The Lexus LC 500h is the hybrid version of the LC 500. It uses a V6 plus an electric motor, and the hosts compare it to the regular (non-hybrid) LC 500.
A hybrid uses both a gasoline engine and an electric motor. In this episode, they’re saying the electric motor boosts the car’s power compared with the non-hybrid version.
A V8 is a type of engine with eight cylinders. It’s often associated with a strong, smooth feel, and here they’re talking about how the Lexus LC’s V8 sounds and behaves.
The Lexus LC is Lexus’s big, luxury grand-touring coupe. In this part, they’re talking about how its V8 engine sounds—how quiet it can be at startup compared with what you might expect.
The Lexus LS 400 is a luxury sedan that’s famous for being smooth and quiet. The host is using it as an example of how Lexus V8s can be hard to notice when they’re idling.
A cold start is when you start the car after it’s been parked for a while. The engine can sound louder or different at first because it’s still warming up.
The BMW 8 Series is a luxury car meant for comfortable highway driving. It’s also built to feel sporty, not just like a regular sedan. In the episode, it’s mentioned as a reference point for what kind of car they mean.
The Honda S500 is a small sports car made by Honda. It’s meant to be light and enjoyable to drive. In the podcast, it’s mentioned as part of a comparison of sporty cars.
Infotainment is the car’s screen system for things like music and phone connections. The host is saying this Lexus uses its own built-in system, and he didn’t find it easy to use.
A haptic trackpad is a touch surface that vibrates to “feel” like you clicked something. Some cars use this for menus and settings, but it can be annoying if it doesn’t respond precisely.
An auto blip is when the car automatically gives a quick little rev when you downshift. It’s meant to make shifting smoother, but in this case the host thinks it’s not very accurate.
The Bluetooth menu is where the car lets you pair your phone and manage connected devices. The host is saying the steps can be confusing, like needing to remove an old device first.
Pairing is the “first-time setup” that tells the car and your phone they’re allowed to connect to each other. After that, it usually connects more easily and faster.
Carbon fiber is a lightweight, high-strength composite material often used in performance and luxury cars to reduce weight and add stiffness. Here, the speaker notes asymmetric door cards mounted to carbon fiber doors, which is a distinctive interior/exterior design detail.
Bucket seats are shaped to keep you supported, and “reclining” means you can tilt them back for comfort. They’re usually more supportive than a basic seat.
Sport Plus is an enhanced driving mode that typically sharpens throttle response, steering feel, and transmission behavior compared with standard Sport. In a hybrid car, it can also change how aggressively the system adds electric assist under acceleration.
CarPlay is an iPhone feature that shows certain apps on the car’s screen. Some people like it, but others prefer the car’s own built-in screen and menus.
The Renault 5 E-Tech Electric is a small electric car. It uses electricity instead of gasoline, and it’s designed to feel modern inside. The episode mentions it because it has a built-in screen and other tech features.
The Honda Civic Type R is Honda’s high-performance version of the Civic. It’s front-wheel drive and comes with a manual, and the hosts are saying it feels wild and exciting to drive.
The BMW 1 Series is a smaller luxury car. It’s built to drive more like a sporty car than a typical compact. In the podcast, it’s mentioned while talking about engines and how they perform.
Car
Honda FL5 Type R
The FL5 is the newest Civic Type R generation. It’s turbocharged, and the host says it feels extremely urgent—fast to respond, with strong pulling and a very exciting driving feel.
A turbocharger is a device that squeezes more air into the engine. That helps the engine make more power, often making it feel quicker and more forceful.
The red line is the highest RPM the engine is allowed to reach safely. Going past it can be risky, so performance engines often have a specific red-line limit.
Drive select modes are settings that change how the car responds. You can usually make it feel more relaxed or more aggressive depending on what you pick.
Torque steering is when the car “tugs” the steering wheel to one side when you accelerate hard. It’s common in powerful front-wheel-drive cars because the front wheels don’t always get the same grip.
Shift lights are lights on the dashboard that tell you when it’s a good time to shift gears. They’re meant to help you keep the engine in the “sweet spot.”
Term
suspension stiffens up
If the suspension stiffens, the car feels more controlled and less bouncy. It usually makes the ride feel tighter when you’re driving hard.
Some cars have suspension modes that change how soft or stiff the ride feels. “Locking out the dampers” means the shocks stop doing their usual smoothing job, so the car feels firmer and harsher.
Many cars let you pick different driving modes. A “compromise mode” is the one meant to feel balanced—less harsh than the sport setting, but more responsive than the comfort setting.
