For its first non-convertible two-door in nearly 15 years, Lexus offers its first truly sporting coupe ever. Yes the Lexus IS-C with its folding hardtop, did sort of qualify as a coupe, but like its Lexus SC 430 predecessor, which also featured a folding hardtop, it could hardly be called sporting oriented. Those cars were cast in the mold previously defining the Lexus marque.

These days, Lexus is making a push toward the performance side. This was most tellingly revealed in the Lexus LFA super car introduced in 2010. If you squint a bit, you’ll see a hint of that car in the RC 350’s lines, as well as more than a hint of the Lexus IS sport sedans. However, real students of Lexus lore know the marque has had at least one performance-oriented model since the 1997 Lexus GS was introduced as an alternative to the BMW 5 Series.

Still, some might ask if going this hard into performance is a wise move on the part of Lexus. Yes, very much so, particularly when you consider every serious competitor the marque faces these days has a car in this category. Audi’s A5, BMW’s 4 Series, Cadillac’ ATS Coupe, Infiniti’s Q60 (formerly known as the G37 Coupe) and the Mercedes-Benz C Class Coupe all do an admirable job of representing their brands—and all have sporting overtones to accompany their luxurious personae.

Looking to be a player in the luxury-performance game these days?

You have to have a sexy coupe.