I recently had the chance to get some seat time in the limited edition 2021 RC F Fuji Speedway Edition, just sixty of these special cars will be produced globally and they are only available in the North American market. The RC F was already an amazing sports coupe so to improve it Lexus brought in help from the GT3 racing team, who helped improve aerodynamics, shaved even more weight, and borrowed some parts from the LFA supercar.
Lexus tapped its IMSA and Super GT teams to reduce drag and increase downforce, the race teams even got to override the designers when it came to the front spoiler and specialized side skirts that were crafted to optimize airflow around the wheel arches. To save weight, the Fuji Speedway Edition features a lot of carbon fiber, roof, hood, spoiler, rear splitter, even the rear strut brace is made of carbon fiber, all tricks Lexus learned while developing the LFA. Beyond all the composite material, the car features a full titanium exhaust, lightweight BBS wheels similar to those used on the GT3 cars, and carbon-ceramic brakes lifted directly from the LFA that alone save 48lbs over the standard RC F. All of this weight savings shaves 120lbs without sacrificing any comfort you would expect in a street car.
Lexus partnered with Michelin tires to developed a special 4S tire that features a softer compound engineered to work with the more demanding aero and braking systems of the Fuji Speedway Edition. The result is a car with a street tire designed to drive to the track, do a track day, and drive home without having to change your tires at the track. While the performance under the hood is the same the weight savings and tires drop the 0-60 time to just 3.96 seconds compared to 4.2 on the standard RC F.
Sport S+, which is essentially track mode, adds adaptive suspension and more steering adjustments. In Sport S+ mode while rowing through the paddle shifter it really feels like you can make the most out of the 472 horsepower 5.0-liter V8. The only thing you would need to do when going to the track pull the removable hood scoop block-off plate to help increase cooling and airflow. Other than unplugging the hood scoop and adjusting tire pressure the RC F Fuji Speedway Edition is track day ready right out of the box.
The RC F Fuji Speedway Edition will only be available in Arctic Blast Satin or Cloudburst Gray. Arctic Blast Satin is a unique semi-matte white finish, unlike other matte finishes, it doesn't require to be hand washed. But I would still avoid taking all that carbon fiber through the local automatic car wash.
The interior of all sixty cars will be Circuit Red leather-trimmed seats with Alcantara accents and Red Carbon Fiber elements. Surprisingly for a car developed with a GT3 race team, the Fuji Speedway Edition is still refined and has all the creature comforts you would expect in a Lexus.
Included with the purchase of every RC F Fuji Speedway Edition will be a limited production MSTR automatic movement watch. The timepiece features RC F-inspired elements such as a gunmetal bezel, red stitching on its band, and Fuji Speedway and F logos.
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