2026 Lexus RC and LC Replacement: Everything We Know About the New Lexus Coupe
Toyota’s GR GT3 concept car serves as the base for a Lexus grand tourer.
WHAT IT IS
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The car set to succeed the Lexus LC luxury sport coupe at the top of the lineup will be based on Toyota’s GR GT3 concept car shown in Tokyo in 2022. Reports suggest this high-performance Lexus could be a two-door grand tourer and that a convertible version is in the cards, as well.
WHY IT MATTERS
Toyota has been building its GR portfolio with the GR86 sports car, GR Supra, and GR Corolla, so we could be excused for thinking the GR GT3 concept was another performance treatment of an existing model. It is much more exciting to see it as the precursor to a new Lexus, and it’s affirmation there’s still an appetite for a true sport coupe with a related motorsport counterpart.
The range-topping LC is new relative to aging sporty Lexus coupes like the circa-2014 RC, but it’s still due for a makeover. On that note, the racing version of this Lexus should replace the RC F GT3 in FIA World Endurance Championship competition. We also see in the GR GT3 concept the potential to re-create some of the magic of the incredible Lexus LFA, at least in the looks department. The treatment on the concept’s tail is more than a little LFA-like.
PLATFORM AND POWERTRAIN
In keeping with Toyota’s electrification efforts, which have focused more on hybrids than pure EVs, our money is on a hybrid powertrain, which could keep the vehicle relatively lightweight while boosting its performance.
Simply reprising the ubiquitous 5.0-liter naturally aspirated V-8 in Lexus’ F models won’t cut it, but an updated V-8 could work, and Toyota has a number of newer V-6s it already pairs with electric motors, including the 3.5-liter V-6 in the LC 500h hybrid (which could be updated) and the newer 3.4-liter twin-turbo V-6 in the Tundra and Sequoia. If this GT3 is truly to become a halo vehicle building off of the LFA’s legend, it could be powered by a rumored twin-turbo V-8 bolstered by a plug-in hybrid system.
The Lexus is expected to ride on an updated version of the rear-drive GA-L platform used by the current LC. Adding more carbon fiber will help offset the extra weight of batteries and address the extra pounds sporty Lexus vehicles carry relative to the brand’s competitors. We expect the company to offer both rear- and all-wheel-drive versions. And because the street car is being developed in tandem with the GT3 race car, it will incorporate technology, aerodynamics, knowledge, and experience from Toyota Gazoo Racing. The luxury brand is reportedly working to bring the Electrified Sport concept from 2022 to production as an all-electric coupe, as well. If so, that makes two coupes on the horizon.
ESTIMATED PRICE: $80,000
EXPECTED ON-SALE DATE: 2026
Alisa Priddle joined MotorTrend in 2016 as the Detroit Editor. A Canadian, she received her Bachelor of Journalism degree from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, and has been a reporter for 40 years, most of it covering the auto industry because there is no more fascinating arena to cover. It has it all: the vehicles, the people, the plants, the competition, the drama. Alisa has had a wonderfully varied work history as a reporter for four daily newspapers including the Detroit Free Press where she was auto editor, and the Detroit News where she covered the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies, as well as auto trade publication Wards, and two enthusiast magazines: Car & Driver and now MotorTrend. At MotorTrend Alisa is a judge for the MotorTrend Car, Truck, SUV and Person of the Year. She loves seeing a new model for the first time, driving it for the first time, and grilling executives for the stories behind them. In her spare time, she loves to swim, boat, sauna, and then jump into a cold lake or pile of snow.
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