BOKISSONTHRONE: The “F” is for Fast. But is this luxury sport coupe Fantastic to drive? 2015 Lexus RC-F:

Luxury. Quietness. Comfort. The relentless pursuit of all of these things has earned Lexus with a bulletproof reputation as the the isolationist’s choice in luxury transportation. Oh yeah, there is a sterling reputation for reliability, too, something it shares with the other products sold by Lexus’ parent company Toyota. But certain brands like Audi and BMW have proven that style and performance are also important pillars for a luxury car brand to build upon - they are far sexier pillars, too. And as we all know, sex sells.

That big and bold Lexus grille doesn't get much bigger, or bolder, than the one found on the RC-F.

With that in mind, Lexus has created “F” (which stands for “fast”) versions of a few of its products to help sex up its product line, including the now-discontinued IS-F sedan, the upcoming GS-F sedan, and the sexiest of them all, the RC-F coupe you see here.

In case you were wondering, the "F" stands for "Fast." That's simple enough.

A 467-horsepower 5.0-liter V-8 engine gives the RC-F lots of performance, but you have to dive deep into the rev range to access it.

Now, if you want to speed sexily under the radar, this is not the car for you, especially rendered in (scratch-resistant!) Molten Orange Pearl. While the standard RC350 coupe on which the RC-F is based is no wallflower to begin with, the F model cranks styling up to 11 on a scale of 1 to 10. The wide, three-dimensional spindle-shaped grille with its “L” motif mesh has equal numbers of lovers and detractors, but the three-element LED headlamps are works of high art.

The body features a deep scallop just aft of the front wheels that drops into a wide, sculpted shelf below the doors. Staggered quad tailpipes in back have become an F-model signature, and on the RC-F, they’re set into a rear bumper with hard edges and a lower diffuser. The look is long and wide, busy and cartoonish-enough to actually pull off this zany color. Try that in an RX350!

The cabin in the RC-F is typically solid and has the Lexus quality you want. But the haptic infotainment control takes getting used to.

This is definitely not the same type of luxury cabin you'd find in your dad's old LS400.

It looks cool, in a 1980s video game console kind of way. Yet other infotainment controls are simpler to use than the one found in this Lexus.

The bolstered sport seats are snug and hold you firmly in place.

There is room for two in the back, though the best seats in the house are the ones up front.

You sit low in the RC-F’s cabin within snug, beautifully stitched sport seats. Those pillowy lounge chairs in your dad’s LS400 are not what you’ll get in this car. Also intensifying the cabin is a smattering of carbon fiber trim and blue stitching. Lexus has a general and unfortunate aversion to chrome, however, opting instead to use a beige metallic plastic trim intended to look like no metal but most definitely isn’t.

The instrument cluster features dials that change color and configuration depending on which driving mode you have selected - eco, normal, sport, and sport plus are your options - and an additional info screen resides on the left with a smaller speedometer to the right. The dial layout is sensible for a sports car, and the design is suitably futuristic. We like it, a lot.

The Lexus RC-F is aimed squarely at cars like the BMW M4, Cadillac ATS-V coupe, and Audi RS5.

The RC-F starts around $63,000, though the price easily swells into the mid-$70K range when you start adding options.

On the other hand, we're not as fond of the haptic control touchpad interface used for navigation, audio and other app-based systems. Initially, it’s very weird, but gets better once you’re used to it. Even then, it doesn’t feel as elegant in operation as, say, BMW’s iDrive control. Thankfully, Lexus has made many primary functions operable with good old-fashioned knobs and buttons.

Both F cars share a V-8 engine that churns out its 467-horsepower at a rather lofty 7,100 rpm, with 389 lb.-ft. of torque coming in along the way at 4,800 rpm, all without the aid of a supercharger or turbocharger. Also helping is a torque-vectoring system that helps keep both rear wheels planted under power in corners.

That said, its “peaky” power delivery - i.e. thrust that comes on most forcefully at high rpms - makes the maximum muscle of this car less accessible in everyday driving than, say, the turbocharged Cadillac ATS-V or BMW M4, two of the RC-F’s primary competitors. In other words, the RC-F feels truly fast only when you simply stand on the go-pedal all the way until its 7,300-rpm redline; otherwise, it feels merely quick.

Similar story with the exhaust note, which is one key element in stoking the happy feelings that ought to exist between a car like this and its driver. Frankly, it’s way too quiet (for a performance car, anyway). When driving in “sport-plus,” an Active Sound Control system amplifies some of the intake sounds through a dashboard speaker after about 3,000 rpm, and eventually floods your ears with a banshee wail above 6,000 rpm that befits the car’s wild styling.

But we wish there was some sort of button to keep the system active all the time, since half the fun of a car like the RC-F is slow-driving through neighborhoods or sitting in traffic with the burbling sounds of a monster V-8 pulsing through your body and anyone within earshot. Would this make it a menace to society, you ask?

Did you see that color? Does it look like it cares?!?