Lexus RC F Track Edition 2021 Review

Getting hold of a 2021 Lexus RC F Track Edition is about to become problematic.

Lexus is no longer bringing the high-performance coupe into the country, so the only inventory left to buy new is sitting in dealer stock.

The price is $164,994 plus on-road costs, and the vehicle on test came with a $5500 Hakuji matte white paint finish, which takes the total price as tested above $170,000 – or just a smidge under the price payable for a Mercedes-AMG C 63 coupe, and well above the price of a BMW M4 Competition, let alone an Audi RS 5 quattro coupe.

Standard features comprise 19-inch alloy wheels, dual-zone climate control, keyless entry/start, an analogue clock, active cruise control, electrically-adjustable front seats (with position memory for driver), transmission shift paddles, sport pedals, leather-bound steering wheel/gear knob, multifunction steering wheel, front electric windows, fold-in electric mirrors and suede-look upholstery.

The infotainment system incorporates a 17-speaker Mark Levinson audio unit with digital radio, CD player, satellite navigation, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Lexus covers the RC F Track Edition with a warranty of four years or 100,000km, and the service intervals are 12 months apart, or 15,000km, whichever occurs first.

The Lexus RC has never been evaluated by ANCAP, nor its European affiliate Euro NCAP, but recent changes to side impact testing of new vehicles by the Australian government have rendered cars like the 2021 Lexus RC F Track Edition unable to comply with updated Australian Design Rules (ADR 85).

That is why the Lexus RC sports car – and other models from Lexus and other brands – is no longer being imported to Australia and cannot be sold new after November 1, 2021.

So crash safety remains unassessed, but the IS sedan, which runs on the same platform as the RC, did secure a five-star rating from ANCAP back in 2016. In other words, it’s fair to speculate that the RC F won’t fold up like an origami swan in a crash.

Standard secondary safety features fitted include airbags for frontal impact, driver and front passenger knees, side-impact airbags for the front seat occupants and side curtain airbags for front and rear seats.

There are ISOFIX anchorage points for each of the rear seats (the RC F Track Edition seats four only).

Driver assist systems include autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, automatic high beam assist, blind spot monitoring, reversing camera, front/rear acoustic guidance (parking sensors) and rear cross traffic alert.

That’s the bare bones of the active safety gear in the RC F, but one aspect of the sports car that became apparent is a semi-autonomous facility with the cruise control engaged.

On the way home from picking up the Lexus I approached a police car that had pulled over an errant motorist on Melbourne’s Calder Highway.

Running with the active cruise control enabled, the Lexus automatically reduced speed when it detected the blue and red flashing lights, and then resumed the speed of 100km/h after passing the cop car. Now that’s impressive.

If you expect a car named the ‘Track Edition’ to deliver a maddeningly loud drum beat from its 5.0-litre V8 powerplant, you might be disappointed with this variant of the 2021 Lexus RC F.

Up until you dial up Sport or Sport+ modes, that is.

Then, your ears will be assaulted by a sustained bellow – particularly from the mid-range all the way through to the top end.

There’s so much torque available in that upper section of the rev range that you really don’t need to take it all the way to the redline (above 7000rpm), but it sure is climactic if you do.

Response is immediate too, as you would expect from a naturally-aspirated V8 of this displacement.

Set up the launch control and it’s like a thunderclap barrage when you release the brake pedal after building up the revs to 2000rpm.

Enabling launch control involves selecting Sport+, disabling traction control, selecting Drive, pressing the button labelled ‘Launch’, mashing the brake pedal and pressing the accelerator all the way to the floor.

Launch control in this car seems to be much better calibrated than the last Lexus RC F I drove, back at the end of 2019. There’s much thumping heard and felt when the brakes are released, but the car does get the power down and also tracks in a straight line up until the point where the speed exceeds 80km/h.

At that speed the system reduces the regulation of torque and the tail will begin to swing around a little under the influence of the compromised traction. It’s wickedly fun.

