2002 Lexus SC 430
Lexus SC 430 Rakish Sportster Works As A Coupe Or Convertible
By Bob Plunkett
Price Range: $58,900 to $61,840
Pricing and Options
Engine: DOHC 4.3-liter V8
Configuration: Front Engine, Rear Drive, 4WD; Power 4-disc Brakes, ABS/EBD/BA/TRAC/VSC; Power Rack and Pinion Steering
Dimensions: Wheelbase: 103.1 inches; Overall Length: 177.8 inches
Fuel Efficiency: 18/23 MPG
Safety Features: Airbags: 2 Front, 2 Side; ABS; standard
JULIAN, Calif. -- Toss it to the left, then to the right, then left again around tight kinks of the Sunrise Highway -- which traces the spine of California's Vallecito Mountains east of San Diego -- and the stunning new drop-top sports car from Lexus of Japan hunkers hard through each successive curve.
Its squatty stance sets up a flat-footed posture in the manner of a classic sports car with all of the right components aboard: A stiff chassis with elongated wheelbase, short overhangs in front and back, good weight distribution with the engine up front and all torque applied to the back wheels, independent suspension at all corners plus fast rack and pinion steering.
And there's a big engine aboard. The aluminum quad-cam V8 displaces 4.3 liters and produces 300 hp at 5600 rpm and as much as 325 lb.-ft. of torque at 3400 rpm. That's good enough to propel the machine from zero to 60 mph in less than six seconds and on to the quarter-mile post in 14.4 seconds. Top speed, if you dare, hits 156 mph.
Dubbed the SC 430, this new sportster sheds all aspects of the Lexus SC 400 coupe that it replaces and instead presents a fresh design that works as either a watertight hardtop coupe or breezy convertible. With its top raised, the coupe reveals an arching profile that looks energetic up front but retro in the rear with its roly-poly rump vaguely resembling some vintage car like Porsche's 356 Speedster. With its hardtop dropped, the convertible version appears fluid and fast like a modern racy roadster.
It's a daring design influenced by the elongated wheelbase, squatty stance and sensuous skin stretched tightly around exaggerated wheelwells. It's also a dramatic, head-turning statement that seems quite different from the quiet styling of a Lexus sedan.
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