2017 Lexus SC to mark brand’s return to GT car segment

Lexus, in an effort to bolster its position as a builder of performance-oriented luxury cars, will base the 2017 SC on the LF-LC concept it showed at the 2012 Detroit auto show.

The new model would be the first SC to grace a Lexus showroom since 2010, the final year for the second-generation model, which was interesting for its folding-hardtop convertible roof, but not much else. For what it’s worth, the Top Gear gang included in a 2012 episode called “The Worst Car in the History of the World.”

Perhaps that’s harsh, but we suspect the forthcoming third-gen model will fare better in the eyes of the world’s most irreverent car reviewers, not to mention car enthusiasts everywhere.

Lexus wants to improve its image among enthusiasts, and with the LF-LC as its basis, the new SC will be well-placed to do that. Word is the base powerplant will be the 5.0L, 450-hp V8 from the RC-F, and an uplevel trim will get a gas-electric hybrid power team making as much as 600 hp.

Along with once again giving Lexus a flagship coupe, the new SC could also prove a competitor for big GT cars like the Mercedes-Benz SL and BMW 6 Series.

The new SC is expected to go on sale in late 2016.