(first posted 2/27/2017) While Lexus’ have always leaned towards the sleep-inducing end of the luxury spectrum, among the brand’s more stimulating early efforts was the original SC 400 personal luxury coupe, sold for the 1992-2000 model years. With sensual styling inside and out, a luxuriously appointed cabin, and a superbly-smooth 4.0L V8 rated at 250 horsepower and 260 lb-ft torque (290hp and 300lb·ft, in later years), the rear-wheel drive SC 400 was a compelling choice for those wanting luxury and performance, along with Lexus’ high level of fit-and-finish and low cost of ownership compared to most German and American rivals. But what if the SC 400’s power and price tag were just a bit too much?
Enter the SC 300. Introduced one year after the SC 400, the SC 300 featured the less brawny 3.0L DOHC inline six from the Lexus GS 300/Toyota Aristo sedan, fewer standard features, and a $6,700 price cut over the SC 400. Accounting for inflation, the SC 300 represented an $11,259 cheaper starting price in 2017 dollars, making it a substantial discount for those who wanted the SC for its looks and comfort, and were willing to sacrifice a bit of power and top-shelf appointments.
And in reality, its not like the SC 300 was any weakling. Making 225 horsepower and 210 lb-ft torque, the SC 300 was capable of zero-to-sixty times in the low-7 range with its available 5-speed manual, which was not offered with the V8. Most convenience features found standard in the 400 were present in the 300, though in the place of the SC 400’s standard leather interior, the SC 300 featured rather nice cloth upholstery as standard. A leather trim package consisting of leather-wrapped steering wheel, leather seats and door panels, and seat and steering wheel memory was available, however.
That being said, being so used to seeing the SC 400 makes this SC 300 rather plebeian, with its smaller wheels (not to mention this car’s non-stock left-front steel rim) and cloth seats. Apparently SC buyers felt that way too, as first generation SC 400 sales far outnumbered those of the SC 300.
Photographed: Hingham, MA – February 2017
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The “less brawny” 3.0L DOHC inline six from the Lexus GS 300/Toyota Aristo sedan used in the SC300 has the reputation of being “extremely bullet-proof”–in other words a superb engine capable of being built up to surprisingly high levels of power. No-one buying a car with this engine design was short changed in the engine compartment.
We have a 1995 GS300 with the same set up, and it is almost what I would call slow. It’s a fantastic, smooth motor, don’t get me wrong, but it is not brawny by any stretch of the word.
Any new 4 cylinder Accord, Sonata or Camry will beat it to 60 by over a second.
After the Fast & the Furious came out, everyone convinced themselves SC300’s are some budget Supra on the second-hand market, but in reality all they ever were was a cheaper route into an SC, like Brendan said.
I like the 2JZ, but now that Aristo’s are 25 year importable, I’m looking for a RHD 4.0 to replace the GS300.
Back in the day, when this car was new, I had heard that it was trounced by such pedestrian cars such as the Buick LeSabre with the 3.8 liter V-6.
The 1996 2JZ-GE and 1JZ-GTE with variable valve timing (VVTi) really were a lot stouter in terms of torque. Peak power and torque didn’t change that much, but low-end and mid-range torque was a lot more generous.
Detuned Supra engines that can take 1000hp. A relative had a imported Toyota Sourer , the home market version ,Expensive parts once you found some one to insure it…
I remember the Lexus GS300. I thought it was the best looking Lexus since the LS400 was intro’d. I would’ve bought one had I not already had a car.
when this coupe first came out it was revolutionary for the time, it was designed at the beginning of the “Bubble Car” era. That focused on aerodynamic “smooth curvy design” (no hard angles). It beat out many competitors (then). Going up against the Cadillac Eldorado, Acura Legend Coupe, Lincoln Mark VII Coupe, M-Benz 420/500 CE Coupe etc. I think even somewhat challenging the BMW 840csi coupe.
However with that said, IMO this Lexus coupe has not aged well at all (pretty bad actually). Today they feel bland and boring, almost as if they where never premium $50-$55K PLC’s when new . I have come to see too much of the Toyota Supra GT influence and resemblance in the Lex SC. The interior also does not feel special like other Lexus of the same era.
