The tires were cold, the brakes were cold, the track was cold, and driver Scott Pruett looked a little chilly himself, having barely turned any time in this particular car. Even so, when the starter waved us out on a sunny California day in May, Pruett hammered it into the concrete corridors of the Long Beach street circuit where the walls close in and one small mistake sends you into the bumpers of a pinball machine. And we weren?t even wearing helmets.
Toyota has a long and deep association with the Grand Prix of Long Beach dating back to its days as a U.S. round for the Formula 1 championship. The inaugural Toyota Pro/Celebrity support race in 1977 had nine starters, of which just two finished (writer/racer Sam Posey and actor/football player Shelly Novack). So it was no surprise that this year?s IndyCar event would be the stage for Lexus to wheel out and give chauffeured media rides in its RC F GT concept, a tuned and heavily carbonized version of Lexus?s big sports coupe. The RC F GT concept (please, smaller name next time, guys) is an RC F with carbon fiber forming the doors, trunk, hood, and fenders. The side windows are polycarbonate, and the interior has been largely gutted. A box-shaped carbon-fiber tent has been erected over the transmission tunnel to serve as the center console. Flip on the fuel pumps and the uninsulated ?scree!? of the pump motors fills the cabin with the sound of victory. The 2UR-GSE 5.0-liter V-8 puts out ?467-plus? horsepower, meaning it ha...