I adore the Lexus LC 500. It’s the sort of car that if I’m behind one on the highway, I’ll go a few miles past my exit just to look at it for a little bit longer. I’ll turn my head when I hear one in the streets, and I’ll forever daydream about adding one to my stable. It’s just that good, and the 2024 Lexus LC 500 looks to be even better. A variety of tech, handling, and subtle cosmetic tweaks add up to a promise of making the LC 500 perfect. Those aren’t Lexus’ words, former taglines be damned. The current LC 500 is an unbelievably great car, a better grand tourer than anything from Germany or England right now. It’s soulful, comfortable, absurdly well-tailored, and surprisingly engaging. This doesn’t feel like a committee car, it feels like a product of singular vision. While the first incarnation of this singular vision had just one sore spot, this update should address that.
The big news is on the inside, where Lexus ditches the trackpad in favor of its new-generation infotainment setup. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lot better than Lexus’ previous Remote Touch Interface which was a weird mouse, but using the trackpad can still be haphazard. With that in mind, the upper dashboard of the 2024 car has been mildly redesigned to accommodate a 12.3-inch touchscreen that’s 86 mm (that’s just a coincidence, right?) closer to the driver than the old infotainment screen.
Unfortunately, this means the sleek look of everything under one pane of glass is also gone, which means no more analog clock and no more ornate dashboard pattern for the front passenger to look at. However, it also means you won’t accidentally set the navigation route guidance to where you’ve just been every time you twirl the volume knob.
Since the trackpad is gone, Lexus had to redesign the center console insert, and it looks pretty good. Controls for sound system volume, seeking, and tuning are still on deck, while everything else gets simplified. In the place of the trackpad sits a giant hard key for heated seats that was sorely missed on the old model. Consider that now fixed. Oh, and there’s no more CD slot in the console, which sounds like a disappointment to audiophiles until you learn that Lexus has changed out a couple of speakers to enhance playback of high-resolution audio.
Lexus has applied some exterior updates to go with the revised cockpit, but thankfully they aren’t anything major. Sonic Copper from the new RX and Lexus staple Ultrasonic Blue Mica join the color palette, the mirrors have been subtly re-shaped to reduce wind noise, and three new wheel designs join the lineup: A 20-inch design in gloss black, a 21-inch design with what Lexus calls a “3D machined finish,” and a 21-inch two-tone hyper chrome and black design. All of these wheels are forged for strength and weight reduction, and I’d be interested in seeing what they look like once Lexus releases more press photos.
In addition to interior and exterior tweaks, Lexus has given the LC 500 some handling updates. It’s a long list, so I’ll let the makers of this gorgeous grand tourer run through it for you.
Changes have been made to the suspension’s coil springs, shock absorber tuning, rear suspension member, stabilizer spring rates, under-body braces, steering column and steering gearbox fastening, and axle hub bearing and wheel fastening. The front engine mounts have also been revised and the time gap reduced between vehicle body and powertrain movement.
Holy moly, that’s comprehensive. Add to that a new “Expert Mode” stability control function on V8 models, a re-mapped gearbox, and recalibrated brake-by-wire, and it seems like Lexus is aiming to make its flagship slightly sharper. The cushy nature of the current car means that Lexus has a way to go before things get uncomfortable, so let’s hope for a crisper yet still sublime setup that breathes with the road. Oh, and if you want the hybrid for some god-forsaken reason, it gets higher-capacity lithium-ion battery cells for more shove.
Finally, an update wouldn’t be complete without a new special edition, and the European market gets something called the Ultimate Edition. Think of it a bit like an LC 500 F-Sport. In addition to a special matte white paint, black exterior trim and a navy blue interior, the Ultimate Edition gets integrated canards up front, a functional carbon fiber spoiler if it’s a coupe, and some tweaks to the engine and rear differential. Lexus hasn’t stated how many it will make, but I wouldn’t expect the Ultimate Edition to stick around for more than a year.