Anyway-ever since this model was released, which it was a hit for about ohh say the next 4-5 years. Riding off the hype of the Lexus brand in general had at the time, then the hype fizzled out as quickly as it came. After this generation, not many people were checking for the Lexus SC Coupe.. In any case this was a flash in the pan, a temporary warrior in the PLC fight to win over rich bachelors that had high income and no family (yet). When I see say a M-Benz 420-500 CE Coupe (1993-94), or even a Acura Legend GS Coupe (1992-1995) both grab my attention when on the road. when I see a used Lexus SC 300-400, they generally look run down generally have little to no gloss coat left on them (early 90’s models). The SC also shows it’s Toyota Supra roots clearly when the hype about them died down.
Not many people ever mentions the SC in any “Hall of Fame” of great coupes. I heard the repair bills were out of this world as well. Lexus rarely completely fails at a market (bomb). I can only think of a few times this has happened (1989-1991 ES-250), 1993-1996 GS-300/400, and the early 1993-1997 LX-450 SUV (Re-badged Toyota Land Cruiser). It shows that a truly good executed classic design has to be earned years later to see it from another perspective. Seeing the early to mid 90’s SC in 2017, shows it was always a bland/weak generic design. At the time we all were just wrapped up in the Lexus brand hype. So anything Lexus threw out between 1992 through say 1997 we all instantly loved. This car benefited from this perception!
I disagree on so many fronts. These cars looked thoroughly modern well into the 21st century. Yes, it looks like a 90s car today, but it has an exemplary style of its era that exemplifies good straightforward design. Not unlike an e30 BMW. The interior is well crafted with top notch materials and build quality- much nicer than the Lexus of today. The Lexus SC300/400 always had and continues to have a good reputation- hence the disappointment with the Gen 2 that you’ve alluded to.
One thing I do agree on- seeing a Gen 2 Legend coupe would grab my attention more today. But that’s only because they’re so much less common. The SC300/400 was hugely popular. I see these cars on the road all the time. Yes, on their 3rd, 4th, 5th owners (or beyond), often clapped out with pealing clear coat. But that only speaks to the SCs longevity and success.
Ditto.
As best as I know, Mr. Hartfield is so young, that he’s projecting his imagination on this car, as he obviously wasn’t old enough to have experienced the very big impact these coupes made, and what a success they were at the time. And what a reputation for longevity and reliability they developed. I would very much put them into a “Coupe Hall of Fame”.
These cars absolutely put the coffin nail on BMWs 850/840 coupes, which cost about twice as much and really weren’t any better, never mind being much less reliable.
And they still enjoy a strong following today. If he’s seeing “beater” SCs out there nowadays, it’s precisely because they were so common and have held up so well. It’s a testament to their inherent goodness. And in most folks’ eyes, their design has held up well and is still appealing.
Paul is definitely correct. The SC400 absolutely slaughtered everything else in the market at the time.
Here’s Motor Trend’s final words on the their SC400 Long Term Test
“Lexus SC 400 comes as close to being perfect as any car we’ve put miles on. And according to the owners survey, so say we all.”
While I personally disagree with most of Mr. Hartfield’s assessment of this car, let’s not ever discount someone’s opinion because of their age and if “they didn’t live through it”.
Good point, and I’m not discounting his or anyone’s opinion because of their age. I was desperately trying to find some explanation as to why Mr. Hatfield perpetually makes statements and judgements that seem to have no basis in fact or history. My point is that in this case, his age is presumably working against him, because he never makes the effort to create a semi-accurate assessment of things in the past by doing even the slightest bit of historical homework, and instead, just shoots from the hip with opinions based on him apparently reacting to what he observes or feels in the moment.
That’s just lazy, and he does it constantly, and I’m getting very bored of it. If someone has a very different opinion, that’s fine, but it still needs to acknowledge fundamental historical facts. He doesn’t.
BTW, he just left this comment at the Mercedes SLC post:Rare to see a M-Benz SLC with the fixed roof. That’s his comment on a car that was always a fixed-roof coupe(!). And that perfectly sums up his approach: look at something, without bothering to understand what it is, and let fly with a stupid comment on it. Not welcome here any longer.
I’m not sure the impact was that great, the SC certainly didn’t fend off the demise of the PLC segment, let alone make a case for a proper followup evolution, and if the sales figures I’m looking at are accurate it was a modest seller – 91 was the strongest at 27,887, followed by a huge drop to 16,755 in 92 and an even bigger drop for 93 to 5,880, with a brief rebound to just over 15k in 94, before falling back into the low 4 digits to the end of the coupe line. The Lincoln Mark VIII was a significantly stronger seller at this time, and with the unfortunate exception to the air suspension are about equal in reliability.
