Motoring in Spain - Lexus SC430
INNOVATIVE REFINEMENT
Lexus SC430 INNOVATIVE REFINEMENT
LEXUS MIGHT SOMETIMES COME ACROSS AS BEING FAIRLY MODEST AND CONVENTIONAL BUT, AS MOTORING CORRESPONDENT CHARLIE FLINDT REDISCOVERED WITH THE SC430, THERE’S ALWAYS BEEN SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT TOYOTA’S LUXURY BRAND.
The Lexus story is quite astonishing. Back in the late 1980s, some Toyota bigwigs sat round a table and decided that the time was ripe for the company to produce a specialist luxury level of machine. One that was so specialised it merited a separate name − Lexus. I can’t quite see why the Toyota name wouldn’t be good enough for any car – now if it had been Rover…
Only a decade and a half later, Lexus is the most amazing success story. Its motto is "The Pursuit of Perfection", and these are not just idle marketing-speak words. Lexus cleans up year after year in the influential customer satisfaction awards, in every category from reliability to quality of service at the dealerships.
If you visit one of these dealers, you’ll find a fairly modest range of machines, but each of them setting standards in quality and innovation. There are big luxury saloons, famous for incredible smoothness and refinement, and SUVs with hybrid petrol/electric drive – perfect for sneaking silently up to the anti-4x4 brigade and wiping the angry sneer off their faces.
So when Lexus set about producing a four-seater coupe/convertible, somehow it was always going to be something rather special. At first glance it seems rather conventional. It’s sleek, with lots of emphasis on rounded edges and corners – but with very good reason. Lexus made extensive use of the Maibara wind tunnel (which was used in the development of the famous Shinkansen "bullet train") to drive the Cd figure down to 0.29. It’s smoothed off underneath, too, with various places on the floor-pan being moulded and sculpted. These help to reduce lift and improve high-speed stability.
This is no sluggish cruising ragtop, designed for wallowing at moderate speeds round easy corners. The SC has a 4.2 litre, 32-valve V8, producing 210 kW, enough for a 0 to 100 kph time of 6.4 seconds, and a limited top speed of 250 kph. In the suspension department, Lexus took the all-round double wishbone set-up from the second generation of the much-acclaimed GS, and improved it even more.
Another reason for the fine handling is the low centre of gravity which, in turn, is helped by the aluminium retractable roof. In a car chock full of technical wizardry, it’s this roof which is perhaps the most impressive. At the press of a button on the fascia – and you have to keep your finger on the button for safety reasons – the roof quietly vanishes out of sight, turning the SC from sleek coupe into open-top in less than half a minute. The traditional open-top experience involved a great deal of buffeting and shouting – fun for a bit, but no fun for long journeys.
Back in that wind tunnel, Lexus put much effort into comfort for the passengers, using computer-generated "wind-wrap" analysis to control the wind-flow in the cabin. It’s reassuring, in a way, to see an old-fashioned deflector between the rear-seat head-rests, to back up all that computer cleverness.
It’s worth putting the top down to show off the SC430’s interior. Moulded plastics were rejected in favour of natural materials such as wood and leather. Lexus claim that the design team in charge of the interior spent time at the Yamaha musical instrument factory, where they picked up many valuable tips on special timer moulding techniques.
The other problem with open-top motoring used to be temperature control. The SC430 boasts one of the world’s most advanced climate control systems. On a cold day, with the roof down, special ducts carry hot air down into the lower section of the passenger compartment.
And then there’s the hi-fi. To some, the in-car entertainment is irrelevant, and they are quite happy listening to some dull talk radio. To others, the cabin of a car is one of the best places to enjoy music. Thankfully, Lexus fall into the latter category. Consequently, there’s a nine-speaker Mark Levinson hi-fi system, specially designed for the SC430. It takes this car’s unique interior shapes and forms into account, and also changes its settings when the roof is down. Wasted on two politicians blathering on about the price of fish; perfect for a little light Rachmaninov. Or should that be "loud"?
Crikey, I’m running out of space. I haven’t even started on the dozens of acronyms that live under the bonnet and in the SC430’s electrical systems. I haven’t rabbited on about the intelligent six-speed automatic transmission that "listens" to your driving style and the road conditions, and changes the shift pattern to suit.
But for the Lexus cognoscenti, such things are unremarkable. They expect excellence, innovation, reliability, performance and distinction and they demand nothing less. What I find remarkable is that year after year, model after model, Lexus continue to deliver exactly that – epitomised by the superb SC430.
LEXUS SC430
Engine: 4.3 litre, V8, 32-valve
Power: 210 kW
Max speed: 250 kph
Performance, 0 to 100 kph: 6.4 seconds
Combined fuel economy: 11.4 lt/100 km
SUMMARY: The Lexus magic goes on and on.
