2021 Lexus LC500 Convertible Is Finally Here, and It’s Gorgeous
Lexus is rolling out a convertible LC500 for the 2021 model year, and it looks gorgeous.
Shown at the 2019 Los Angeles auto show, the LC500 convertible is being kicked off with 100 examples in this limited Structural Blue with a white leather interior.
Android Auto and lane-keeping assist are listed as new additions to the car's standard features, which we expect will apply to all 2021 LC models.
We've long thought the Lexus LC would look great as a convertible. Luckily, so did Lexus, as the brand's grand-touring coupe is finally being joined by a ragtop model for the 2021 model year.
The LC500 convertible's top retracts in 15 seconds and motors back into place in 16. While adding the convertible top requires abandoning the coupe model's more elegant fastback roofline, Lexus engineers have done an admirable job of making the LC500 convertible look pretty polished with its roof in place.
Using the same 471-hp 5.0-liter V-8 engine as the LC500 coupe, the LC500 convertible should offer similar performance. At our test track, the LC500 managed a 4.7-second blast from zero-to 60 mph. A hybrid model, the LC500h, which comes with a V-6 and a pair of electric motors, did the deed in 4.8 seconds, but Lexus hasn't yet announced a convertible hybrid model.
Lexus claims that the convertible model has been designed to retain the handling and driving dynamics of the hardtop model, and structural braces have been added to maintain the rigidity of the car's chassis. An overall weight of 4497 pounds means the convertible model is 126 pounds heavier than the last LC500 coupe we tested and 24 pounds lighter than the our LC500h hybrid test car.
The interior of the LC convertible is much like that of the coupe. The limited-edition model shown at the Los Angeles auto show will be produced in limited numbers–only 100 will be made–and it features a white semi-aniline leather interior with blue accents to match the Structural Blue exterior color. The car's climate control system operates on logic that's dependent on the top's position; if the top is down in chilly fall weather, neck heaters will activate to help keep front-seat occupants warm.
Interestingly, a Lexus spokesperson said that the LC convertible's top stows in the same area where the LC500h's battery pack lives, so it would require re-engineering the top in order to build a convertible version of the hybrid. Guess we won't hold our breath for one, in that case.
A large, 10.3-inch infotainment display is big and bold across the dashboard and, for 2021, will offer both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability. For 2020, LC500 models only come with Apple CarPlay; lane-keeping assist and lane-departure warning are also being added as standard equipment. We expect these updates to hit the LC coupe models for the 2021 model year as well.
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