Lexus RC F: the V8 coupe's specs, Track Edition, racing and values

The Lexus RC F is the V8 version of the Lexus RC coupe: a front-engined, rear-wheel-drive four-seater with a naturally aspirated 5.0-litre V8 of 471bhp, shown at the Detroit motor show in January 2014 and on sale in Britain from early 2015 at £59,995. Lexus called it the first front-engined, rear-drive car with a torque vectoring differential, it won the Super GT title in GT500 form in 2016, and its GT3 racing version took the IMSA GTD Pro championship in 2023. Toyota sold about 12,000 RC Fs in 57 countries and planned to end production in November 2025.

Lexus withdrew it from British showrooms in April 2024, so a UK buyer now chooses from about 270 RC Fs on the UK record, from just under £30,000 for an early one.

History of the Lexus RC F

The RC F replaced the IS F saloon as the performance Lexus, and its life ran from a 2014 motor show debut to the Final Edition of 2025, with a facelift in 2019 between them.

The Detroit reveal, January 2014

The RC coupe had made its debut at the Tokyo motor show in November 2013, and Lexus announced on 8 January 2014 that an F version would follow at Detroit on 14 January. Its engine would make "well above 450bhp". Chief engineer Yukihiko Yaguchi explained the bodywork: "Unique air outlets in the bonnet and rear section of the front wings contribute to optimum engine cooling and handling stability." A SkiddMark report the next day, 9 January 2014, set the car against the new BMW M4, whose turbocharged 3.0-litre six made 425bhp and 550Nm and returned 34mpg, while the outgoing IS F had made 505Nm and 24mpg.

The car was unveiled on the 25th anniversary of the Lexus brand's launch at the same show. The Detroit press kit called it "the most powerful V8 performance model Lexus has yet produced" and gave a kerb weight target of under 1,800kg. Yaguchi said: "I've built the RC F to be enjoyed by all enthusiasts, no matter what their level of expertise ... even at its basic setting, it's a blast!" Europe saw it at Geneva in March, where Lexus called it the most powerful V8 performance car it had developed, beside a GT3 racing concept.

UK launch, 2014 to 2015

Lexus published UK prices on 15 August 2014: £59,995 for the RC F and £67,995 for the RC F Carbon, with first deliveries from the start of 2015. Standard equipment included Brembo brakes, LED headlights, heated and ventilated leather seats, navigation and safety features such as eight airbags, a blind spot monitor and Rear Cross Traffic Alert. Its UK Facebook followers had already named one of the paints: Solar Flare, a bright orange, picked in June 2014 from hundreds of suggestions. Parkers' review reported that Lexus expected to sell about 200 RC Fs a year in Britain.

Updates from 2016 to 2018

Adaptive Variable Suspension became standard in December 2016, with 30 levels of damping against nine on earlier Lexus systems. In February 2018 the RC F became the first Lexus tested under Euro 6d and WLTP; a petrol particulate filter in the exhaust cut its output to 457bhp and 520Nm. The same update made Lexus Safety System+ standard, with a Pre-Collision System and adaptive cruise control, and added a Plus Pack between the RC F and the Carbon.

The 2019 facelift

The revised car and the Track Edition appeared at Detroit on 14 January 2019. Weight came out through hollow rear half-shafts, a smaller intake manifold and air-conditioning compressor, and aluminium suspension brackets; stiffer bushes went into the rear suspension arms and steering rack mounts. The second intake opening now came in at 2,800rpm instead of 3,600rpm, the final drive went from 2.93 to 3.13, and launch control and Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres made for the car became standard. It went on sale in Britain in May 2019, from £62,900.

The end of the RC F, 2024 to 2025

The four-cylinder hybrid RC 300h left the British range in 2020, leaving only the RC F, and Autocar reported on 12 April 2024 that Lexus had taken the RC F and the LC off sale in the UK. The RC range sold 2,600 cars in its decade in Britain, but only 12 in 2022 and 15 in 2023. On 16 January 2025 Toyota announced a Final Edition and said RC and RC F production would end in November 2025.