With the break even point from Ford, that sales figure isn’t even good enough to keep Mark VIII in production, neither the thunderbird. It is not very easy to explain why 100k annual sales isn’t very profitable to some American companies ( while overseas many car companies keep afloat with a tiny fraction of that number )
For many futuristic cars, they are more likely to blend into the traffic in the future when the future it predicted came into a reality, and the coolness wore off very easily. For many out of fashion cars, they are more likely to have a vintage appeal sooner because an dated design when it was new would reach a vintage, distant age sooner.
For an example, a very cutting edge 1989 Thunderbird looks more anonymous and bland than a dated 1989 Dodge Diplomat in 2017, even though Diplomat was bland when it was new. Ten years later the views would change again anyway.
Very true! Which is why I like my Cougar, cutting edge AND dated! 🙂
That’s retrofuturistic
The future that never was.
Your opinion of this SC is so odd to me; bland and cheap are not adjectives I would think to describe these cars whatsoever. Considering these date back to summer 1991, I think they (especially the interior) still come across as contemporary. I don’t understand the Supra comparisons much either, as the final Supra came after these cars, and actually utilized their platform. The Japanese Soarer equvialant did offer a 2.5GT model that was somewhat Supra-like in outright performance, but still firmly positioned as a grad touring choice, not an outright sporting one. Those Japanese Soarers were even more advanced than the equivalent Lexus models, believe it or not; one could get a GPS-based touchscreen navigation system that had a built in TV tuner that could also be optioned with the world’s first rear-view backup camera. You also could get an adjustable air suspension, or go all out with a fully active hydralic setup paired with four-wheel steering (that said, those were $80,000 cars in Japan at the time, so equipped.). To each their own, but even next to an MB coupe of the era, I think they compare very well.
When the car first came out, much was made of it rounded styling and I never really thought it was all that revolutionary at the time. At the time, there were many in the automotive press who seemed the think that it was a 2-door version of the LS400, and while it share the same engine and transmission, that was about all.
The SC400 and SC300 have aged well and can be considered to be something of a classic. The SC400 was often compared to the Jaguar XJ-S, as well as the BMW 8-series coupes. The SC300 was more often compared to the Infiniti M30, Toyota’s own Supra, the BMW 3-series coupes, and Mercedes-Benz CLK,
The followup SC430 with its hardtop convertible roof was ugly and really lost the thread. The current Lexus LC coupes are appropriate successors to the SC400 and the current RC coupes to the SC300, although the styling is not as clean or timeless.
I have to disagree on the SC430 follow-up – whereas the SCs slowly grew on me with their organic shape (I much preferred the lines of the Legend coupe), the SC430 to me was a knockout from Day 1 – almost a Porsche coupe vibe to them. My only complaint was the goofy taillights, cleaned up with the 2006 refresh.
A good friend bought a first year SC400, replacing a MB SC…she marveled at its speed, grace and lack of attention needed. It was like a bank vault, as were most Lexi back then except maybe the ES300.
new they weren’t really a poor mans luxury car. you had to have a decent job to qualify to get one. however today… it’s a perfect poor mans luxury car. forget the 10 year ols bmw 7 or S class’ or audi A8;s this is the car u want.
The title was meant to be tongue-in-cheek. Obviously a $37K luxury car in 1993 dollars was not something for those living on the poverty line.
I was in Albuquerque for a training in late January. Called an order ahead to a local Pizza joint but went to pick it up myself. I jump back in the vehicle after picking up my order and the delivery vehicle is pulling in, it’s dark and I don’t quite recognize the shape, but looking very clean and well cared for even in the semi darkness. My headlights come on and I catch the gleam of chrome on the rear badge.
It was an SC400. I wept a little inside.
Take heart, though; if it’s clean and well cared-for, that means someone is living their dream and cherishing the ride. And those pizzas are arriving in style.
Yeah but do you want it to smell like pepperoni forever?
A few bags of White Castles will take care of that.
Oh, man; talk about the nuclear option. That’s like blowing up your house to clear a stuck drain. 😉
…though I must confess to actually kinda liking White Castles. Just not as an air freshener….
Good point. Let’s hope he or she drives with the windows down.
Could be worse. Remember the problem Seinfeld had when he got his car back from the parking valet? I think the odor that permeated the car was worse than pepperoni.
