Video: Motor Trend Compares the Lexus RC F & BMW M4

Victory for Lexus, considering it was over $10,000 cheaper, and not comparaby equipped with carbon ceramics, which took away extra weight from the M4 while giving the M4 a competitive advantage. The Lexus could have even set a better lap time given similar specs... Also, they tried real hard (almost busting a lung at 8:48) to make it look like that oversteer in the BMW was so "fun", but they were forced to recant at the end and say that it could have been bad, because the lap time video clearly shows it. The BMW did not look well planted at all, and like in other videos I have seen with the M4, it seems like the so much torque, down so low in the rev range is working against it in the mid corner and corner exits. That is a problem on the street, especially in the wet; look at how hard it seemed to be to control in the dry by a professional driver, on the track. Carlos also noted it oversteering at 105mph; not good to me, especially on the street. The BMW has the same 1980s look and style, interior and exterior, only modernized; a negative not commented on by MT, of course. RC-F is way hotter, that's what they call charisma. Notice how they don't go into detail on what they dont like about the looks, just making a generalized, subjective statement as if it were true, a justification for putting it in second place.And surprise, no road test, where the RC F would have been more than likely better; where 95% of people will be driving these cars on a daily basis. In the past, they MT and american mags like C/D would "cheat" for BMW by declaring a Lexus model not "sporty enough" after making the BMW the only stick shift or sports package in the comparo test, and giving the Lexus a second place score because of that. Now the Lexus is clearly sporty enough, but they are still not making the comparison fair. Its funny how being down 400lbs and low range torque only turned out a .3 second difference in this case. The .3 could be down to the ceramics or other factors like driver error. Lol also Carlos body language shows he does not or is not allowed to say the RC F is better, mostly saying what it is not. When he said the sound is better, he bit his toungue and his face was like he was not supposed to say that (7:57)..... These videos also use clever editing to only make us hear certain comments that highlight certain strenghts or weaknesses using words like 'fun' 'soft' etc about a particular car..... Trust me, there were alot of other comments that probably could have made the final cut, the ones used were specifically chosen. All my opinions of course, I still like the M4; not sure if it is really that better as they keep trying to make us believe.

Bottom line, the porky RC-F needs to shed 300-400 lbs. Imagine what could have been...

I watched this review yesterday and thought it was great. I was really surprised by the lap times, but it just shows how capable the RCF actually is.

These two are playing in the same ballpark, but playing two different games. The RCF is more a GT with an edge, not a pure sports car like the M4. As Carlos said, without saying it, the RCF is the daily driver of the two. The M4 is the track star of the two. BUT the RCF was only .3 of a second behind the M4 in the Lap Attack, the amount of time it takes to miss an apex in a corner. I don't like the looks, or the largess of the RCF, but Lexus will bring in younger, new buyers to the fold with the new Lexus RC. It will get noticed. Mission accomplished! BD

Huge victory for the RC-F! RC-F was only 3/10th slower around the track with the BMW M4 having optional carbon ceramic brakes. It it had been standard steel brakes like the RC-F, RC-F would have been faster. RC-F is evenly matched with the M4 despite the 400 lbs extra weight. Also, as Randy said, the motor in the RC-F trounces that of the M4 as he kept referring to it as "race motor". Even in a straight line, the two cars are evenly matched evident from the track race video where they were neck and neck on the long back straight hitting similar trap speeds. Only, M4 can launch harder off the line with an aggressive launch control. The RC-F does not allow enough wheel spin for the maximum possible fast start, but once both cars are rolling, they both accelerate very evenly.

The M4 is really a low performer for its spec sheet: it is 400lbs lighter, has more torque through the whole rev band, has almost as much power (M4 guys say their car is underrated and makes +450 HP), and here the M4 is 3/10 faster and looks so unstable? Track car when you can have a much better track car for less (Toyota GT86, BMW M235i/M2, Porsche Cayman GTS/GT4 to name a few), and when most will not go on track but daily drive their car? I like Subaru WRX STI, Mitsubishi EVO and all these cars, I also like the M4, but it seems the M4 in all aspects went from "gentleman race" to "boy racer". This car became immature. It is difficult to judge how good the M4 is, because it has no benchmark, comparing M4 to E92M is comparing apple to orange and they are totally different cars, and comparing M4 to 435i is only relative to 435i, but not on a larger scale.

While I think it's a bit silly to keep focusing on the 3/10ths of a second difference in the lap times, the overall point is that the RC F would be a much better car to live with in the real-world, which is what ultimately matters. At the end of the day very few customers of either car will be spending time at a track, and in a day-to-day situation, constant oversteer is a problem, not a "feature."

On the track in this round, the RCF "lost", by fractions. But as the reviewers stated, thanks to its more supple ride, then factor in better reliability and overall quality, the RCF is the better real-world car you can live with. For 70K, I'll sacrifice 0.3 seconds to the next traffic light in favor of saving 3hrs for an unscheduled stop at the garage. Of course, if someone buys this car to be primarily driven on the track and has a maintenance crew on standby, no brainer, get the M4.

i dont know ..i dont like that new look of the lexus..its soo controversial..but mann look at that bmw. its old design and yet it doesnt look old at all. lexus is trying hard but bmw ppl know that every1 is aiming for them ..i hope the next gen bmw just kills every one. i owuld buy bmw but god damn its expensive

They kept calling the M4 the better track car but the better track car was only .3 seconds faster? Only .3 seconds faster then a car that weighs 400 pounds more? So basically if the RCF was 400 pounds lighter it would eat the M4. If the RCF had the carbon brakes like the M4 it would be faster. Numbers only tell half the story the Lexus Is the real winner here. it's better to ride on the road then the M4... Gonna last longer... Looks more special. Better optioned and more tech the list goes on.