The Volkswagen Golf is a popular small car for everyday driving. Some versions are made to be sportier, like the GTI. The episode mentions it because the host is comparing how different versions feel to drive.
Car
T-Roc
The Volkswagen T-Roc is a compact SUV. Here, the speaker says it’s fine but not very exciting—more practical than thrilling.
Horsepower is a number that roughly tells you how much power the engine makes. The speaker is saying 150 hp isn’t a lot, so the car doesn’t feel very exciting.
Overfinch is a company that modifies Range Rovers. They used to do more than just styling—this episode says they even used to change the engine, but now it’s more about looks.
Range Rover is a luxury SUV model line from Land Rover. People often customize them for special editions, and this one is described as a one-off with a very themed interior.
Holland & Holland is a well-known British company that makes luxury guns. This Range Rover special edition uses that hunting theme in the cabin design.
A “bespoke commission” is a custom request—someone orders a car and the details are made to match that request. This one is described as a themed, luxury one-off.
Corvette engines are the engines from the Chevrolet Corvette. The hosts are saying Overfinch used to put those engines into Range Rovers, instead of just changing the look.
The Corvette is a sports car designed to be fast and fun to drive. In this episode, it’s brought up because it’s known for powerful engines. The point is that someone was talking about putting Corvette-style performance into another vehicle.
“LT1” is a name for a particular Chevrolet V8 engine. In this conversation, it’s an example of the kind of engine people would swap into a Range Rover.
“LS” is a Chevrolet V8 engine family. The hosts are saying that LS engines were a popular swap choice because they made more power and were generally more dependable.
A limited edition is a special version of a car that’s made in smaller numbers than usual. It usually has unique styling or interior details to make it feel more exclusive.
This is a stretched (longer) version of the Range Rover, usually making the back seats feel roomier. The discussion here is about how the interior gets upgraded—colors and styling—so it feels more luxurious and less dark.
Term
pan pipes
In this context, “pan pipes” sounds like a design detail inside the car—something decorative that changes how the interior looks. It’s being mentioned alongside other interior color and trim changes.
A “colorway” just means the specific color combination used for the interior. Here, they’re talking about switching to an ivory-and-black theme instead of the previous tan look.
“London tan” is just a name for a warm beige/tan interior color. They’re saying that color gets replaced with a new scheme to make the cabin feel brighter and more refined.
“Black piping” is the stitched trim line you see along the edges of seats. It’s used to make the seat design stand out and look more structured.
Term
Vulk wheels
They mention “Vulk wheels,” which sounds like a specific wheel style or brand name tied to the car’s look. The point is that the wheels are part of what makes the car recognizable.
They’re talking about a BMW M3 that shows up in a racing game. The transcript wording is a bit unclear, but the idea is that a particular M3 is a standout car in that game.
The Volvo S40 is a small sedan made by Volvo. Depending on the version, it can be set up differently, including how it drives and what equipment it has. The episode mentions it because some specs were different from others.
The Honda Element is a small SUV with a simple, box-like shape. It’s built to be practical, with lots of room for cargo and everyday stuff. The podcast just calls it out as a car that exists in the mix.
The Prius is a hybrid car that uses both a gas engine and an electric motor. “First gen Prius” means the very first version of that model, the one that started the whole Prius reputation.
The Nissan Cube is a small car with a very square, box-like shape. People like it because it’s roomy for its size and has a distinctive look.
Car
Daihatsu Midget
The Daihatsu Midget is a very small car made for city driving. It’s the kind of vehicle designed to fit where normal cars can’t, with a simple, compact layout.
This is a special, rare version of the Renault Clio that’s known for having a V6 engine. It’s the kind of car that shows up in games as a surprising “hidden” model rather than a standard one.
The Renault Clio V6 is a special, rare version of the Clio. It’s called “V6” because it uses a bigger V6 engine compared with normal Clio models. The episode brings it up as an unusual performance option you could find used.
The Renault Clio 5-door is a small hatchback you can use for daily driving. The “5 doors” part means it has easier access for passengers in the back. The episode mentions it as the base model before talking about other Clio versions.
Car
Toyota Chaser
The Toyota Chaser is a Japanese car that has some enthusiast performance versions. The point here is that it’s only recently been added to racing games, even though it’s a real car people care about.
A driving game is a racing video game where you control a car. They’re talking about which one feels the most like real driving.
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Hello listener, we have missed you, but we're back for another week, another 50-70 podcast.