Design and engineering

The RC F is built on the RC's platform, with its own engine, brakes, suspension tuning, bodywork and cabin; Lexus took the active rear wing, the carbon fibre parts and the instruments from the work it had done on the LFA supercar. Lexus said the styling grew from the LF-LC and LF-CC concepts, with every vent placed for cooling or aerodynamics.

The 5.0-litre V8 engine (2UR-GSE)

The engine is a 4,969cc 32-valve V8 based on the IS F's; at the launch Lexus said it had been developed for the RC F, with the transmission and exhaust designed with it for driver engagement. Lexus's engine release of November 2014 lists what changed: power up 54bhp (12 per cent) to 471bhp, torque up to 530Nm from 4,800 to 5,600rpm, the rev limit raised from 6,800 to 7,300rpm, a 12.3:1 compression ratio, titanium inlet and exhaust valves, forged connecting rods and new cylinder heads, pistons and crankshaft. At cruising speeds it runs on the Atkinson cycle, holding the inlet valves open longer, and switches to the Otto cycle under load; it was the first Lexus performance engine to do so. An Active Sound Control speaker under the dashboard adds intake and exhaust sound to the cabin, a low tone up to 3,000rpm and a higher one beyond 6,000rpm. The same engine went into the GS F saloon and, in later form, the Lexus LC 500.

Gearbox and torque vectoring differential

Every RC F has an eight-speed automatic transmission, which Lexus calls Sports Direct Shift, with Eco, Normal, Sport S, Sport S+ and Snow modes; in manual mode an upshift takes a tenth of a second and downshifts are blipped. The stability and traction control system, Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management (VDIM), has Normal, Sport, Off and Expert settings, the last stepping in only to stop a spin. The optional torque vectoring differential, standard on the Carbon, uses electronically controlled multi-plate clutches to send torque to either rear wheel, in Standard, Slalom or Track mode; Slalom is set for the agility of a smaller car, and Evo found Track gave the most natural responses in corners. Lexus called it a world first for a front-engined, rear-drive car. Evo records a Torsen limited-slip differential as standard on cars without it.

Chassis, brakes and aerodynamics

The suspension is double wishbone at the front, with forged aluminium arms, and multi-link at the rear, with Sachs monotube dampers (adaptive dampers from 2016); the bonnet skins and bumper reinforcement are aluminium. Brembo brakes have 380mm slotted discs and six-piston callipers at the front and 345mm discs with four pistons at the rear, and a vertical G-sensor added after Nürburgring testing manages braking as the car lands over a crest. Tyres are 255/35 R19 at the front and 275/35 R19 at the rear, on 19-inch forged alloy wheels. A four-link active rear spoiler in the boot lid rises at 50mph and drops below 25mph, and the RC F Carbon's carbon fibre bonnet, roof and wing save about 10kg.

Interior

The seats, steering wheel, pedals and instruments are the RC F's own. The central dial, developed from the LFA's, changes with the drive mode, and the display includes a G-meter, a torque vectoring monitor and a stopwatch. Lexus lists four seats, and Carwow gives the boot as 366 litres. The infotainment uses a touchpad on the centre console, and Autocar's 2024 road test called it "about as clumsy as you are likely to find in any current production car".

Lexus RC F specs and performance

The table gives Lexus's UK figures for the original car, the post-2018 car and the Track Edition; Lexus USA quoted 472hp (SAE) for the later car.

The 26.2mpg figure is the one Parkers and Evo quote for the early car.

How fast is the Lexus RC F?

Lexus claimed a 0–62mph sprint of 4.5 seconds, a standing quarter-mile in 12.5 seconds and a limited 168mph for the original car, and 4.3 seconds to 62mph for the 2019 car with launch control. Lexus USA gave 4.2 seconds to 60mph for the later RC F and 3.96 seconds for the Fuji Speedway Edition. Autocar's road test of the Ultimate Edition, published in November 2024, measured 4.7 seconds to 60mph and 10.5 seconds to 100mph on a cold day at MIRA, with the car weighing 1,733kg, 55 per cent of it on the front axle.

