new Lexus LC 500
Discussion
Announced moments ago at the Detroit auto show. Not a concept. A full-on production car.
More details here: 2017 LC 500 is the future of Lexus
k yes! 
Apparently it will have a suggested retail price of less than £69,000 ($100,000) in the US. That figure does not include tax, for those states where tax is applicable.
Very reasonable for a car with this sort of drama. Also: 10-speed transmission apparently keeps the rev's in the sweet spot, for rapid acceleration.
Article on price and other details, here.
Looks lovely IMO, but it's a lexus so I'm prepared to be disappointed upon finding out it's an underpowered bloater with an engine that felt 2 generations behind the competitions, 2 generations ago. Hope I'm wrong though, looks great.
If it's got a decent amount of power and weighs less than my Challenger I'd actually be quite interested.
If it's got a decent amount of power and weighs less than my Challenger I'd actually be quite interested.
AmitG said:
Interesting that the 10-speed transmission is a single-clutch unit not a dual-clutch. Lexus say that it's smaller and simpler than a dual-clutch unit, and just about as fast.
I believe that the LFA supercar also had a single-clutch unit.
Yeah, the physics of such a "many-speeded" transmission are fascinating. I believe that the LFA supercar also had a single-clutch unit.
For example, we might assume that the electronic brain of this transmission will always endeavour to ratchet up the gears, from 1 to 10. And back down again.
However, at significant speeds -- say 75mph or 85mph -- the transmission might remain in 8th gear. It might not attempt to shift up to the 9th and 10th gears. A lower gear may be more efficient at providing the torque necessary to sustain the car at speeds where wind resistance is a significant factor.
New... Some interesting observations on the powertrain:
"I don't understand why a DCT gearbox is necessary," he said. "They say it is for a sporty feel, but we can achieve that with our 10-speed transmission."
"While dry twin-clutch transmissions can be quite efficient, the wet clutch systems for high power [applications] introduce a lot of drag and can overheat."
From this article: 2018 Lexus LC 500 Prototype First Drive
AmitG said:
Interesting that the 10-speed transmission is a single-clutch unit not a dual-clutch. Lexus say that it's smaller and simpler than a dual-clutch unit, and just about as fast.
I believe that the LFA supercar also had a single-clutch unit.
erm, surely it's going to be a proper torque-converter automatic (prob Aisin) i.e. quite a few wet multi-plate clutches. Especially given that they compare its weight to "other 8 speeds" which I take to mean the popular ZF 8hp. The ZF 8hp by the way has 5 clutches, and skip-shifts over gears too (this tech came about in the updated 6hp series (gen2)).I believe that the LFA supercar also had a single-clutch unit.
I think a proper auto is a good match. Look at the big fast jags (XFR 2012 onwards, F-Type v8 supercharged, etc.)
Good bit of info about the zf 8hp here
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/03/saturation-dive-zf-8-speed-automatic/ said:
All sequential upshifts and downshifts with this design involve just releasing one shift element and engaging another. In engineering literature, this is referred to as a “clutch to clutch” shift. Many skip shifts are also possible in the same way, e.g. a shift from Eighth to Fourth involves releasing brake A and engaging brake B while leaving clutches D and E engaged. This transmission therefore shifts very quickly. If the torque converter is replaced by a launch clutch, this transmission would be equivalent to a dual clutch transmission.
A shift from Reverse to 1st and vice versa is also a clutch to clutch shift. So when you are trying to execute than 7 point turn, this transmission will behave much better than the ZF 9 speed transmission. The ratio spacing is pretty much perfect as well.
As for the car in question.. Why do they *have* to put that nose on every car? It looks less ridiculous on this car than all the others, but it's still awful. The rest of the car is super. It's like the marketing department refuse to let the designers get away with doing *all* the design themselves. Look at other nice cars - do all ferraris have the same nose? and those that do share noses (BMW kidney grille for example), they vary a bit, and change frequently too.A shift from Reverse to 1st and vice versa is also a clutch to clutch shift. So when you are trying to execute than 7 point turn, this transmission will behave much better than the ZF 9 speed transmission. The ratio spacing is pretty much perfect as well.
Lastly, this could be a hatchback (liftback coupe), but I'm not sure it is in the pictures. It could be like a 4-series gran-coupe, which means a lot more buyers who want a hatchback coupe for the added practicality.
I just went and read the article above (first drive), and yes, it's a proper automatic ("American and Japanese customers expect a degree of low-speed refinement that a DCT simply can't deliver.")
Edited by carl0s on Monday 8th February 22:43
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