Cormac, you're here. I am. Dave, you're here. I'm here. Yeah. The coffee is here. Thank God.
And the nonsense is definitely here. The nonsense is definitely here. We've got quite a bit to go
through this week. Where do you want to set off on this voyage, Cormac? I've been driving a couple
of things the last week. Ending of interest? Yes. Oh, yes, very much so. Two things. Two things.
Okay. Number one. I have a door for my car. Although it's known as Range Rovers that are
broken down in driveways. No, I'm just adding that. I'm just getting the salt ready to add the pinch.
No, I have been driving a Lexus LC 500. Okay. Okay. This, not going to say this is my
specialist subject, but I have thoughts on this car. God, it's a good car. It is.
Last week, on last week's episode, I actually mentioned that I said the Lexus LFA is a very
underrated car and it's one that's very much under the radar. The LC takes it a step further. Yeah.
It is an exquisite piece of machinery. I was looking if I got to drive it at the international
launch and we drove, so there's two versions of this for those that I don't know. They're both
called the 500, the LC 500, but there's the LC 500 and H. You can see where this is going.
The H is the hybrid one. But, which is not a bad hybrid, but you were driving the non-hybrid.
No, you were driving the hybrid. I have been in both. Both. Fantastic. But I was, I put more
I put miles on the hybrid one. Yeah. So the hybrid gets the V6. V6 and
hyper power. Yeah. It's about 300 horsepower without the motor and then an extra 100 and something.
And the V8 one is a five liter. Yes. And it is 470 something. So this is the thing. We know Lexus,
before we get into the car, Lexus does hybrids really well. Well, Toyota does hybrids. Yeah.
But Lexus makes them carry big, heavy things instead. All that kind of stuff. It all works really well.
But, and the kind of slightly odd dichotomy is that they also make really good V8s.
Yeah. Like really good V8s. The shock with the V8 LC is I've had
LS 400s. I have driven LS 400s. I've been in all the things of that ilk. And usually,
with a Lexus V8, if you fire it up, you don't know it's on. Yeah. It's sometimes here a whir.
Yeah. That's it. It's a bit like in a way a modern Rolls-Royce that has a V12.
There's sometimes just a... And that's it. Yeah. Just not with the LT. No. You fire up the
LT 500 and it barks. Yes. Yeah. It's cold start and the V8 is impressive.
And not what I expected. Not obnoxious either, but...
No, but... I would say it's purposeful. It fits with the kind of presence of the car. Yes.
The thing about the L... And this thing has shitloads of presence. Yes. That's the... I love every
time I see one of these cars. They are just gorgeous. Everything about them. The color,
the wheels, the width. Yeah. You can tell I like them. The fact that you can't buy one anymore.
New. The immensely small production numbers. Yes. Yeah. I think for 2017, Europe got 700 and
something. It is. One of those cars that whenever I see one on the road, when I see somebody driving
one that go... That is a person with taste. Yeah. Considerable taste because it's not...
It's not just... I try to think of a comparable car. Say like a BMW 8 Series. Oh, sorry. I mean
the modern 8 Series or which was a reason to need the 6 Series. And this is not... By the way, it's
not me shitting on BMW or say like Mercedes with a SC... S500. S500 coupe. That kind of thing.
They're about in their own thing, perfectly good cars. But there's something about this that goes,
you really thought outside the box when you wanted to get this because it's very rare that you
actually ever see one. I don't know how many ever got sold in Ireland, but it's not many. Like it's
certainly, I think maybe judging on how many I've seen, there might be 20 of them knocking around.
Yeah. I don't know. I think in Dublin they had like four or five coupes and two or three cabs.
Yeah. And the... The cab is even... So the cab is even rarer, but I don't like it as much. No, I don't.
Not at all. It just... It takes away that line and that scoop that that's... The rear window or
rear side window scoop is similar to the LFA. Yeah. And it carries over and it doesn't really have it
on the cab. Yes. It was... I'm just checking back on our review of it here on CompleteCar.ly.
When it was new, in period, it was 137,950 new. And amazing. For the 500, for the 5.0 V8.
Amazingly for Alexis, it's now 136,000. Yeah. No, they are 70 odd thousand still.
Even in the UK, they're 50 odd. Yeah. A lot of car. The two that I was in this week
are recent imports. Relatively recent imports, but they are both imports. One's the UK and one's
a JDM one. Okay. Yeah. So people are starting to go, hey, there are very, there are very good. And
like there's a lot of strange things about... No, the only thing I... At the time, I never liked that
it still had the Lexus native infotainment system, which I never really found it was particularly
good to use. It took me... Yeah. close to 10 actual minutes to connect my phone to Bluetooth.