How much horsepower does the Lexus RC F have?

In UK figures the RC F has 471bhp (351kW) up to the 2018 model year and 457bhp (341kW) after the particulate filter arrived. In US SAE terms Lexus quoted 472hp at 7,100rpm and 395lb ft for the 2021 car. The GT3 racing car, with a 5.4-litre engine, makes more than 500bhp.

Lexus RC F versions and special editions

Besides the standard car, Lexus built the RC F Carbon and five named special editions, some for one market only.

RC F Carbon

The Carbon was the dearer of the two launch versions, £8,000 more than the RC F in 2014. Its carbon fibre parts came from the composite techniques Lexus developed for the LFA.

RC F 10th Anniversary

Made to mark ten years since the IS F introduced the F badge in 2008, the UK 10th Anniversary went on sale on 1 July 2018 at £69,995. It was the first Lexus with Mercury Grey matt paint and had blue brake callipers, blue semi-aniline seats and a plaque on the driver's door armrest. Ten were licensed in Britain in mid-2026, according to DfT figures.

What is the Lexus RC F Track Edition?

Lexus estimated the Track Edition at 70–80kg lighter than the pre-2019 car; it was developed with Lexus's Super GT, Blancpain and IMSA race teams. A fixed carbon wing replaces the active one and gives up to 26kg more downforce, and a carbon front air dam adds grip at the front. Brembo carbon-ceramic discs and BBS forged wheels cut 25kg of unsprung weight at the front alone, and the roof, bonnet, rear partition and bumper reinforcement are carbon fibre, many of them made on the line that had built the LFA's. Lexus called it "an uncompromised luxury performance coupe". Cabins were red leather, and the paint was Ultra White or Nebula Matt Grey. In May 2019 it cost £79,900 in Britain, and a Track Pack for the standard car cost £72,650.

Fuji Speedway Edition

The F in RC F stands for Fuji Speedway, where Lexus does much of its testing, and the US-only 2021 Fuji Speedway Edition was limited to 60 cars in Arctic Blast Satin or Cloudburst Gray, each sold with a watch. The 2022 run was 50 cars in a semi-matt blue, Electric Surge.

Ultimate Edition

The last European RC F was the Ultimate Edition, a Track Edition with a pop-up carbon spoiler in place of the fixed wing. Autocar, which tested one, said 30 came to Europe, and priced the car at £93,495.

Final Edition

Announced on 16 January 2025, the Final Edition is the only RC F of the last model year. In Japan it was limited to 200 cars, with an engine whose moving parts were matched for mass and a rear differential whose backlash was set by hand. Lexus USA's release lists BBS wheels, red callipers, a carbon roof and active wing, a black and red leather and Ultrasuede cabin and a carbon badge with each car's number.

The Lexus RC F in motor racing

Two racing cars carried the RC F name: a GT500 car for Japan's Super GT series from 2014 to 2016, and the RC F GT3, which has raced since 2017.

Super GT GT500, 2014 to 2016

In its first season the Petronas TOM'S car of Kazuki Nakajima and James Rossiter won the Suzuka 1,000km on 31 August 2014 from pole, leading all 173 laps, the RC F's third win of the year; five RC Fs finished in the top ten. Rossiter and Daisuke Ito won the race again in 2015, ahead of the Zent Cerumo RC F. In 2016 Heikki Kovalainen and Kohei Hirate of Team SARD won the GT500 drivers' title, and SARD the teams' title. The LC 500 took the RC F's place in GT500 from 2017 and, Lexus said in 2019, won five races and the drivers' title in its first season.