While Lexus hasn’t revealed the U.S.-spec 2024 LC 500, we have a rough estimation on a timeline. Lexus of Europe states that the 2024 LC 500 will enter production in May which means we should hear about the American model very shortly. The LC 500 is already one of the best cars on the market at any price, but the 2024 updates promise to make it as good as perfect.
(Photo credits: Lexus)
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It’s amazing how such great cars can be built if a company sets out to do so. Most companies don’t even bother trying.
Lexus makes extremely high quality, extremely good cars. Second place is a far second place.
In fact, you’d be better off spending, say, sixty grand on a new Lexus than buying two of anything else at thirty grand each. The Lexus will still be awesome and nearly new when the first cheaper car is worn out and in the junkyard. (And why in the world are people spending Lexus money on Hyundais??!!)
The few times I’ve seen them in public I’ve stared hard, they look even better up close.
I don’t know if the LC will ever depreciate into my price range, but here’s hoping.
This is a car that is way more striking in person. In pictures it looks fine, but when I saw one in person the first time I did a double-take.
And that blue interior…I’ll be in my bunk.
Everything about the V8 version of this car is SOOOO good except the weight (which sorta gets a pass due to luxury) and the gearing. Toyota… You must ditch the Aisin transmission or gear up the differential. At redline, you’re over 60mph in 2nd gear. It could be brought down ever so slightly and improve so much.
As far as Japanese automatics (which pretty much range from “god awful” to “tolerable”) go, the 10 speed in this is probably the best one out there. Why none of these manufacturers will just team up with ZF is beyond me…
Which Zaibatsu is ZF with again…
You can swap to the differential in the LC500H easily and get shorter gears.. for ~$4,500. Thinking I might do it in a few years
To be honest, the previous interior is such a master class in elegant interior design, that I think I’d rather have to deal with a clunky old infotainment experience, than have to look at a pedestrian tablet on the dash.
Great car. Too bad its not available with a 3-pedal manual transmission set up.
That ultimate edition is afraid it just blue itself.
Mamma mia I would absolutely buy this. The touchpad was a deal breaker
I bought a 2019 Inspiration Series LC500 in Flare Yellow last month & considering new or used it’s about the same price as a well-optioned Cayman S or GTS4.0 (what I was coming from before), it’s kind of laughable how much more expensive it feels, just in a whole nother league of special-feeling. & far more practical than any of the reviews I watched let on – much more storage space than an F-Type, more than a Cayman even. For my use – mainly going on long road-trips to do spirted driving & hiking – it’s a nearly perfect car
Also, I got used to the trackpad in about 2 minutes, for what it’s worth. When using carplay it’s great, in some ways preferable to a touchscreen, & I basically never use the Lexus UI. Also, heated/cooled seats are controlled automatically based on where you set your temperature with the nice metal button. Those 2 cons are overblown imo, should never be even close to dealbreakers
I got mine for a great deal during the pandemic when car dealers were afraid for their livelihood. I was holding out for an infotainment update but it was too good of a deal to pass up. I still have to be basically stopped to use the track pad but I also mostly just use it to control the heated seat and steering wheel. I got an Android phone last year and that was a mistake, I’ll have to go back to iphone to get Carplay back.
ahh I’m an Android person too so I got an old iPhone specifically to live in the center console for carplay, and then set up my Android phone to automatically turn on mobile hotspot when driving to give internet to the iPhone. Works great!
I absolutely adore the LC500. Still think it is the best looking grand-tourer on the market (and even consider it the best looking car, period). Better in coupe than convertible form in my opinion. It’s too bad its launch produced a lot of ‘meh’ from enthusiasts because it wasn’t the LFA successor that people who would never buy one wanted it to be.
I look at the black, brown, and blue interiors and wonder why so many people love black. That blue is awesome!
That blue interior looks amazing.
Where I used to live, someone had a InfaRed one and I used to just drool over it everytime I saw it. The fact that it dumps the old infotainment brings it just that bit closer to perfection.
Note to future me: Buy the ’24 (in 15 years when you can afford it…maybe).
