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2019 Lexus RC gets chassis and styling tweaks

The updated coupe hits US showrooms in November.

Steven Ewing Former managing editor
Steven Ewing spent his childhood reading car magazines, making his career as an automotive journalist an absolute dream job. After getting his foot in the door at Automobile while he was still a teenager, Ewing found homes on the mastheads at Winding Road magazine, Autoblog and Motor1.com before joining the CNET team in 2018. He has also served on the World Car Awards jury. Ewing grew up ingrained in the car culture of Detroit -- the Motor City -- before eventually moving to Los Angeles. In his free time, Ewing loves to cook, binge trash TV and play the drums.
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Steven Ewing
Lexus

gives its RC coupe a modest nip/tuck for 2019, with a number of styling changes inside and out. The refreshed coupe hits US dealers in November, but we're getting our first glimpse of the tweaked RC at the 2018 Paris Motor Show this week.

The most obvious change is up front, where the 2019 RC wears a redesigned front fascia with new headlights and a slightly different grille design. Inside, the infotainment system is now compatible with Apple CarPlay and Amazon Alexa, though Android Auto is still absent.

2019 Lexus RC gets a little nip and a little tuck

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The base, rear-wheel-drive uses a 241-horsepower, 2.0-liter, turbocharged I4 engine, and for 2019, gets an updated ECU to "optimize shift schedule, throttle and turbocharger response," according to Lexus' statement. Move up to the RC 300 with all-wheel drive, and you get a 3.5-liter V6, with 260 horsepower. The uses the same V6 engine, but output is boosted to 311 horsepower regardless of whether you choose rear- or all-wheel drive.

Lexus says the 2019 RC has recalibrated electronic power steering as well as revised springs and shock absorbers. Hopefully that'll all make it a bit better to drive, and we'll find out for sure when we hop behind the wheel in a few weeks.

Pricing starts at $41,145 for the rear-drive RC 300, with the RC 300 AWD coming in at $43,835, the RC 350 RWD at $44,075 and the RC 350 AWD at $46,240. Lexus still sells the V8-powered , too, though it appears to carry over into 2019 largely unchanged.