Lexus/Vogue fashion show used to unveil new Lexus-Photo Gallery

Lexus debuted the 2008 Lexus SC 430 Pebble Beach Edition retractable hardtop convertible to commemorate its on-going partnership with Pebble Beach Company. With a limited production of 360 vehicles, the fifth special-edition Lexus SC was unveiled at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance Lexus/Vogue Fashion Preview on Aug. 17.

The unique exterior design of the SC 430 is complemented by an elegant exterior/interior color combination that will be exclusive to the Pebble Beach edition SC. This special SC will feature a Smoky Granite Mica exterior paint combined with an exclusive two-tone Camel and Ecru leather trim interior and Espresso Bird-eye maple wood trim. Additional styling cues unique to the Pebble Beach SC include special-edition brushed chrome badging on the front fenders and center console and an Ecru Pebble Beach logo embroidered on Camel carpeted floor mats. The Pebble Beach SC will also feature White illuminated scuff plates, a sleek rear spoiler and aggressive 18-inch six-spoke chrome wheels equipped on all-season or summer run-flat tires.

In addition to its elegant styling, the Lexus SC 430 hardtop convertible benefits from its ability to hide the roof within the confines of its trunk in a mere 25 seconds, while still maintaining enough room for luggage. All without latches, catches, snaps or covers. And when the top is up, it defies traditional convertible logic by remaining solid, secure and weatherproof.

The rear-wheel drive SC 430 is powered by a 288-horsepower, DOHC, 4.3-liter V8 engine with Variable Valve Timing with intelligence (VVT-i). The aggressive V8 is mated to a six-speed sequential-shift ECT-i transmission to achieve a 0-60 time of 5.8 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 149 mph. In addition to its impressive performance, the SC is certified as an Ultra-Low Emissions Vehicle II.

The SC features a number of technologies designed to enhance driver visibility including an Adaptive Front lighting System headlights, which help better illuminate a turn as the driver steers into it. The SC also includes daytime running lights, fog lamps and projector High-Intensity Discharge (HID) headlights.

Dynamic handling is accomplished with standard features that include an Anti-lock Brake System (ABS), Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD), Brake Assist, traction control (TRAC) and Vehicle Stability Control (VSC).

Every SC 430 comes standard-quipped with a Mark Levinson® Premium Sound System. This extraordinary system has been configured to self-optimize performance for top-up or top-down driving. Designed by one of the audio field's legendary innovative brands, the SC 430's system uses a seven-channel DSP 240-watt amplifier and nine strategically located speakers to turn the SCs interior into a private concert hall. System equalization automatically adjusts when the roof is lowered to compensate for the changed acoustics and ambient noise levels, and it returns to its original levels when the roof is raised.

The 2008 Lexus SC Pebble Beach Edition will be available for purchase in late August

Check out the photos in our 2007 Concorso Italiano, Quail Event and Concours D'Elegance Galleries, sponsored by Lexus!

2007 Concorso Italiano Photo Gallery

2007 Quail Event Photo Gallery

2007 Concours D'Elegance Photo Gallery

AutoSpies.com Photo Galleries

MBKing - 8/18/2007 5:51:36 AM

+4 Boost

hands down the worst car in the world is the SC430...ReDesign please for the love of god change the damn thing.

david989 - 8/18/2007 6:24:59 AM

-4 Boost

I love how Lexus is so creative and intelligent when it comes to marketing. What a great setting this is. The LF-A is so hot and the fashion these people are wearing is so beautiful! The message is: If you have taste, you go for a Lexus.

Lexus rules!

w209w114 - 8/20/2007 1:37:07 PM

+1 Boost

A blatant copy of Mercedes Fashionweek. Lexus, the masters of mimicry and unoriginality.

STJ88 - 8/18/2007 6:27:22 AM

+1 Boost

Who would think that the SC would become one of the ugliest cars on the market, when it used to be one of the prettiest.

And another thing please more fhoto's of the LFA.

david989 - 8/18/2007 6:48:57 AM

-5 Boost

The SC430 looks so hot. Put it next to an Aston Martin and I would be ashamed if I was the Aston Martin owner.

Czelinski - 8/18/2007 7:25:44 AM

+3 Boost

I'd be ashamed by making such stupid comments.

david999 - 8/18/2007 8:11:57 AM

-5 Boost

The SC is not an ugly car. Its flaw might be that It may have a dated design.

markusck - 8/18/2007 8:54:41 AM

+3 Boost

No, no...its ugly AND dated...just to clear it up.. :) and it sure does help to surround it by all that fashion, glitz, and glamour...really clouds the issue...Lexus marketing at its finest.

markusck - 8/18/2007 8:54:42 AM

+2 Boost

No, no...its ugly AND dated...just to clear it up.. :) and it sure does help to surround it by all that fashion, glitz, and glamour...really clouds the issue...Lexus marketing at its finest.

xj13 - 8/18/2007 8:57:14 AM

+3 Boost

The SC 430 self-consciously straddles the line between boring and weird. In fact, the super Toyota coupe's proportions are positively playtpussian; the front overhang is ridiculously long, the hood absurdly short, and the rear deck excessively deep. Everywhere you look, something's not quite right. The BMW Z8 is weeping in its shallow grave.

Stepping inside the SC430's cabin is like lowering yourself into a bathtub. The seating position is a throwback to bygone era, when rakish drivers knew low meant go; a time before owners of $100k SUV's looked down on diminutive coupes. Shame the roof is too low for you to look back up at them.

