Is Lexus Building a Wild New Hybrid Coupe? Here’s What We Know

The LC 500’s glorious V8 may not be long for this world.

Lexus RC F Track edition rounding a corner

Published March 7, 2024

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Updated March 7, 2024

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Lexus’s current coupe lineup has a lot going for it. But both the RC, which entered production in 2014, and the LC, which began rolling off the line in 2017, have both grown a bit dated. Now, a new rumor from Japan suggests that Lexus is working on a new coupe to replace them — and it could arrive very soon.

Here’s what we know about the next-generation Lexus coupe.

The Lexus LC and RC will reportedly become one vehicle

According to BestCar, Lexus plans to replace the LC and RC with a single sports coupe. That move would make sense. Sports coupes have become dramatically less popular. It’s hard to justify investing in two of them, when the LC and RC only sold 3,513 units combined in 2023.

Paring down from two two-doors to one would also track with rival Mercedes, which merged the C-Class and E-class Coupes into one CLE-Class coupe for 2024.

The new Lexus vehicle will be a traditional coupe

BestCar says the new vehicle will be a two-door, 2+2-style coupe. The outlet projects that — like the current LC 500 – Lexus may offer a convertible variant as well. The report describes it as a “luxury coupe,” which suggests it may lean more to the LC end of the spectrum and not be super track-focused (we wouldn’t complain about that).

Lexus LC 500 with woman entering right side. — The reported new Lexus coupe may skew toward the luxury end of the spectrum — which we’re okay with.

The Lexus LC and RC replacement won’t have a V8, but instead will use a hybrid engine

BestCar reports that the new Lexus Coupe will have a hybrid powertrain. The outlet says the most likely option is a new version of the 3.5-liter V6 hybrid from the LC 500h, which would put out about 375 horsepower.

The report does throw out two additional options. One would be the 3.4-liter V6 hybrid, which has 437 horsepower and 583 lb-ft of torque in the Toyota Tundra. Another smaller option could be the 2.4-liter inline-four hybrid from the Tacoma that puts out 326 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque.

When will Lexus’s LC replacement arrive?

Lexus has not confirmed anything yet about a new coupe. BestCar says Lexus will launch the new sports coupe in 2025; that could make it a 2026 model-year vehicle in America.

Meanwhile, Automotive News‘s recent analysis does not mention a hybrid sports coupe — just the RC and LC getting refreshes in 2024 and 2025 respectively — but it does claim Lexus will be launching an EV sports coupe in 2026.

How much will the next Lexus coupe cost?

The BestCar report projects the new coupe will cost 15 million yen, which works out to a little over $100,000 as of this writing. That would be a little above the current LC 500, which starts at $99,800 and more than double the starting MSRP of the RC, which begins at $45,920. We suspect that Lexus would price the new vehicle differently in America.