Lexus will take the turbocharged four cylinder from the NX 200t and plant it in its RC coupe, the automaker announced today.
The RC 200t, which will make 245 metric horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, has only been announced officially for sale in Europe — for now. It joins the RX 200t, NX 200t and IS 200t in the Lexus lineup as the fourth model to sport the engine on the Old Continent.
Parent-company Toyota has quickly adopted the turbo four as its preferred replacement for its aging V-6 in other cars, including the Camry.
The turbocharged RC may arrive in the United States at some point, but Lexus is tight-lipped about that possibility.
In Europe, the turbocharged, direct-injected engine will only drive the rear wheels and will be exclusively paired to its 8-speed automatic transmission. According to the automaker, it’ll propel the coupe up to 62 mph in 7.5 seconds, while managing roughly 33 mpg in average fuel consumption.
The model will join the recently announced hybrid RC 300h, which isn’t offered in the States either.
That makes it about one second slower than a 2001 Acura CL-S.
A very nice design, that CL. And agree, it’s a bit slow for modern standards. That may not sit well in the US for such a premium vehicle.
I think the original CL was quite tasteful in terms of exterior styling.
I didn’t care for the -original- CL, back in 98 or whenever. It was too slanty at the ends, and put me in mind of a shovel.
Dislike 97-99:
http://www.steeringrackandpinion.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Acura-CL-19971.jpg
Like 00-04:
http://playswithcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/cls.jpg
And since we’re here, the concept which lead to the TL. This thing looks hot even today.
http://www.velocityjournal.com/images/full/2003/80/ac2004tlaspecconcept801968.jpg
The J32A2 was burdened by the obese CL body and in most cases the automatic trans too. Not a bad engine if you put it into something lighter and more fun than a tarted up accord.
IIRC the first edition of the 3.2 CL had all sorts of auto trans problems, and it’s why you don’t see them on the roads today, yeah?
One of my favorite cars to race around was my Turbo III level CL-S on Gran Turismo 2. It was red metallic.
I think I read that Honda didn’t want to pay Borg Warner to license some patents for an automatic trans design so Honda did things another way and it didn’t pan out. Lots of failing automatics on cars of that period. I think Honda paid to replace a lot of transmissions.
Ah ha. This is why the auto trans in some Hondas were poor from 98-05ish.
That’s interesting.
Honda has traditionally used the countershaft design automatic (basically a manual with wet clutches in place of synchros and a torque converter in place of the clutch/flywheel) where most everybody else was planetary gears.
In the early years, it was my understanding that they saved on capital since both were manufactured on similar tooling. But that was an era when manuals and automatics had similar sales penetration. The initial Saturn S series used a similar strategy for their transmissions.
Some say ‘tarted up Accord,’ but I see ‘perfected Accord,’ ie sporty/comfy coupe with all the goodies (for 2001). Classic!
… that’s horrible. But then.. This is a bottom rung Lexus.
Now the real crime will be the price tag..
Less power is not what the overweight RC needs.
But what will this to do the price? As is the car seems a tad pricey.
i’m guessing 3,600lb and $35k base price? it is a lexus after all
cant see people are all that interested in a SC400 type luxury coupe like they were 20 yrs ago… an SUV or CUV? yeah
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3JH8VO5viWA/VbtDBbP1dpI/AAAAAAAAL9M/oEPW5vEr7Pw/s1600/2015-LexusRC200t-04.jpg
nice interior
I seriously doubt this will remain a Europe only offering. It might not make it for 2016 but I bet it will be in North America for 2017.
They’re just testing waters in a market much more accepting of fewer cylinders. You can certainly bet on it being here very soon.
I think I have only seen one or two RC models so far. This tells me they’re not desirable to the general public, who would rather buy 50,000 RX models or an ES. A luxury RWD coupe, in 2015!? Be still my landau heart.
But I’m not a fan of these little tiny engines in a Lexus. That’s not appropriate. Please continue to offer 3.5+ liters and cylinder count of 6 or more.
Didn’t Lexus say that a sub $30K Lexus wouldn’t be a Lexus? At what size engine is a Lexus not a Lexus?
The cylinder count is irrelevant, so long as it makes good power (no), and is smooth and refined (we’ll see).
ZZZZZZZ
Way to differentiate yourself in the market, Mr. Lexus…
I wonder what will constitute sales success in Europe? Lexus sales over there are miniscule in the first place. Perhaps after selling a couple hundred, they’ll bring it to the US to compete with the the 428i.
Then Lexus 241 hp can go head to head with BMW 241 hp and reveal the protein deficiency of Japanese oats. Looks like almost a 2 second difference 0 to 60 mph.
It’s not like an NX200t can keep an X3 in sight. But the interior will be fluffier and have better pleather than BMW’s.
Another car with a 2 liter turbo engine? How exciting. zzzzzzz