Lexus LC500h: Geneva launch for hybrid coupe boasting '10-speed auto'
That sixty grand price tag is unlikely to be the only number about this car that grabs your attention
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Your support makes all the difference.Lexus will put the LC500h coupe into production next year. For now, the hybrid-engined version of the existing LC, which is expected to cost from £60,000 upwards, will be unveiled at next month’s Geneva show.
Promising a spacious 2+2 cabin and a wide range of safety equipment, the LC500h will benefit from a comprehensive programme of weight-loss measures.
These include aluminium and carbon fibre wherever such things can feasibly go. That means the chassis and most of the body, so a combined 355bhp will get you moving very briskly.
Very, very briskly, actually, thanks to a new gearbox combining a four-speed auto for the engine with a clever new CVT for the motor.
The latter features six synthetic shift points. So rather than having to put up with the woolliness of a traditional CVT, you get what in effect feels like a 10-speed auto.
The result is that a fast car feels faster still. Performance figures remain some way from being announced – but when they are, that sixty grand price tag is unlikely to be the only number about this car that grabs your attention.
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