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Bruce Newton8 Sept 2014
NEWS

Lexus defends porky RC coupe

'Fun to drive' more important than weight watching, insists Lexus RC chief engineer

The chief engineer of the Lexus RC has played down the porkiness of the new coupe, saying “fun to drive” is more important than delivering class-leading kerb weight, fuel efficiency or acceleration.

And Eiichi Kusama pointed out Lexus offers the RC 300h petrol-electric hybrid for anyone who is especially concerned about fuel economy.
The only problem with that argument – as he conceded – is that car is only on sale in Japan and unlikely to be exported.
“How fun to drive is more important than the other things I think,” Kusama told motoring.com.au at least week's RC launch in New York.
“But of course after launch if the market needs other performance, maybe in the future we think we study the other things.”
The Lexus RC 350 goes on sale in Australia in November. Powering its rear wheels with a 233kW/378Nm naturally-aspirated V6, it is a direct competitor for the BMW 4 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-class and Audi A5 coupes.
While the entry price is expected to start as low as $65,000, delivering the RC 350 plenty of bang for buck, its competitiveness diminishes as pricing climbs.
We've outlined the product detail here and you can read our first drive review here.
Riding on a parts-bin architecture than combines the front of the GS large sedan, centre section of the IS250C convertible and rear of the latest IS compact sedan, its most obvious impediment is weight, which has been stated as being in a range from 1680kg to 1740kg.
The BMW 435i is at least 155kg lighter at 1525kg, while the all-wheel drive Audi S5 is at least 35kg higher.
“Body structure, very good rigidity and passive safety and big diameter tyres, then the body weight becomes a little heavier,” Kusama explained. “But I think you don't feel the weight so much.”
But official claims reveal the RC 350 has a slower 0-100km/h acceleration time and a higher claimed fuel consumption average than the 435i, S5 and C 350 coupes. 
“But 3.5-litre we don't compete about the fuel consumption -- we'd like to compete about the how fun to drive,” Kusama insisted.
“Actually, we have the hybrid if we want to compete with the fuel consumption. We use the hybrid, but only Japan market.
“So far other markets not so concerned about fuel consumption among these sports car area.”
A potential alternative to the hybrid which should save weight, fuel and still be pretty quick is a mooted 200t version of the RC, which will feature the newly-developed 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine that debuts in Australia in the mid-size NX crossover.
While coy on the subject, Kusama did concede “the engine bay can handle the installation of the smaller engine.”
The weight differential is even more pronounced for the 5.0-litre V8-powered RC F, which shares the basic architecture of the RC 350 but was developed separately. It weighs in at 1780kg -- more than 240kg heavier than the new BMW M4.
With 351kW and 550Nm on tap, the RC F is more fuel-efficient than the run-out C63 AMG 507 and accelerates to 100km/h slightly faster than the Audi RS 5. 
The 3.0-litre twin-turbo BMW is both faster and drastically more economical, claiming a 2.6L/100km better fuel consumption average than the Lexus' 10.9L/100km.
Chief engineer Yukihiko Yaguchi attributed the F's heavy weight primarily to increased safety equipment.
“It's always better to be lighter, but for this purpose... safety, regulatory, that's something we have to prioritise as well.”
Click here to read our detailed summation of the RC F product package, and here for our first drive review of the car.

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