The Lexus SC is a two-door, four-seat grand touring coupé sold for the 1991 to 2010 model years. The first generation arrived as the V8 SC 400 in 1991, the second became the SC 430 with a retractable hardtop in 2001, and the line was replaced by the LC in 2017.
Lexus SC at a glance
| Class | grand touring coupé, four seats |
|---|---|
| Model years | 1991 to 2010 |
| Generations | two |
| Layout | front engine, rear-wheel drive |
| First model | SC 400, June 1991 |
| SC 400 engine | 4.0-litre 1UZ-FE V8, 250 hp |
| SC 300 added | July 1992, 3.0-litre 2JZ-GE straight-six |
| SC 300 power | 225 hp with a five-speed manual option |
| Design | Calty, California, for the first generation |
| Drag coefficient | Cd 0.31 |
| Second generation | SC 430, 2001, retractable hardtop |
| Replaced by | the LC, in 2017 |
based on one source (English Wikipedia)
History of the Lexus SC
The first-generation SC was designed at the Calty studio in California, where the team worked in three dimensions with plaster moulds rather than drawings, aiming for a shape based on emotion rather than straight lines. The production design by Erwin Lui was approved at the beginning of 1989, and the body had almost no straight edges and a drag coefficient of 0.31. A distinctive detail was the articulating door hinges, which swung out and forward to make entry easier in tight spaces.
The SC 400 debuted in the United States on 1 June 1991 as a 1992 model, with the 4.0-litre V8 from the LS 400 placed behind the front axle. It was named Motor Trend Import Car of the Year for 1992 and made Car and Driver’s Ten Best list from 1992 to 1996. In July 1992 the SC 300 joined it with a 3.0-litre straight-six of 225 hp, available with a five-speed manual until 1997. The SC 400’s V8 went from 250 to 260 hp in 1996, and both cars gained variable valve timing for 1998, raising the SC 400 to 290 hp. The first generation stayed in production until 7 July 2000 with only minor styling changes.
In Japan the first-generation car was closely related to the Toyota Soarer, and the third-generation Soarer coupé was largely identical to the SC 430. The second-generation SC 430 went into production in 2001 as a retractable hardtop convertible with a V8, designed mainly in European studios, and it was superseded in Japan by its Lexus counterpart when the marque arrived there in 2005. The SC was the only coupé in the Lexus range until the IS C arrived, and the LC replaced it in 2017. The name stands for Sport Coupe.
Design and features
- Calty design: the first SC was shaped in California in three dimensions, producing a smooth body of Cd 0.31.
- LS 400 engine: the SC 400 used the 4.0-litre V8 of the flagship sedan, mounted behind the front axle.
- Articulating hinges: the doors swung out and forward for easier access in tight spaces.
- Two characters: a fixed-roof V8 grand tourer first, then a retractable-hardtop SC 430.
- Long service: nearly twenty model years across two generations.
Lexus SC versions
- SC 400 (1991): the original V8 coupé.
- SC 300 (1992): the straight-six version, with a five-speed manual until 1997.
- 1998 upgrade: variable valve timing, 290 hp in the SC 400 and a five-speed automatic.
- SC 430 (2001): the second generation, a retractable hardtop convertible with a V8.
The SC shared its V8 with the LS flagship, and its place as the only Lexus coupé was later taken by the IS C. More cars are in the Lexus collection.
Sources
- Lexus SC, English Wikipedia: design, engines, generations, production