RC F GT3

Lexus showed an RC F GT3 concept at Geneva in March 2014; a SkiddMark report that month gave it 532bhp and 1,250kg, 150mm wider and 120mm lower than the road car. Prototypes raced in the Nürburgring endurance series, and on 8 October 2016 one won the VLN9 race outright, the first VLN win for an Asian maker. The homologated 2017 car has a 5.4-litre V8 of more than 500bhp, a six-speed sequential gearbox and a weight of 1,300kg.

IMSA in North America

The GT3 car first raced in the Daytona 24 Hours in January 2017, entered by 3GT Racing. Its first IMSA class win came at Mid-Ohio in May 2018, where Dominik Baumann and Kyle Marcelli led every one of the 116 laps of the GTD class. By 2020 the cars were run by AIM Vasser Sullivan, and Jack Hawksworth and Aaron Telitz won the first two races after IMSA's restart in July 2020, at Daytona and Sebring. In 2023 Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat won the GTD Pro drivers' title, with wins at Long Beach and Watkins Glen and podiums in nine of 11 races; Lexus took the manufacturers' title and Vasser Sullivan the teams'.

Europe and the World Endurance Championship

In Europe Emil Frey Racing won four International GT Open races in 2017, then the Blancpain Endurance Cup 1,000km at Paul Ricard in June 2018, when Albert Costa Balboa passed the leading Bentley on the last lap. The car entered the World Endurance Championship's LMGT3 class with the Akkodis ASP team in February 2024, and the No. 87 car of Petru Umbrarescu, Clemens Schmid and José María López won the 6 Hours of São Paulo in 2025 by 37.7 seconds, Lexus's first world championship race win. Toyota unveiled the GR GT3 that will replace it in December 2025, and Motorsport.com reported a racing debut "around 2027".

How many Lexus RC Fs were made?

About 12,000 Lexus RC Fs were sold in 57 countries and regions up to December 2024, according to Toyota's release of 16 January 2025, which also gives about 79,000 for the rest of the RC range in 62 countries. Lexus USA put the two together at more than 90,000.

In the 2026 figures the DfT lists 198 plain RC Fs, 28 Carbons, 14 Track Editions, ten 10th Anniversary cars, three listed as RC F Track and small numbers of other trims. A 2018 UK recall for the fuel pumps covered 393 British RC Fs built between June 2014 and December 2017.

Lexus RC F prices and values

New, an RC F cost £59,995 in 2014 and more than £93,000 by 2024 in its last UK forms; used, the cheapest now sell for just under £30,000.

How much is a Lexus RC F worth today?

Evo's buying guide, updated in February 2026, put a 2015 RC F with under 50,000 miles at just under £30,000, an RC F Carbon at about £35,000 and low-mileage facelifted cars from 2019 at about £50,000. It noted that Track Editions rarely come up for sale in Britain because few were imported. In the United States, Bring a Trailer's results show most RC Fs failing to meet their reserves: of the 15 RC F auctions on its Lexus RC results page, run from August 2022 to October 2026, four sold, at $60,075 for a 2016 car, $82,000 for a 2021 Track Edition, $78,150 for a 2020 Track Edition with 423 miles and $47,000 for a 2020 RC F in October 2026.

Owning a Lexus RC F

Reviewers rate the RC F's build quality highly, and its running costs are those of a large V8, above all fuel and rear tyres.

Is the Lexus RC F reliable?

Evo wrote in 2026 that build quality and reliability "are second-to-none" and that Lexus's record and dealer network make a used RC F "far from the sketchiest used purchase you can make". The DVSA recall list has three RC F recalls. R/2018/050 replaced the high-pressure fuel pumps on 393 cars built from June 2014 to December 2017, whose pump covers could crack and leak. R/2022/345 replaced a fuel tank vent tube that could crack, on cars built from October 2014 to August 2018. R/2026/151, launched in May 2026, replaces the low-pressure fuel pump, whose resin impeller can swell and stop it, on cars built from June 2014 to April 2022.