These are stunning to look at, especially in coupe form. I got to check a hybrid LC out recently when it was competing in a local rally cross (ex-development vehicle campaigned by a team of Toyota engineers, alongside an RC350x and I think they also have a Prius, Corolla, and a Celica all-trac). Unfortunately didn’t get a ride along since they were in my group, but it was still cool to see and hear
Early on it seemed like every LC I saw was a charcoal or black shade, including one that would park outside or even on the street in front of a nicer condo building. I assumed it was a dealer sales manager or something because it had the dealer sticker on the back of it and I can’t imagine someone spending that kind of money being so casual about such a sticker on their $100k car.
More recently, when I turn and look out my office window something neat or interesting will happen to drive by at very moment. In the last month there have been two different LCs – one coupe, one convertible, neither in a shade of gray.
Not sure how long Lexus intends to make them, but I hope it’s for as long as they can.
Still has the Spindle. Not perfect until that is gone.
The only one on which it works.
The LC is genuinely great looking. It’s extremely rare up here in Upstate NY what with the weather and the lack of money, but I once caught one in Saratoga Springs (the only place with wealthy people around here) in green, and I genuinely spent 5 minutes just staring at it lustfully. My wife had to drag me away from it.
I drove in a less than considerate way to catch up to one in traffic a few weeks ago, said it was my dream car when the non enthusiast wife asked why I was so visibly hot and bothered over it, and got “That?! That’s it?! That’s your dream car?!” as her response. I said it was the closest I’d ever been to showing up with divorce papers that I’d ever been. We got a good laugh out of it…I was mostly but not entirely joking lol
Haha. My wife was mostly just concerned for my mental health I think. I probably looked like a lunatic. Though yes her response to it was “yeah it looks pretty nice I guess” which did illicit a weird “how do you not understand?” stare from me. All in all it was fun.
I guess I’m a lucky man, for the group that can’t afford one of these. My wife understood and egged me on while I drove like an ass hat to gawk at the first one I saw in person from as many angles as possible. I crossed a state line etching that car into my memories.
This is near the top of my “Car I’d buy the first day I collected my lottery winnings” list.
The most perfect car on the road just got more perfect? Neato. As I’ve said a million times already this is my dream car and all these updates do is reaffirm that for me. I don’t think there’s a more beautiful car on the road and since Adrian says it’s one of his personal favorites clearly they’ve done something very right. What more could you ask for in a grand tourer than what the LC offers?
My single, solitary, nit-picky gripe with these is how many get spec’d in incredibly basic color combinations. This car is a rolling work of art that offers myriad color options inside and out. Not one of them should be ordered in black on black, silver on black, white on black, etc…and sadly many are. I browse listings for these all the damn time and I encounter entirely too many like this. It’s an amazing enough car that I could maybe get past it and own one like that, but why would I?
My dream spec is Nori Green with the toasted caramel interior and all the performance enhancing bits. I’m not even specifying which powertrain because there’s only one way you should buy this car. One day I’ll have one. Not today. Not tomorrow. Probably not in the next 3-4 years…but eventually.
I also want the Nori Green and Caramel. I like the orange and yellow paints, but the green with the caramel is a perfect color combo.
Agreed on all counts. The metallic red they offer is fabulous as well. It’s reminiscent of Mazda’s Soul Red which is actually a compliment seeing as it’s widely regarded as one of the best colors in the industry.
I saw one in blue in the real world and it was looking pretty good too.
I love Nori Green though. But I also love that blue interior, which doesn’t work great with Nori Green.
I sometimes see a coupe in my neighborhood in Infrared and it is gorgeous.
I haven’t seen another one on the road at all in the 5 years since I left Dallas (where there were a couple) so the chances are basically 0 but I’d love to see a Structural Blue one in person some day. From what I’ve read it’s just the bluest blue you’ve ever seen & I’m sure photos can’t do it any justice
These are really good looking cars and I always stare at them when they ride by.
I would love to own one exactly like this white with the blue interior.