Lexus LC 500h revealed - New Multi Stage Hybrid Drive System revolutionises performance and fuel economy

Lexus flagship coupe to be launched on 3 March 2016 at the Geneva Motor Show

The best just got better! When the President of the Toyota Motor Corporation and Chief Branding Officer of Lexus International Akio Toyoda lifted the covers off the mesmerising LC 500 at the Detroit Auto Show on 11 January 2016, the effect was akin to hammer breaking the glass ceiling on what Lexus engineers and designers could do. It seemed they did almost the possible: to translate the concept Lexus LF-LC into the LC 500 with as little changes as possible from what initially had our tongues wagging.

Now, we have details that the coolest Lexus ever, just got even better. We reported rumours that swirled around the auto grapevine in early December last year that there was a high possibility the Lexus LC 500 would also be offered as a hybrid. Well, it seems those rumours are now true as Lexus has just released details of the LC 500h and we can tell you it will make its debut at the Geneva Motor Show on 3 March 2016!

What makes the Lexus LC 500h so different to warrant a separate launch on a different arena from the Lexus LC 500, the (slightly more prestigious) Geneva Motor Show? Interested? Great, let's roll up our sleeves and dig in.

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Lexus LC 500 cabriolet rendered. Could this be Lexus' next top dog after the LFA?

Lexus LC 500 redefines sexy with the top off

Automotive manipulator Theophilus Chin has given us a spin on what the already insanely gorgeous Lexus LC 500 could potentially look like when Lexus debuts a convertible version.

The floating C-pillar from the original, production-ready Lexus LC-500 have given way to a pair of buttresses positioned aft of the rear passenger headrests, much like those you'll find on the convertible variants of the McLaren 650s and Ferrari 488 Spider. Roof down, the LC 500 certainly looks the part it's meant to play: The mile-crunching, sun-soaking, babe-magnet open top GT.

When Lexus debuted the LC 500 a month ago, it shook the public's perception of Lexus as a (beige, vanilla, garden variety... insert your synonyms here) manufacturer whose designers and engineers lacked a beating heart for raw power or having the gift of eyesight in design matters. So when news of a Lexus LC 500 cabriolet makes it rounds in the automotive grapevine, it's sure to turn one or two ears. But how real are the rumours? Or are they just that: rumours?

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Lexus LC 500 launch - Watch Akio Toyoda's presentation: "This is just the beginning"

President of the Toyota Motor Corporation and Chief Branding Executive of Lexus International, Akio Toyoda, presents the all-new Lexus LC 500 to the world's press!

For those of you who didn't catch the live premiere of the all-new Lexus LC 500 at the Detroit Auto Show earlier today, you can now watch Akio Toyoda, President of the Toyota Motor Corporation and Chief Branding Executive of Lexus International, give his live speech as he unveils the much anticipated high-performance Lexus to the world's press!

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First pictures of the all new Lexus LC 500! 5.0 litre V8, 467 bhp and a world's first 10-speed automatic transmission!

Finally, the wraps come off and isn't she a beauty! Ladies and Gentlemen, four years after the Lexus LF-LC first appeared in January 2012, the new Lexus LC 500 is here!

All Lexus is glad to share with you the first pictures from the launch:

President of the Toyota Motor Corporation and Chief Branding Officer of Lexus International, Akio Toyoda, just lifted the covers off the all-new Lexus LC 500 at the Detroit Auto Show at 12:45pm EST!

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Lexus LC - Latest spy shots revealed just 10 hours before the big reveal!

And we share the Top 3 renditions of the upcoming Lexus LC!

Hot off the press! We've just obtained these images of the Lexus LC. And what a time! We're coming down to the wire before Lexus pulls the wraps off an all-new Lexus at the Detroit Auto Show, scheduled to get underway in under 10 hours' time at 12:45pm EST. 

These images tell us a few things about the design of the Lexus LC:

1. The coupe doors tapers upwards at a sharp angle, a design language commonly shared among high performance cars regardless of manufacturer. 

2. The rear turning indicator lights are positioned quite low relative to the braking lights, demonstrating a high level of similarity to the rear lights that appeared in Lexus LF LC concept first seen in 2012. Expect the final version to be watered-down to more production-friendly dimensions.

3. You can just make out rear headrests aft of the front seats, which means you can bring your child along (when I say child, I do mean child; not adult-who-keeps-the-child-within-alive kind of talk). 

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16 hours to go and Lexus teases upcoming Detroit vehicle debut with a SOUND CLIP of an engine growling to life!

Only 16 hours to go till the launch of an all-new Lexus at the Detroit Auto Show and we've got a sound clip to get your pulses racing

Lexus has released this sound clip, which is their second preview of what we might come to expect at the Detroit Auto Show later today. The first teaser, shown last week, were tyre burn marks, hinting at a performance model.

The second teaser should appeal to your auditory senses. Play this video and tell me what you think. In my mind, there's no doubt it's a V8 engine.  

Video after the jump:

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New Lexus to debut next week: Could it be the Lexus LC 500?

We reported in early December 2015 Lexus is on the verge of revealing a brand new Lexus at the Detroit Auto Show, which begins on 11 January 2016. That's just next week!

To add fuel to the hype, Lexus has teased the following image of what we can expect to come:

The image shows swirling burnout rubber, which heightens rumours that this could be a performance model. In our report, we said that Lexus is adding a new line to the fleet, this being the SC. Speculation is rife that Lexus will choose to debut the grand coupe Lexus LC 500 and LC 500h at this auto show. 

Spy shots of the Lexus LC 500 are starting to look real good:

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Lexus may debut LC 500 and LC 500h grand coupes at 2016 Detroit Auto Show

Lexus may be ready to pull the wraps off the LC 500 and LC 500h at next year's Detroit Auto Show which runs from 16 - 24 January 2016.

According to industry insiders, two powertrains have been developed, and assigned as the Lexus LC 500 and Lexus LC 500h. The first uses a 5.0 litre V8 engine that develops 467 bhp which incidentally is the same mill found under the hood of the Lexus RC-F and Lexus GS-F. Making a premiere is the world's first 10-speed automatic gearbox, engineered by Aisin. The Lexus LC 500h, meanwhile, is rumoured to be powered by an as-yet to be developed 308bhp 3.5 litre V6 engine which, mated to a powerful electric motor, will churn out north of 470 bhp, the same mill rumoured to appear in the 2017 Lexus LS 500h.

Spotted testing at Nurburgring recently is the pre-production test mule under camouflage which we're told is based on the Lexus LF-LC concept coupe. 

Is there an F-sport model in the pipeline? We think so. With the possibility of being assigned the Lexus LC-F nomenclature, this tarmac-munching coupe will likely with a 4.0 litre V8, boosted by twin electric turbochargers, capable of spooling up to 603 bhp. 

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