The “wonderful” Lexus LC 500 really is “a two-finger salute to the market’s obsession with SUVs and turbocharging”, with its “concept car-like looks and a naturally aspirated V8 engine”, says Evo’s Jordan Katsianis, testing the new Convertible.

While changes to the 2022 model year LC are “subtle”, they have been “acutely focused” on specific hardware elements that “do make a substantial difference”. The folding roof’s packaging requirements require “the loss of the coupé’s rear-wheel steering system, but given the Convertible’s more relaxed demeanour, this isn’t a big loss”.

The LC’s basics are otherwise unaffected, so “it’s still superbly built inside with fabulous materials, refinement is exceptional, the seats and seating position are brilliant, and the stereo top notch”. “There’s a feeling that the LC has been developed with a no-expense spared mentality. Just staring at the quite astounding build quality and feeling the luscious materials make the inside of a Porsche 911 or new Mercedes SL feel like a modern but soulless gym.

You can’t help but be drawn into the theatricality of the LC: the concept-car looks, that cabin and the shrill whine of the starter motor waking up that sonorous V8 engine.” The LC “immediately feels resolved in a way the previous model didn’t, with an appreciable improvement in ride quality and wheel control”.

Despite 21in wheels, the Lexus rides with “superb sophistication, gliding over sharp road intrusions with impressive wheel control” and “feels more connected to the surface than something like a BMW 8 Series”. The chassis is “playful” and the limited slip differential “deftly-calibrated”. “Get into a groove with the LC and it flows beautifully; keep the engine on the boil, enjoy its barks and grumbles as you rip up and down the ratios, pour the car into bends and slyly overdrive the rear axle. It’s a great GT.”