The luxury Japanese car company hopes that the RC coupe will broaden the brand’s appeal when it makes its first official public appearance at the upcoming Tokyo motor show.

Described as a “concept-to-reality” coupe — meaning that with a few tweaks and changes a production version will be hitting the road in the not too distant future — the RC is a concerted attempt by Toyota’s luxury division to boost its desirability among existing customers and those new to Lexus.

The company is yet to publish any performance statistics, but has confirmed that it will be officially unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show on November 20 with two engine choices, a 3.5-liter V6 and a 2.5-liter hybrid powerplant, both of which will highlight the car’s “fun-to-drive” character.

For now, Lexus wants us to focus on its appearance and it is certainly striking, thanks to prodigious use of sharp, angular intersecting lines, however, the huge front grille is bound to polarize opinion.

What is certain though is that it will have a level of build quality and reliability to match anything currently being manufactured in Germany.

This reputation for quality has helped Lexus to become a serious competitor to BMW, Mercedes, Audi and Cadillac in the luxury car market. However, until now, its sportier offerings — with the notable exception of its LFA supercar — have left a lot to be desired.

Despite an eventual price tag of $445,000 the LFA was so technologically advanced it required 10 years of research and development time, meaning that the company actually made a loss on each of the 500 examples it offered for sale.

If The RC Coupe offers just a smidgen of the performance, handling and thrills of the LFA, then most drivers will be able to look past that huge grille.