BMW Rivaling Twin Turbo LC F Project Falls Victim To The Bean Counters

And AGAIN Toyota fails to see the big picture. You can't play with the big boys when you have no toys.

But to do a niche version of a niche vehicle that is selling at a fraction of what was hoped is just plain STOOPID.

They need to replace the RC and LC with an LC-sized coupe at an RC price with LC level performance.

Coupes--if you're trying to gain market share--will sell well if they are a tremendous value for the price. Lexus has to buy in to the market. The LC was 25% overpriced and that is how steeply they were discounted to get rid of them.

I doubt the R8 was ever profitable for Audi. But the image it portrayed and the cred it provided was worth it. The benefits aren't always measured by an accountant.

This is why it's good that you're not in business. If there is no payoff to a halo car, there is no purpose.

The halo car has to be theoretically within reach of the mainstream buyer as the Corvette is at Chevrolet and the Shelbys are at Ford. As such it will be profitable.

The R8 was priced $100K higher than the sweet spot of Audi's sales base and that was too high for there to be a benefit...ditto NSX...ditto LFA...ditto LC. These were not profitable.

Brands like Lexus, Jaguar, Acura, and Genesis that are trying to buy into the club fare far better by having their halo be attainable--like a Corvette or a Shelby is relative to the rest of the line. The Jaguar F Type should be priced like a Corvette ditto the NSX.

Lexus positioned the RC and the LC dead wrong and neither did anything for the brand.

As for the R8 everyone knew it was a wannabe Gallardo/Huracan that people bought because they could not afford the real thing, so owners tended to get laughed at behind their backs in a kind of an Emperor's New Clothes kind of way.

Lexus needs to cater to their established identity, as a luxury carmaker. That's what got them into the game and that's what's going to keep them there.

Models like the IS-F, RC-F, and GS-F, while great drivers cars, have fallen well short of establishing the Lexus as a competitive performance brand. I doubt an LC-F would change that. The LC is already heavy (heavier than an M8 Comp) and adding beefier suspension, larger engine, may only add weight. They could remove luxury items, but the M8 doesn't compromise.
And I doubt the "new" IS will change anything either. With the same pathetic engine options as current, it is sadly behind. An addition of a V-8, which is rumored, will still give it performance below the turbo/supercharge 6-cylinder competition (M340i, C43, S4, Type-S), which less economy.