Lexus LC500h: Geneva launch for hybrid coupe boasting '10-speed auto'

That sixty grand price tag is unlikely to be the only number about this car that grabs your attention

Lexus will put the LC500h coupe into production next year. For now, the hybrid-engined version of the existing LC, which is expected to cost from £60,000 upwards, will be unveiled at next month’s Geneva show.

Promising a spacious 2+2 cabin and a wide range of safety equipment, the LC500h will benefit from a comprehensive programme of weight-loss measures.

These include aluminium and carbon fibre wherever such things can feasibly go. That means the chassis and most of the body, so a combined 355bhp will get you moving very briskly.

Very, very briskly, actually, thanks to a new gearbox combining a four-speed auto for the engine with a clever new CVT for the motor.

The latter features six synthetic shift points. So rather than having to put up with the woolliness of a traditional CVT, you get what in effect feels like a 10-speed auto.

The result is that a fast car feels faster still. Performance figures remain some way from being announced – but when they are, that sixty grand price tag is unlikely to be the only number about this car that grabs your attention.