2014 Lexus RC F gets brand's most powerful V8

The Lexus RC F has picked up the performance baton from the Toyota prestige brand's IS F and will carry it with what Lexus says is the most powerful V8 in any of its cars.

Able to switch between Atkinson and Otto cycles, it's a  more powerful version of the current 5.0-litre V8, with outputs raised to "more than" 335kW of power and 520Nm of torque. Lexus didn't give precise figures during the car's official unveiling this morning, but it's a rise over engine's current 321kW and 505Nm.

The engine is mated to an eight-speed auto that Lexus says improves throttle response, and Lexus has added what it claims as the world's first front-engine, rear wheel drive torque-vectoring differential - which works differently to the brake-based system on the latest HSV GTS and other vehicles -- and has three operating modes -- Standard and Slalom for stability and steering response, and Track to aid cornering and acceleration.

 "The system on RC F is critically different to that on other vehicles as it does not use the application of brakes to assist in vehicle trajectory," Lexus spokesman Tyson Bowen says. "Rather than applying or dragging the brake pedal to the wheel loosing traction, the RC F's differential apportions torque to the wheels that require more or less. The benefit of the system is that it does not consume power by turning torque into heat, and furthermore does not require a larger brake calliper to counter additional heat stress."

With the car having been largely developed on the Nurburgring, we're keen to hear the lap time, but that's not being disclosed yet. However with the uprated engine, the RC F should better the IS F's 4.9 seconds for the 0-100kmh sprint and perhaps raise the top speed of 274km/h.

The performance gets an optional helping hand from weight-trimming carbon-fibre used for the roof and other body parts, plus an active rear wing that deploys at speeds over 80km/h and retracts when you wind back down to 40km/h and a hood scoop to minimise front lift.

It rides on coil-spring independent suspension front and rear, with  monotube gas-filled shock absorbers and ball-jointed stabiliser bars. The wheel-arches can house one of three 10-spoke 19-inch forged alloy  wheels designs -- the top spec finished by the hands of a metal craftsman.

An imposing version of the Lexus spindle grille works with the aggressive bumpers and side skirts to add the visual promise of performance, backed up by bonnet and front fender vents, and the four stacked trapezoid exhaust tips at the rear. That attitude carries over into the cabin, with metal and carbon-fibre trim, leather-covered sports seats emblazoned with an 'F', and meaty sports steering wheel.

There's also a huge central dial in the instrument cluster that shows a G-force meter and different information depending on which of the differential modes are selected, and a large infotainment screen that dominates the centre stack.