Running costs

Evo's long-term RC F averaged about 22mpg against an official 26.2mpg, and it put a pair of Michelin Pilot Sport 5 rear tyres at nearly £600. Autocar's Ultimate Edition managed just over 30mpg on its touring run, a range of up to 437 miles. Parkers puts real-world economy nearer 20mpg.

Lexus RC F vs BMW M4 and other rivals

The RC F's rivals were the BMW M4, the Mercedes-AMG C63 Coupe and the Audi RS5, German rivals that all moved to turbocharged engines; the RC F had more power than the 2014 M4 and less torque, and it was heavier.

Lexus claimed 4.5 seconds to 62mph and a weight target under 1,800kg for the RC F; BMW claimed 4.1 seconds with the DCT gearbox and 1,537kg (DIN) for the M4. Evo judged the F82 M4 "a sharper and more athletic car to drive", the RS5 "more of a rounded sporting GT" and the C63 S, at 503bhp, the choice for "muscle and brawn"; in 2026 it priced all three from about £25,000 to £30,000 used. A SkiddMark report from Geneva in March 2014 put the RC F at around 1,800kg against the M3's 1,520kg.

What reviewers said about the Lexus RC F

Reviewers praised the V8 and the build and marked the car down for its weight, gearbox and infotainment. Evo found the throttle response "very crisp" but little low-down punch, likened the view over its high scuttle to being in "a TVR or Aston Martin", and said the cabin was built "with excellent materials". It called the car "not as crisp as a BMW M car, as rounded as an Audi RS model nor as brutally fast as a V8-engined Mercedes-AMG", and said its biggest asset was "the jewel under its bonnet". Top Gear, in April 2023, called it a "top notch Japanese muscle car with a whole lot of heart. Not dynamically perfect". Autocar's chief tester, Matt Saunders, wrote of the Ultimate Edition: "There can be few engines of its kind that are as lovely to listen to at work", called the gearbox "a real letdown" and found the steering "communicative and intuitive". Evo found the ride lumpen at low speeds and the steering relatively heavy, and Autocar wrote that the car "feels its size and weight on both road and track". Carwow likened it to a Ford Mustang, "an old-school muscle car at heart".

Questions

What does the F in Lexus RC F stand for?

Fuji Speedway, the Japanese circuit where Lexus does much of its high-speed testing. Lexus first used the F badge on the IS F in 2008.

Is the Lexus RC F turbocharged?

No. The RC F has a naturally aspirated 5.0-litre V8, the 2UR-GSE, which revs to 7,300rpm. Lexus also used it in the GS F saloon and, developed further, the LC 500.

Does the Lexus RC F have a manual gearbox?

No. Every RC F has an eight-speed automatic with paddles; in manual mode Lexus quotes an upshift time of a tenth of a second.

Is the Lexus RC F a four-seater?

Lexus lists four seats. Parkers found the rear seats cramped for adults because of the low roof.

Is the Lexus RC F still made?

No. Lexus took it off sale in the UK in April 2024, and Toyota said in January 2025 that RC and RC F production would end in November 2025, after a run of Final Editions.

Is the Lexus RC F the same car as the Lexus RC?

The RC F is the V8 version of the RC coupe. The RC was also sold with four-cylinder petrol, hybrid and V6 engines; the RC F has its own engine, brakes, bodywork and cabin.

