2024 Lexus LC gets a range of welcome changes in Europe, adds Ultimate Edition
The 2024 Lexus LC coupe and convertible will enter production next month for the European market, so the automaker has shared what’s on the way. We expect most if not all of the changes will make their way here. As has been happening throughout the rest of the Lexus lineup, the touchpad-controlled infotainment system gives way to a more refined, full-featured system with a larger touchscreen. The 10-inch display is no more, a 12.3-inch display taking its place, the screen pulled from its recess and moved 3.4 inches closer to the driver for easier operation. Among the feature set, voice control can respond to about 100 commands, Apple CarPlay works with or without wires, while Android Auto users must keep to the cord. Cloud-based navigation provides real-time traffic and road info, and the Lexus Link smartphone app can remotely control functions such as locking the doors and setting the HVAC. An audio perk is the standard 13-speaker Mark Levinson sound system getting new speakers for the instrument panel and rear seatbacks for better fidelity when playing high-resolution sound.
Elsewhere around the cabin, new materials can be specced for the seats, and the color crew added two-tone cabin schemes. Blue & White puts blue highlights on the steering wheel, shift knob, lower door trim, and front scuff plates. Rose is for the sporty buyers, mixing red seats, tunnel console, instrument panel, and lower door handle trim with a “dark black” cabin. Designers also revised material arrangements on the passenger’s side of the instrument panel, and the door tread plates in the Sport Package have been upgraded to carbon.
The Lexus Safety System + suite of driver safety systems boosts its tech capability. Pre-Collision System can now keep track of bicyclists during the day, as well as other vehicles and pedestrians. Intersection Turning Assist provides cues to help drivers make unprotected left and right turns. Dynamic Radar Cruise Control, gets Curve Speed Reduction to automatically adjust the vehicle’s speed according to the radius of the bend.
Outside, the colors Heat Blue Contrast Layering and Sonic Copper join the palette, as do three new forged wheels either 20 or 21 inches in size. Reshaped side mirrors create less wind noise and now contain cameras for the standard Panoramic View Monitor system.
Performance gets mechanically fine-tuned with revisions to a myriad of components like the coil springs, hub bearings, engine mounts, and steering gearbox fasteners. Electronic refinements see the brake-by-wire system programmed for “more natural and seamless feel,” and the 10-speed automatic shift logic reworked “to better anticipate the driver’s intentions in D mode,” plus provide a more visceral experience in Sport S+. For the owners (owner?) who take their LCs to the track, a new Expert Mode disables traction control, enabling drifts.
The lithium-ion battery in the LC 500h delivers its power more quickly thanks to cells with higher capacity.
And then there’s the LC Ultimate Edition, which goes into production in September. This trim will be available for the V8-powered coupe and convertible, done up in Hakugin White paint sealed with a satin lacquer, the paint contrasted by black trim pieces around the car as well as a carbon fiber rear wing. And check out the canards formed as part of the front bumper. A Kachi-Blue interior recalls the kachi-iro threads once sewn into samurai armor. Further refinements to the engine and rear differential, Alcantara trim, tread plates inscribed with “Limited Edition,” and an aluminum plaque ahead of the shift knob bears the vehicle’s VIN complete the special touches.
