Brussels, 8 March 2015: The Lexus LF-C2 concept made its global debut at the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show. The LF-C2 concept is a design study in the form of a 2+2 roadster that explores key styling themes involved in the Lexus brand’s future, bolder styling direction. The LF-C2 is also a luxury Grand Touring concept inspired by the brand’s passion for driving.
The LF-C2 concept involves a highly styled 2+2 layout, and is derived from a pure and simple sports coupe idea. As a roadster concept, the LF-C2 concept combines sports car’s performance characteristics with open-air driving pleasure.
The exterior design of the LF-C2 was influenced by the way various surface shapes interact with different types of light. Designers created edges, planes and curvature that would allow the LF-C2 to exude a different character when seen from different angles and under different lighting conditions. This objective when combined with Lexus’ layered paint process results in a striking and progressive interpretation of an open top luxury GT.
The golden yellow tone is produced by a multi-layer paint process. The first coat is a primer, followed by silver, a clear coat, then the yellow that reflects off the silver to give the brilliant luster. A final top coat is then applied.
“We’ve been instinctively drawn to and inspired by those things that capture the beauty of light,” said Yasuo Kajino, chief designer LF-C2, Lexus Design Division. “When you put something in the right light, people see it in a way they never have before.”
The front of the LF-C2 is highlighted by a more experimental expression of Lexus’ signature spindle-shaped grille. The concept’s grille features a refined braided mesh theme that exemplifies Lexus’ high level of craftsmanship and changes its appearance when viewed from different angles and lighting conditions. It sits between triangle-shaped LED headlights, a signature element of Lexus sports cars, and stylish indicator lamps that initiate the character line of the LF-C2. The character line sweeps through the car’s arrow-shaped body and ends at the abbreviated rear deck. Vents in the front bumper send cool air to the brakes as well as help manage airflow through the body to help keep the front end stable at high speed.
The LF-C2’s profile shows a swooping line from the car’s front bumper fin to the steeply-angled A-pillar. Small vents in the side sills direct air to the rear brakes and out the fin-like rear diffusers. The rear end of the LF-C2 is highlighted by Lexus L-shaped taillight bulbs, an exhaust system with chrome-covered quad exhaust tips, and an expressive new rear diffuser design. The concept’s impactful stance is planted by five-spoke 20-inch alloy wheels.
Moving to the interior, the LF-C2 is characterised by a luxurious and spacious cabin that flawlessly matches the sporty elegance of the exterior. The exterior extends into the cabin as the centre console originates from the rear deck and runs down the length of the cabin all the way to the dashboard. The dashboard design presents functional simplicity with an attractive-yet-straightforward instrument cluster, a central video monitor controlled by a Remote Touchpad on the centre console and a classically-styled analogue clock placed between the central air vents. The thick leather-wrapped steering wheel implies that this is a driver’s car, as do the form-fitting seats.
The LF-C2’s interior designers opted to instill a balanced atmosphere of power and simplicity that harmonises with our primary senses. White-and-grey leather surfaces are soft to the touch while LED lights that run along the length of the interior below the windows. The inviting cabin of the LF-C2 blends the open-air excitement that results from an eye-catching roadster blended with a heavy dose of Lexus luxury.
