Lexus Working On A Second Flagship Model

Lexus LF-LC concept (Credit: Lexus)

It seems that Lexus thinks having a single flagship model is a little on the boring side. The luxury brand has been working hard lately to inject more fun into its lineup, even turning to extreme measures like slapping controversial huge spindle grilles on the front of each model. The problem is that the current flagship sedan, the LS, is a popular vehicle with people who still watch Matlock reruns.

Lexus needs to shake its geriatric reputation, something that was clinging to Buick and Cadillac in the not too-distant past. The risk is that its customer base will essentially all die off, leaving their grandkids grumbling about how they inherited a smelly old car.

Reuters spoke with Lexus’ division general manager Jeff Bracken, who said that the new flagship model “doesn’t have to be a sedan.” Naturally, everyone assumed it would be the new hover board, but that’s still a ludicrous idea. Instead, the most obvious candidate is something not quite so crazy, but still risky and edgy.

As you might recall, Toyota and BMW have been working together on a new sports car platform, which will be the basis of a resurrected Supra. Rather than let all that hard work go to waste, it seems that more than a few industry experts (including Motor Trend) feel that Lexus will also use it to build a second flagship model.

Rumors have been flying around that Lexus has moved forward with bringing the LF-LC to market, possibly calling it the SC F. It supposedly packs a twin-turbo 5.0-liter V-8 engine, which pushes out around 600 horsepower. If true, that would certainly show that the luxury brand hasn’t become stale and boring.

Lexus is also looking to beef up its SUV lineup, with rivals doing the same thing and meeting quite a bit of success. One of the plans is to expand the RX and add a third row, something that customers apparently have been asking about for a while.