Lexus has shown off the final production version of its gorgeous LC 500 convertible.
'Morphic Blue' paint
We'd seen the drop-top LC before, in prototype form, but here's the finished articles, resplendent in Morphic Blue paint, which will be offered as part of a 300-off special launch edition.
The LC 500 convertible uses a fabric roof, so there's no distended look for the rear end as it doesn't have to hide a folding hard-top, although the line of the boot is a little higher than that of the coupe.
Roof takes just 15 seconds to fold
There's also a slightly more kicked-up beltline, and an integrated tonneau cover to keep the lines as clean as possible. The soft-top is a four-layer item, with special cutting and shaping techniques used to make sure that there's no shrinkage and no wrinkling. Lexus says that the first and final movements of the roof when opening and closing have been carefully designed "to achieve an elegant and natural movement, while ensuring class-leading opening and closing speeds." The roof can be opened or closed at speeds of up to 50km/h and takes just 15 seconds to cycle.
The body structure is as rigid as that of the Coupe, says Lexus, which presumably means it's heavier too, but we haven't yet been given kerb weight figures. Lexus has used both magnesium and cast aluminium components to keep the weight gain as low as possible, though. It's around 10mm longer overall than the Coupe, and 5mm taller.
477hp naturally-aspirated V8
Inside, the seats get quilted leather with embossed 'L' logos, and built-in neck warmers, for top-down cruising on chilly days. A polycarbonate wind deflector, and careful aerodynamic design, means that there should be little air disturbance in the cockpit at speed, and there's active noise cancelling tech to keep everything quiet when you're driving with the roof up. There's also a 'Lexus Climate Concierge' which is used to automatically control air conditioning, seat heaters, neck heaters, and steering wheel heater, all while considering whether the top is up or down.
On the handling front, the convertible LC 500 gains active cornering assist and active roll-bar technologies to make it sharper to drive.
What with being launched first in America, the LC 500 convertible for now gets the utterly lovely 477hp naturally aspirated V8 engine, but doubtless it will also have gained the V6 hybrid by the time it reaches European shores in the summer of 2020.