But if all this sounds like it could induce a panic attack in gentler souls, you can also drive the RC F Track Edition in Eco, Comfort and Normal modes, which are modes closer to a soporific ideal – if that’s your bag.

The Lexus lopes along quietly on the open road, the V8 ticking over quietly at just above 1500rpm.

On a test run it returned a fuel consumption figure of 12.4L/100km, which was an improvement on the previous RC F tested – a standard car, not the Track Edition.

Whichever mode is chosen, the engine and the eight-speed automatic transmission work together very well. The auto is smooth and unfussed 99 per cent of the time, but highly responsive in manual mode with the driver yanking back on the shift paddles for rapid-fire changes.

First impressions of the 2021 Lexus RC F Track Edition are actually a little underwhelming. The car’s ride comfort is a bit nervy at times, but by no means unreasonable for a car with this level of grip and handling.

It certainly doesn’t ride with the scorn for amenity of a Porsche 911 GT3 Touring or a Lamborghini Aventador S.

The steering feels remote and slow when driven at around-town speeds, if you expect this car to deliver Porsche levels of feedback and response. But start pushing harder and the Lexus sharpens up fast, the Track Edition RC F turning into bends with zeal.

Power oversteer is easily dialled in, but the RC F is basically neutral if you’re not showing off. You won’t provoke a slide by just lifting off the go pedal.

Its roadholding is exceptional in my experience. It encourages you to push further, exploring the limits long after prudence has signed the decree nisi and left you for someone sensible.

The only time you’ll feel the rear of the car moving around is with the engine pumping out prodigious torque – compelling the car to crab in a straight line or wag its way out of a tight bend.

Harking back to the standard RC F from two years ago, this Track Edition is so much quicker cornering. It’s hard to fathom how the two cars could share a platform.

The difference is that great, despite the tyres – Michelin 255/35ZR19 at the front and 275/35ZR19 at the rear – measuring the same contact patch.

The Michelins are practically the only thing to make noise at touring speeds; the powertrain is very quiet at the open-road limit, as are the indicators. Combined with the subtlety of the haptic threshold between the two-stage operation of the indicator stalk, the driver is often left uncertain whether the indicators are still flashing, short of taking eyes off the road to check the instrumentation.

The headlights are effective, but the automatic high beam assist was slow to dip the lights at times, particularly in the case of a vehicle on the left at a give-way sign.

Not until the RC F had drawn level with the other vehicle did the system recognise its presence and dip the lights. This system also raises the lights in built-up areas, which is unnecessary.

But that aside, the driving position in the RC F Track Edition is laudable. The seats are excellent, snug and comfortable whether dawdling around town or giving the RC F some stick on a lonely country road.

There’s three-position memory for the driver’s seat for those selfless types who want to share the fun.

About the only shortcoming is the foot-operated parking brake, which retracts very high when released.

Otherwise, it’s an attractive interior featuring red leather and Alcantara for the four seats and door cards, with more red leather on the crash pad above the instrument binnacle, plus co-ordinating red carpet on the kick panels, carbon-fibre trim for the glove box lid and the power window switch bezels.

The power-operated seats slide forward for easy access to the rear seats, but headroom and legroom in the rear are tight for anyone over about 175cm tall. Smaller occupants should be fine, and there are adjustable vents back there, but no separate climate control switchgear.

The boot has a relatively large aperture but is not especially generous for space, although it does extend a relatively long way forward considering the car’s footprint.

The Track Edition comes with a tyre repair kit under the boot floor.

It seems very late in the day to be offering up superlatives for the Lexus RC F Track Edition, considering it has been on sale for over two years but won’t remain in showrooms for much longer.

Nevertheless, the 2021 RC F Track Edition is a load of fun for performance car enthusiasts.

I had preconceived ideas of what this car would be like after my last run with a standard RC F and the early dismissal from Australia’s Best Driver’s Car before that. But the Track Edition is an altogether different animal.

Dash in for one before it goes the way of the thylacine.

How much does the 2021 Lexus RC F Track Edition cost?
Price: $164,994 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 5.0-litre V8 petrol
Output: 351kW/530Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 11.1L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 254g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested