on display ranging from the aggressive slammed-on-air builds to full-on GT race versions, but it was the one sitting in the Adidas Racing booth that caught our attention the most.
Lexon, Toyota and Lexus styling specialists, debuted their new Lexus LC 500 body kit this year, referring to it as "Luxury Sports" as a nod to its sporty nature combined with the comforts that Lexus is known for. Like a counter to the Toyota C-HR, the body of the LC 500 flows, with no harsh lines breaking your gaze as it moves from front to back. The pieces of the Lexon Exclusive kit simply accentuate the curvature of the body.
In the front, you can find a front lip spoiler that gracefully rolls at the edges, creating a subtle canard that leads towards the bodyline created by the lower side panels.
Below the side panels are a set of side splitters that appear rather simple until you look at them from above. From there, you can see just how curvaceous the body is and how Lexon accentuated that by following it to a point, then by creating a small accent before reaching the rear arches.
The rear features the most aggressive piece of the kit with the lower diffuser. Tucked perfectly under the factory bumper, it is difficult to even see that they are actually separate pieces. The diffuser will help smooth out the turbulent air as it exits the rear of the car and also provide some additional downforce.
Although Lexon produces a rear wing replacement, it appeared that the one on display was still using the factory version. The rear spoiler reveals itself automatically when the driver exceeds 50 mph and then retracts when speed is reduced below 25 mph. When retracted, the rear wing is flush with the body, so the Lexon version provides the appearance of a trunk lip while not affecting the function of the original.
The LC 500's engine wasn't touched, with the remaining upgrades limited to the suspension, brakes and wheels. The car doesn't look that much lower, but things should be a bit tighter in the corners thanks to RSR's SUPERi suspension kit. Braking is improved with a set of Project Mu brake pads which will help bring the large Rays Volk Racing G25s to a stop. The large 22-inch wheels are wrapped neatly in a set of 255/30R22 Nitto Invo tires.
The overall package with subtle aero modifications and daily drivable ride height made this LC 500 from Lexon the one we could see ourselves driving regularly. The big question however is if owners are willing to customize a car that starts at $92,000. We're looking forward to seeing the first State-side customized LC 500.
