The 470bhp Lexus RC F is meant as a luxo-fast coupe, but how does the big V8 fare on track?

SEPANG, MALAYSIA – Here’s a quick recap: The Lexus RC F is arguably the Japanese luxury brand’s first high-performance coupe, with the sort of power (470bhp, to be exact) to hold its head proud against the ranks of German contenders like the BMW M4 and Mercedes-AMG C 63.

We’ve already tested the RC F on local roads in Singapore and found it plenty fast, yet comfy and eye-catching too, but how does to it handle a wide open F1 circuit like Sepang?

On the track, it’s like a pet tiger: it has claws, it’ll pounce through corners ferociously, and it roars like you’ve stepped on its favourite cubs’ tail. But it does it all on command, apparently.

What defines the car is a classic recipe, which is to take a big, big engine, put it up front, and send power to the rear wheels. Hilarity is bound to ensue.

But the Germans have gone turbo – the BMW M4 and Mercedes-Benz C 63 have much smaller turbo engines than the Lexus. Even Ferrari has switched to forced induction because it can’t meet emissions regulations without turbocharging. So why hasn’t Lexus?

Again, the uniqueness of the RC F comes into play. What Lexus did is take its Atkinson cycle tech (as found in the Prius and Lexus hybrids) and plonk it into the RC F. The new NX 200t turbo, and even the new Camry 2.0 (see our review this issue) have it, too. In short, it lets the engine be more efficient at low revs – where your typical high-revving V8 is most inefficient — and I think it’s quite beautiful that Lexus used its niceness to enable us to enjoy naughtiness here.

But no one buys a sportscar for niceness. That’s my excuse for a slightly naughty exit from the pitlane, anyway. Ye gads, when that big V8 passes 4,000rpm, it just seems to lose its temper and go nuts.

It howls like something stolen from a Nascar racer, and the acceleration builds to a lovely peak. Sepang has a way of making cars feel slow, but the Lexus actually feels pretty quick here.

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It’s certainly not slow – at the end of each straight we were tickling close to 220km/h without pushing hard at all. But one dynamic concern I did have, concerns its weight: It’s powerful, but heavy. 470bhp does sound very impressive – more than the M4 and basic C 63 make, mind you – but the car also weighs more than 1,800kg.

It does seem to sit heavily on its springs. There’s more body lean than you’d want through Turns 5 and 6, the fastest ones at Sepang. And the brake pedal starts to go soft after a couple of hot laps, but the brakes themselves still bite, at least. But if there’s one word I’d choose to describe the RC F, it’s “controllable”.

Much of that is down to how the big V8 meters out its power evenly. There’s no sudden wall of torque that gives you the slippery-hand-wet-pants-whites-of-the-eyes feel.

I’m not a terrible driver, but I will admit to being intimidated by some turbo engines on track, especially unfamiliar ones. But what I loved was the RC F’s predictability. It scrubs wide on some slow corners, but everywhere else you can plan its behaviour – and your corner exit – miles away.

In fact, you can feel the RC F kind of resisting understeer as you power out of bends. You keep the steering wheel pointed where you want to go, and it sort of sorts itself out and holds the line you want instead of having the front end wash outwards.

That’s very likely the result of the new Torque Vectoring Differential – Lexus says it’s the first application of such a system in a front-engined, rear-wheel drive car. Point the steering wheel right and the system shuffles power to the rear left wheel to help keep the Lexus’ nose perfectly on line, and vice versa.

The TVD is great for helping you in and out of corners, but having had the chance to really stretch the car here, it’s also clear you need to understand the systems to have the car work with, rather than against you.

But surely all the electronics detract from the RC F’s purity as a driver’s car?

It’s a fair question, but electronics have begin to define the segment now. You expect adaptive dampers, a Green-ish engine, and advanced chassis technology to help you go fast.

 The RC F’s engineers told me they wanted to make a fast car anybody could enjoy – and drive fast. And despite this (or because of it), I do think they’ve achieved that, it’s really easy to drive quickly around the track.

It’s actually pretty easy to drive sideways, too. The stability control system has an “Expert Mode”. It seems to make small tailslides easy: just steer toward the apex, and once you’re past it, put your right foot to the floor and eventually the rear wheels start to slide. Keep flooring it, put on some opposite lock, and then laugh like you’ve just escaped from a mental hospital. Brilliant stuff!

Expert mode might sound like it’s for professionals, but if you ask me, its true purpose is to make anyone feel like an expert.

But you still need to know what you’re doing with 470bhp, no matter what electronics are there. That said, there aren’t that many cars out there with this much power than you can just jump into and feel confident right away.

But the RC F manages that trick: After a lap you’re perfectly comfy switching off the stability control system.

And after a dozen hot laps you’re still eager to do more. That’s the mark of a proper driver’s car.

It’s somehow cutting edge, but still behaves in a way that allows some old school fun. It’s a new school car programmed to be old school, in short. And I’ll tell you what, after we were done with the car, some people had to do the long trek back to Singapore from Sepang.

For once, even after a sweaty day at Sepang, I really envied them…