The Lexus LC 500 is literally frozen to test its efficiency in extreme temperatures

Every new model that reaches the market must first go through extreme testing to see how both its mechanics and its various components behave at extreme temperatures, whether cold or hot. Brands’ test teams take the vehicles to northern locations for cold or to the south and even the desert for heat. But this time Lexus wanted to show us how its LC Cabrio behaves in extreme cold, but in a rather particular way.

Before explaining how they did it, it’s worth recalling the features of the model in question. The Lexus LC Cabrio, as a good premium segment vehicle, is equipped with a soft top that could be considered one of the improvements, if not the best, on the market. It uses a four-layer fabric roof: an outer 100% acrylic layer treated with a compound to make the fabric water-repellent, followed by a second insulating layer, a third textile layer and a fourth layer made of leather.

The Lexus LC Cabrio’s fabric roof is one of the fastest to open and close, taking only 15 seconds to complete either operation, and it can also be done while moving as long as speed does not exceed 60 km/h. Moreover, if we are driving with the roof open and the cool air hits us, we can use the heated seats and steering wheel as well as the climate control, which also includes the air vents located in the headrests.

To check that these components worked perfectly, in addition to the vehicle in general on a circuit test, the Lexus test team travelled to the United Kingdom to place the LC Cabrio in the climatic chamber at the Millbrook Proving Ground, a 468 m3 facility used to test defence equipment and road vehicles in a controlled environment, with temperatures ranging from -60 ºC to +85 ºC and relative humidity of up to 98%.

But to add a bit of excitement to the test, the Lexus LC Cabrio was previously sprayed with water to cause ice to form on its bodywork, and once this was done it was placed in the chamber at a temperature of -18 ºC (a standard figure for assessing defrosting performance and sufficient to freeze even rubber) and left inside overnight. The next morning professional stunt pilot Paul Swift got behind the frozen controls of the LC Cabrio and turned the key, bringing it to life with no negative effects from the extreme cold.

As expected, and to the relief of the Lexus team, Paul Swift conveyed positive impressions throughout, despite sitting in an environment that was far from pleasant for driving. In his own words, once the 457 CV V8 engine started, the climate control and both the heated steering wheel and seat worked perfectly, with him feeling warmth almost instantly, and later in the hills of Millbrook the LC Cabrio behaved flawlessly even though it was still defrosting.