Sources

• Lexus UK, "World Debut for Lexus RC F at Detroit Motor Show", 8 January 2014: reveal date, Yaguchi's comments, active wing.
• Lexus UK, "RC F: The Most Powerful Lexus V8 Performance Car Yet", 14 January 2014: preliminary specification, torque vectoring differential, weight target.
• Lexus UK, "New Lexus RC F and RC Coupe to Make European Debuts at Geneva", 13 February 2014: Geneva debut and GT3 concept.
• Lexus UK, "Solar Flare the pick of the public naming game", 17 June 2014: the Solar Flare paint.
• Lexus UK, "Lexus RC F readied for launch with announcement of UK prices", 15 August 2014: UK prices and equipment.
• Lexus UK, "Lexus RC F: heading for the UK via the winner's podium", 5 September 2014, and "Rossiter leads peerless Lexus RC F performance at Suzuka", 1 September 2015: Super GT wins.
• Lexus UK, "The Lexus RC F: Performance for All", 24 November 2014: the meaning of F, 471bhp and 530Nm.
• Lexus UK, "At the heart of the action", 28 November 2014: engine details and performance.
• Lexus UK, "Lexus RC F: Engineered for Maximum Reward", 2 December 2014: gearbox, VDIM and differential.
• Lexus UK, "Lexus RC F: Functional Beauty", 8 December 2014, and "Engineered for Grip and Agility", 9 December 2014: aerodynamics, dimensions, suspension and brakes.
• Lexus UK, Adaptive Variable Suspension release, 1 December 2016.
• Lexus UK, "Lexus to present new 2017 RC F GT3", 27 February 2017: GT3 specification, VLN win, 2016 Super GT title.
• Lexus UK, "Equipment and technology upgrades for 2018 Lexus RC and RC F", 9 February 2018: WLTP, particulate filter, 457bhp, prices.
• Lexus UK, "Transatlantic racing success", 8 May 2018; "Lexus RC F GT3 powers to historic race win", 4 June 2018; Blancpain GT Series release, 16 February 2018; IMSA release, 31 July 2020: GT3 results.
• Lexus UK, RC F 10th Anniversary release, 20 June 2018.
• Lexus UK, 2019 RC F and Track Edition world premiere, 14 January 2019; European release, 19 February 2019; UK on-sale release, 1 May 2019: facelift, Track Edition, 2019 prices.
• Lexus USA, 2021 RC F and Fuji Speedway Edition, 10 September 2020; 2022 RC F and Fuji Speedway Edition, 3 September 2021; "2025 Lexus RC and RC F: a sonorous swan song", 16 January 2025; 2023 GTD Pro titles, 14 October 2023.
• Toyota, LEXUS、「RC」「RC F」に「Final Edition」を設定, 16 January 2025: sales to December 2024, end of production, 200 Final Editions.
• Lexus UK, "Lexus seals final championship success with victory in Japan's Super GT series", November 2019: the LC 500's 2017 GT500 season.
• Lexus Europe, "First ever world championship race win for Lexus", 2025: the São Paulo WEC win.
• Motorsport.com, "Kovalainen claims maiden Super GT title", November 2016, and "V8-powered Toyota GR GT3 launched to replace Lexus RC F GT3", December 2025.
• Autocar, "Lexus line-up goes electrified only as LC and RC F retired", 12 April 2024: UK withdrawal and RC sales; and the Lexus RC F Ultimate Edition road test by Matt Saunders, 15 November 2024: measured performance, weight, economy, price and the 30 European cars, and Lexus's claimed kerb weight (1,715kg DIN), length and WLTP economy for the Ultimate Edition.
• Evo, Lexus RC F (2014–2025) review and buying guide, updated 20 February 2026: used prices, long-term economy, tyre costs, rivals.
• Top Gear, Lexus RC F review, 28 April 2023: 2023 prices and verdict. Parkers, Lexus RC F (2014–2024) review, page dated 6 June 2019: UK sales target, economy. Carwow, Lexus RC F review: verdict.
• BMW Group, "The new BMW M3 Sedan and new BMW M4 Coupe", December 2013: M4 figures.
• Department for Transport, vehicle licensing statistics, table VEH0120, downloaded October 2026: RC F numbers on the UK record.
• DVSA, vehicle recalls data, downloaded October 2026: recalls R/2018/050, R/2022/345 and R/2026/151.
• Bring a Trailer, Lexus RC auction results, read 28 October 2026: US sale prices.
• SkiddMark, "Lexus reveals the 450bhp RC F coupe", 9 January 2014, and "Lexus shows not one, but three RC coupes at Geneva", 1 March 2014: rival figures and GT3 concept.