Fire up the SC430's V8 and… Hello? Testing. Is this thing on? The coupe tips-in like an ocean liner swinging away from a pier; the six-speed automatic swaps cogs early, often and gracefully, maintaining both seamless progress and the powerplant's vow of silence. Give the SC430's sides a swift kick– 'cause, well, soft leather can only entertain for so long– and you'll instantly understand why Lexus' 290-horsepower two-door is so 110 horsepower ago.

Hyundai - 8/19/2007 3:05:48 AM

+2 Boost

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=3161

Wow, way to plagerize. Know how to reference other people's words, much?

xj13 - 8/18/2007 9:02:01 AM

+3 Boost

The SC430's speed-sensitive, power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering somehow manages to get it exactly wrong. The system's too heavy when you'd expect it to be low-effort, and numb and vague when you expect it to sharpen-up. The double wishbone suspension also inverts expectations. It crashes at low speeds and floats when hustled. What's more, visibility is atrocious from inside the pillbox.

All of this lamentable engineering is merely an evil accoutrement to uncertain footing and piss-poor grip. Switch off the traction control and cane the SC430 through a corner– as completely improbable and totally inadvisable as that sounds– and the coupe's nose plows towards the scenery like a pig scenting a truffle.

Even by the traditional Lexus metric (i.e. Vicodin-on-wheels), the SC430 doesn't cut the Grey Poupon. Its engine may be quieter than a Quaker meeting in a sound-proof booth, but there's plenty of wind and tire noise, top up or down. Taken as a whole, it's no more luxurious than a gussied-up Camry, and less luxurious than the fresher IS350.

The SC430 does nothing to dispel the idea that Lexus caters to the wives of stock brokers and dentists, and they no doubt will continue to fawn over it until it is euthanized. No one is asking the SC430 to be a sports car, though the coupe is a poster child for purists who claim that Lexi are fun Hoovers.

The real tragedy here, perhaps the only tragedy, is that the SC430 isn’t even a killer killjoy. Buyers in search of a drop-top automotive QE2 are advised to shop elsewhere.

theoptimisticpessimist - 8/18/2007 12:45:46 PM

+1 Boost

Wow, what a spot on review!
looking at this SC has always been a conundrum attractive at a few angles, odd a most.
The interior has always been my favorite part of this car, tasteful, elegant, and warm. Turn the key, put it in drive, and disappointment reigns. Truly a puzzle of a car in so many good and bad ways

BMW4me4ever - 8/18/2007 10:50:05 AM

+6 Boost

would someone pinch Lexus to help them awake from the dreamworld they are in! For the love of god, please get rid of the SC430 ...

BenzW124 - 8/18/2007 11:17:22 AM

+3 Boost

SC430, like the entire Lexus brand, is for women. SC430 is a joke compared to the BMW Z3. My daddy had one when I was 15 and I got to drive it! I never driven the SC430 but I can tell the Z3 is wayy beter. Nobody wants that stupid POS.

EL34 - 8/18/2007 12:41:26 PM

+3 Boost

The perfect car for a fashion show is the Lexus!

lol

theoptimisticpessimist - 8/18/2007 12:53:59 PM

-1 Boost

I love Lexus's marketing, They have reinvented a class of automotive couture. This is why the succeed were
their Asian and American competition struggles (and some European) Instead of trying to be a copy of some other brand they have qualified themselves as a genuine luxury good.

SupraNeverBack - 8/18/2007 1:10:39 PM

0 Boost

I bet a lot of rich people there were asking when they can order the stunning LF-A.

Hyundai - 8/19/2007 3:11:01 AM

+2 Boost

I agree!

The LF-A looks STUNNING in those pictures. I cannot wait until it is unveiled, and I am sure that others are just as anxious. The headlights are sinister looking!

SupraNeverBack - 8/18/2007 1:08:59 PM

-1 Boost

That is ridiculous you guys have so much hatred toward the 6 years old but still nice SC430, the world most reliable car even though I you guys are really big haters.

S4cabriofoxone - 8/18/2007 3:37:59 PM

+2 Boost

SupraNeverBack, the SC430 does NOTHING well. There is REASON to hate it.

It's not pretty and it doesn't evoke any desire, but it's certainly not function-over-form, either. You'd expect it to have a pillow-soft ride to go with the quiet, uninspiring engine, but it's crashy and uncomfortable. Maybe it has good steering, you ask? Nope, not even close. But it can't cruise, either, because of the horribly damped suspension. And it can't carry more than two normal-sized humans, either. But when the top is down, there's no trunk! So what do you have to do about that?

Just get a damn 335i convertible and save yourself $15K.

bevisroy - 8/23/2007 10:12:11 PM

+1 Boost

Lexus ALWAYS understates their 0 - 60 times by at least .5 seconds. Here are the results of the 5 Top Luxury Cars in this test which was reported in the January Issue of Car and Driver. Please note these tests were all done on the same day at about the same time and at the same altitude. The results reflect the average of 3 runs and all cars are the 2007 vintage.

Mercedes S550 5.6, 0 - 60 quarter mile in 14.1 (Benz show 5.4 in their specs)
BMW 750iL 5.7, 0 - 60 quarter mile in 14.2
Jag XJ Super 6.0 0 - 60 quarter mile 14.5
Lexus LS460L 6.2 0 - 60 quarter mile 14.6
Audi A8 6.8 0 - 60 quarter mile 15.2

Note that Lexus, as usual, is more than the 5.4 the manufacturer CLAIMS to get by .8 seconds.

Also note the LS430 (prior model the LS460 replaced) was rated at 295 HP and was actually 278 when Lexus corrected their rating. And there were no refunds or apologies from the so-called "quality" car company. ABC - Always Be Careful what you buy from the (REPREHENSIBLE) Toyota/Lexus people.....