Reviews are starting to trickle in for the limited-production Lexus RC F Track Edition, let’s take a look at the first impressions.

First up is Alex Kierstein of Autoblog with a detailed review. He notes how RC F Track Edition Chief Engineer Yuuichi Tsurumoto’s true ambitions were held back by Lexus accountants:

If corporate would just loosen the reigns, Tsurumoto and his team of engineers could have built something truly exclusive, something truly special. A real ultra-performance limited-edition RC F model for a select few hardcore enthusiasts, one with a special powertrain, extreme tires and even more aggressive weight savings. Instead, the RC F Track Edition comes off as a glorified $32,000 Sport Package.

It’s unfortunate. Lexus can do better.

Car and Driver’s Josh Jacquot notes that his time with the RC F Track Edition was limited to nine minutes, making it difficult to render an absolute verdict:

The 2020 RC F Track Edition speaks the language of chunked rubber and gray smoke. It paints its character in broad, black swaths at corner exit and speaks its mind through titanium mufflers. It is a driver’s car in the way that only a Japanese luxury coupe can be—sharp and loud when that’s what you want, yet still mighty opulent…

It’s not, despite what its name implies, a no-compromise track car like a 911 GT3 RS or the late, great Camaro Z28. But it will tingle your frontal lobe in many of the same ways.

The impressions of Automobile magazine’s Nelson Ireson are quite favorable:

The updates to the 2020 model make even the standard RC F a friendlier and livelier dance partner, but the Track Edition upgrades take the RC F from track-capable to track-ready. The difference is immediately apparent and appreciated even more after a few laps have heat-soaked the brakes and left the standard car’s pedal feeling long and soft, even if they’re still plenty able to stop the car. The Track Edition’s upgraded brakes are indefatigable…

…In all, the RC F Track Edition feels like it belongs on track as much as any other luxury sport coupe in its price range, and that’s quite a compliment, considering it shares space with the BMW M4 Competition and AMG C63 S.

Lexus USA has announced that the RC F Track Edition will start at $96,650 and will be limited to 50 units country-wide for the 2020 model year.

This $32,000 upgrade over the standard RC F adds a number of features to the coupe, including a carbon fiber hood, roof, and rear wing, reduced weight, Brembo carbon ceramic brakes, 19-inch BBS forged alloy wheels and a titanium exhaust.

(The starting price for the standard 2020 RC F was also announced at $64,750 USD.)

A Lexus executive has pulled back the curtain in regards to a potential LC F coupe in a recent interview with CarBuzz:

Lexus still hasn’t officially announced a production LC F but it didn’t exactly deny that such a car was in development when we asked about it.

Moe Durand, Lexus International Strategic Communications Senior Manager told CarBuzz “something big is coming to LC this year,” but declined to provide any additional information.

Granted, it’s also possible they may have been referencing a production version of the LC Convertible Concept, but it seems unlikely in this context — we’re inclined to believe that LC F Coupe will precede LC Convertible into production.

What do you think? Share your thoughts in our forums.

USA

Lexus USA has reported 29,249 total sales for March 2019, a 12.2% increase over last year — here’s the model-by-model breakdown:

Please note, all percentages are calculated by the Daily Sales Rate (DSR), which takes into account the number of days in the month that dealerships could sell cars. March 2019 had 27 selling days, March 2018 had 28 selling days.

Lexus USA has released two new commercials today, with the first showcasing the updated RC F and the new RC F Track Edition:

The second commercial focuses on the refreshed RC and RC F SPORT coupe:

The 2019 Lexus RC and 2020 Lexus RC F are now available in dealerships nationwide, and a limited supply of the RC F Track Edition will be available starting in April, 2019.