The next-generation Lexus RC sports coupe may be based off the Toyota GR GT3 Concept. This is according to Toyota Racing Development (TRD) president David Wilson in an interview with Car and Driver.
From Car and Driver:
The current RC road car was not developed with motorsports in mind—Wilson described the current RC F GT3 race car as an “afterthought.” This has compromised its on-track performance. The RC F is heavier than its GT3 competition and has a larger frontal area, increasing drag and hindering straight-line top speed. “What we’ve all come to learn is that’s not the way you bring a GT3 car to market,” Wilson explained. "Before you put your first line on paper, you decide you’re going to race that car and that shapes the design parameters, the performance parameters of that production car.”Having learned that lesson, Wilson suggested that the next Lexus sports coupe will be developed from the outset with a motorsports intent. And while he stressed that no official announcement has been made, he hinted that the car will draw heavily from the Toyota GR GT3 concept seen earlier this year at the Tokyo Auto Salon. “It’s fairly safe to connect the dots and suggest that that could be a precursor to the next global GT3 car for Lexus,” Wilson acknowledged.
Toyota’s Gazoo Racing division aims to have a running version of the GR GT3 Concept by the end of the year. The prototype is confirmed to have an internal combustion engine at the Tokyo Auto Salon based on the side-exit exhausts, it’s likely that the production Lexus RC will sport a hybrid powertrain instead.
Whatever the case, we won’t have to wait too long for the replacement to the Lexus RC, and of course, its racecar derivative coming soon after that.
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