Oh man, did I love these when they first came out. Got to ride in a 400 a couple of times, and the interior was simply stunning. Buying one at the time – on a grad school budget – wasn’t an attainable dream, sadly. Still love them today, though.
One of our best friends bought a new SC400 back in the day. I took it out for some very memorable drives through the tight mountain roads up above Palo Alto. What a blast.
And she had that car for quite a long time, it served her very well. And she still misses it to this day.
I loved the SC when they first came out — and actually liked the SC300 more than the 400. Of course, I’m not (and certainly wasn’t 20+ years ago) in the market for a luxury car, but I thought the straight-6 was great choice for this type of car.
What I really aspired to was an SC300 with the manual transmission. I’m not sure if I’ve ever actually seen one, but in the back of my mind at the time, I’d thought how nice it would be to find a used 5-spd. SC300 when it was a few years old.
I actually kind of liked these back in the day, but could never see myself buying one, regardless whether affordable for me or not, as we needed a sedan.
Interestingly, just last week my wife and I were discussing past car selections we made, and I asked her a question as to why didn’t we look at Toyota at that time?
Neither one of us could come up with an answer, except when we were looking to replace our 1996 Intrepid (before the tranny exploded or some other tragedy) and actually did look at a Camry – this was summer, 1999 – and nobody at the dealership would even come over to speak with us!
We wound up going over the the Dodge store and bought a 1999 Stratus right off the showroom floor for $6,000 less than the Camry.
Less than 3 years later, we sold the Dodge and bought our 2002 CR-V, which is up for sale now!
We would most likely still be driving that Camry today…
I remember this generation Lexus SC, both the 400 and the 300. I thought they were both attractive cars. If I could afford it, I would’ve taken the SC300, with its six cylinder engine. V8 engines are nice, but not everyone needs that much power, even for a luxury model like the Lexus. I would’ve been happy with the SC300.
The dilemma in my view is that the VVTi version of the six — which is a lot stronger, especially with automatic, at no particular cost in fuel economy — coincided with the facelift, which I think kind of soured the design. If you could have gotten the VVTi engine with the original styling, I think that would have been particularly appealing. (Or the original styling with the JDM 1JZ-GTE single-turbo VVTi engine, which was a whole lot more powerful than the V-8!)
I’ve always been partial to inline 6s and manual tranny. Nice to see one in a sporty luxury personal car. Wish I could have afforded one at that time. I’ll bet the SC300 auto insurance was less than the SC400.
It always amazes me when I see a car that I forgot about but loved when it was in its prime. These SC’s were very popular in RI back in the day. My Dad had a close friend/client with an SC300 equipped with cloth and a stick shift – he said they had to search all the way to Delaware to get the car for him because it was hard to find one like that. He let me drive it when he first got it and I remember it being extremely comfortable and quick for the size of the car. He had that car for several years until it was stolen when he was in NYC on business. I haven’t seen him in many years, but he was last driving an Audi that he also loved. I remember asking him if he missed the SC and he said yes, it was one of the best/most enjoyable and trouble-free cars he ever owned.
I know this is just me when I say this, but honestly, am I the only one that doesn’t care for it? I mean, I understand the appeal, I understand why people like these cars, I understand they’re well built, and when they were new, they seemed fresh and exciting (and cheaper) compared to the competition. But, these cars never did anything for me. I guess the reason is the styling, I just never cared for it. I mean, I think the side profile and rear attractive, so I certainly get if you’re looking at the car that it would be attractive. But, then you get to the front end of it, and it just falls apart for me. The front looks like an insect or an alien, and I think it lacks the cohesion that the rest of the body has. I know that seems petty, to not care for a car because of the front end styling, but, it’s a big factor for me.
I’m with you. Every last asset these have like the reliability, interiors, engines are assets in 90s Lexus models in general – LS and GS especially – the SC doesn’t really stand out in the lineup as anything special besides being two doors, and frankly it doesn’t strike me as any more attractive than a Riviera or a Mark VIII, or a Thunderbird or Cougar for that matter(bias). The overall styling looks an awful lot like a larger rounded out S13 240SX coupe with a 6th gen Celica nose.
” The overall styling looks an awful lot like a larger rounded out S13 240SX coupe with a 6th gen Celica nose. ”
Do you mean the 1995+ S14 Silvia/SX? They have that look quite a bit more to my eyes?
S14s are definitely closer in the greenhouse, but overall I see S13 more, the rear end design is practically a tracing paper copy.
