2025 Lexus LC 500 Convertible – Oh the Shark, Babe…Has Such Teeth, Dear

2025 Lexus LC 500 Convertible

Oh the Shark, Babe…Has Such Teeth, Dear 

Corvette enthusiasts may remember the Mako Shark II, a Corvette concept shown in the mid-‘60s. The Mako Shark II was essentially a preview of Chevy’s C3 Corvette, introduced for the ’68 model year and produced – with few changes – thru 1982. With the launch of the C8 Corvette for 2020 the front-engined Corvette was laid to rest, and for those still preferring that traditional architecture – at roughly the same price point – there’s but one credible alternative, the Lexus LC 500. Of course, it’s built by the Lexus division of Toyota and not Chevy, but don’t let that hold you back. 

You know most OEMs are devoted to trucks and SUVs. And if looking to heighten their performance envelopes, that tuning invariably involves trucks and SUVs and not – notably – two-passenger coupes. Thankfully, high performance continues to provide a halo for an automaker’s more pedestrian products, and that’s what the Lexus LC 500 coupe and convertible do for Lexus. Despite its relatively long shelf life – the coupe was introduced for the 2018 model year, while the convertible came two years later – the design appears timeless in both variants, although the coupe – being a coupe – offers sheetmetal that’s better integrated; it is, after all, a coupe. 

I’m still struck by the show car vibe built into the LC 500’s DNA. The sheetmetal could have easily been penned by Ghia, while lighting – both front and rear – is perhaps inspired by Origami; it’s those lights that best reveal the LC’s Japanese origin. 

This isn’t, by any stretch, a small car, with a wheelbase of 113 inches supporting an overall length of 187 inches, while weighing almost 4,500 pounds. (And with that mass you’re given but three cubic feet of luggage space!) As I’ve written before, I would prefer this sheetmetal transferred to the Supra footprint, but it’s doubtful the Supra survives as a donor – at least in its current configuration and production partnership with BMW. So, in the same way that downsized platforms strike many as all-too-common, the Lexus LC 500 makes – in its own extravagance – an argument for a customer’s over-the-top taste. With that, our test LC’s Nori Green Pearl paint provided a shade of understatement. 

Inside, the saddle leather and trim departed significantly from any Chevy showroom. Ingress isn’t for the infirm, but once seated you’ll enjoy an expansive view over the LC 500’s long hood, along with a restricted view – especially with the convertible’s top up – to the sides and rear. Both coupe and convertible are restrictive, but then, with the top down your enjoyment is wide open. And as these environments go, the LC’s cabin is relatively serene; it ain’t no Miata and (obviously) it’s not that ’68 Corvette. 

In front of the driver is a circular tach and, within it, a digital speedometer. That info is separate from the infotainment screen, which is large enough to be visible, but not so large as to dominate. And despite the LC 500’s width, the cabin is almost intimate, while the +2 seating is – if your kid is past kindergarten – too intimate. 

Light this candle and you’ll know the magic is in the motor. The LC 500’s 5.0 liter V8 comes with an actual bark, one that not only resonates throughout the cockpit – it will resonate thru the neighborhood. Power is directed to the rear wheels via a 10-speed auto, and while the purist might prefer a stick it’s really not necessary; the connection between your right foot and the 471 horsepower is immediate and unquestioning. 

Despite the luxury trappings and expansive footprint, the LC 500 goes down the road like a sportscar. You won’t confuse it with that Miata (although my 12-year old grandson did), but neither will you confuse it with dad’s old Lexus LS. The LC 500 provides all the vibe of a classic GT, with none of the shake, rattle and roll for which that genre was historically known. 

At some point the LC 500 will have exceeded – by any reasonable measure – its practical shelf life. If you like the footprint, sheetmetal and performance, you won’t find a substitute anywhere this side of $200K.  And while its low six figure window sticker remains a lot of money, it’s a predictable outlay, without the onus of 4-figure oil changes or 5-figure tune-ups. 

Hell, the LC 500 is sufficiently old school to be considered chick bait – if you can remember that…