Despite what many detractors may say about the famous Japanese luxury brand, they sure do know how to make a car over there. The Lexus LFA was one of the most incredibly cars to ever be made from any company in the history of the automobile. Its screaming V10 was Formula One-grade and its sound was possibly one of the best these ears have ever heard. Jeremy Clarkson famously called it the best car he’s ever driven. So can Lexus repeat that sort of success with its newest performance grant touring coupe, the Lexus LC500?

Matt Farah drives the new 2018 Lexus LC500 and comes away very impressed. Without driving it, we can’t say for sure what it’s all about but Farah seems to like it quite a bit. He really likes the way it looks, the interior and and the way it drives. From what we can tell, there doesn’t seem to be any reason to doubt him. I’m still not sold on the looks, as I feel that it looks a bit sloppily designed and just doesn’t have the right proportions.

However, there are some things that can easily be found from the video that make the LC500 a very impressive car. First is that noise. The naturally-aspirated 5.0 liter V8 in the Lexus LC500 sounds incredible and the way a proper performance GT car should sound. It makes us miss the days of NA V8s. Although it only makes 470 hp, which is nothing compared to cars like the BMW M6 or Mercedes-AMG GT, it more than makes up for it with its wonderful noise (though, neither of the Germans sound bad, either, especially the AMG).

Another thing to notice is the craftsmanship. Just take a look at the interior in the beginning of the video, with wonderful leather and alcantara work, complemented by beautiful stitching. Also, when you get a look under the hood look at those strut towers, they’re gorgeous pieces of metal work. While the cabin ergonomics are fussy, as most Lexus cabins seem to be, the design is very pretty and better than other cars from the brand.

Farah claims that it’s right on par with its German rivals, in terms of handling and dynamics. While we don’t doubt him, we can’t confirm it either. We’d love a test drive of this interesting machine to see whether or not it can hang with BMW and AMG. From the looks of it, it’s certainly got the character to make the fight interesting.