Interesting that most, maybe all, comments are from Americans. I for one liked these cars when new, and still do. And, like others, the combo of the straight six and 5 speed was very appealing. OTOH, at the time and for quite a few years following, I was an avid reader of British car magazines like Car and Evo, and was surprised to see the derision with which the U.K. market Soarer was described … almost worse than the Camry! I even recall one article where they chose one for a demolition derby.
At this time, I remember finding the SC400/SC300 more attractive than the LS400. I would’ve gladly bought an SC300 if I were working and could afford one.
…”Interesting that most, maybe all, comments are from Americans”…
That’s because the Lexus brand was mainly aimed at Americans. This article’s model was never offered in Europe, in the early and mid-nineties we only got the GS and LS.
We did get the later SC430 though. Ultra-rare. The only Lexus models that did reasonably well were the D-segment IS200 and especially the C-segment CT200h.
Lexus sold 42,792 new cars in the EU last year. Mercedes-Benz 807,336.
I remember going to the LA auto show when these first came out. I knew BMW and Mercedes had their work cut out for them. Time has proven these were truly a well built, quality product.
I think these are clean, tasteful designs. No excessive bulges, creases or character lines. No giant ‘fish-mouths’. No evil lizard headlights. No squashed, gnome-like roof-lines, or massive vision-blocking pillars.
So many of today’s cars look like 3 different stylists, who wouldn’t speak to each other, worked on the design.
Even if clean, harmonious style is now considered boring, I’d still rather have it in my driveway, than today’s bizarre creations.
Happy Motoring, Mark
I so agree. I’ve always liked this generation Lexus cars. With every newer generation Lexus, it just looks more and more hideous. Today’s Lexus looks so awful, I’d be embarrassed just looking at it. I thought Toyota did it right the first time. 🙂
I must be a bit touched in the head. I liked the looks of the SC300 better than the SC400. Still do, actually.
There’s not much difference externally — different wheels and tires, and the SC300 was less likely to have the weird little decklid spoiler, but that’s about it.
I’ve seen a few pimped-out ones around here. Lexus is not a brand one would expect to receive this kind of treatment, but the SC was different.
Rear view
Does that have 4wd? It’s got enough ground clearance to go off-roading!
Happy Motoring, Mark
These are everywhere in Oakland. It’s a sad end for a nice car. Only 80,000 Scs and they gotta do this…
Shocking pink
Yuck!
Happy Motoring, Mark
Odd lime green stripe
I kind-of like that!
Happy Motoring, Mark
240k on our sc300 auto, still runs basically like new, quiet, solid, 100% fast enough for modern driving, can get over 30mpg on an empty road going 65mph+ although city mpg can dip down to 17 or even worse. Built like a bank vault, everything still works, paint has held up, only driver seat has real wear. Supposedly Bill Gates had a sc400 and drove it over a decade although it’s hard to find any real source for that info, it’s just all over Lexus forums. It still gets looks and comments, not a huge amount, but it’s no ho-hum Camry.
One of the peak lexi from my perspective. In my memory they were all this color combo, with the occasional gold package thrown-in for the former Cadillac owner. Lusted after them in my 30’s, and a 300 version would have been just fine. Unfortunately, despite good proportions, the years have not been kind to the 90’s lozenge look, at which this car excelled.
I think current Lexi drive better than European luxury cars, which wasn’t the case thirty years ago. That being said, I bet an SC300 with a manual transmission would command a price today that few other cars of the era could dream of.
Coolest door hinges ever. I know that sounds silly but they were really well engineered to move the door out of the way. Elegant little touch.
I’ve always loved 1992-1996 Lexus SC’s, less so the ’97-2000’s, and I was fortunate enough to gobble up this ’95 SC400 back in 2019.
Only 75,000 miles on her digital ticker at the time and not a spec of rust anywhere. Got it very reasonably too. The wife loved it so much she commandeered it as her daily driver.
Couple of little problems here and there but it has been, in terms of reliability and especially for such an old car, the best car I’ve ever owned. The fact we both love the styling as much as we do is an added bonus.
It’s also a work of art internally and a joy to work on.
I agree. I thought it was Toyota’s best idea, the Lexus SC. The more they changed the appearance of the car, the less attractive (I think) it got. Why they didn’t just leave well enough alone is beyond me. If they wanted to offer a convertible, they should’ve done so from the beginning. Just because it’s luxury car, does it really need a V8 engine? I don’t think so.