Yeah. Because it has, it doesn't have, it has this haptic trackpad thing. Yeah. That's...
It's a bit like the trackpad on like a Mac, but like a MacBook here in front of me. It's a bit
like one of those. But when you move your finger around, you can feel it like it clicks. Yeah.
It gives you feedback. It's not a terrible idea. The execution isn't great. It's not precise either.
No. And it does try to... It tries to guess which one you're going for. And so it's like
heel towing a car with an auto blip. It just does it twice then. And it can be a little bit
imprecise for how... It's kind of you're nearly waiting to see Mr. Paperclip pop up there in
the corner go, oh, hey, looks like you're trying to pair a phone. Yeah. Which it does do that,
actually. If you go... I was connecting the phone and it comes up because you have to go,
not into Bluetooth, you have to go into Sessas and then Bluetooth because Japan. Yeah. So that was
the first hang up. I figured this out pretty quick. Okay, there we go. Bluetooth menu. Oh, there's a
phone connected. Okay. Connect a new device. No, you have a device. Okay. Delete the device.
You can't have no devices. You need to connect the device.
Like that shitty fucking pay zone part. Connect the device. You have to have some car on it.
And it says, oh, looking for your phone, step one. And it does looking, looking, looking,
looking, looking. And it says, oh, to my hand. Then it pops up, it says, if you can't find your
phone, make sure the Bluetooth is turned on. No shit. And then at the end it says...
Do you reckon this was really aimed at... They thought they were going to have a certain type
of age demographic. So someone didn't have to call their son.
So it's a step one, step two, step three. And it's on step one and the wheel is spinning and it
can't find my phone. It's looking everywhere it can. And it just not finding them. And then at the
bottom it says, can't find your phone? Hit that. And it goes, well, maybe, maybe try your phone to
see if it can find the car. Sure enough, the phone can find the car. And then it goes...
It's in it. Now pairing is the code correct? Yeah, the code's correct. Pairing.
And this takes some moments. Yes. And then eventually it goes, ah, being phone.
Now you can listen to things. And thank God it is a brilliant sound system.
Now also, to be fair, and I know that even us journalists sometimes bang on about this,
but in reality, you and I, we hop from car to car. Somebody's going to do that once.
Yeah, no, no, no, totally. And yours is going to get in and it's going to be paired and that's fine.
So that's fine. And it did then connect. And every single time I got into the car after that,
started playing straight away. I didn't have a single issue.
I love how it drives. I absolutely love how it drives. It's so special.
The specialist continues once you're in it. You sit really low down. The dash is really high
up beside you. You sit kind of cocooned. It has a high center console, high arm rest.
It has asymmetric door cards. It does. Yes. Which are mounted to the carbon fiber doors.
Yeah. If you open the... And thank you to Tom from Lexus Blackrock, who made... He brought us all over
at the Herbert Park Show to show us this. He said, look, he pulls open the door.
Look at the door jam. You can see the crushed carbon. And it's a very, very nice way of showing a
little bit of leg. There's that little nod to what's actually in this car. And it's fantastic.
We hop in, sit down. It's got these gorgeous, reclining bucket seats. You can tell her about
quite a sport of butt. You do a really big journey. Yeah. Yeah. It has the same kind of drive pattern
select thing as an ours. Yes. Different shifter. They've covered it in leather this time. If it works.
It works. You can't help but notice that the hybrid system indicators on the dash are from.
Yeah. Yeah. The cheaper one. But your look, Aston's used Volvo light or window switches.
Yeah. This is it. Stuck it in sport, naturally. Sport plus.
This thing will belt down the back road. For something that's two meters wide. It's a big car.
It's a big... When you park it, you know it's just how big them hips are. Yeah. But it is so compliant
with the... You can put the foot down and it goes. And then if you put the foot down like all the way,
you can feel the hybrid then just shunt you in the back a bit more. Yes. Yeah. Oh, this is
way more than I expected. I thought it would be quite dialed back, but it's fairly aggressive in
how it gets down the road. But it's one of them cars you get in and you just want to keep going.
Yeah. Yeah. It's like, what can I do to drive this car more? It is the type of car that you would get
into it in the morning and go, do you know where you know a great spot for lunch? Denise. Yeah.
And we're going to book a table. Yeah. Book No, it is exactly that. And it's just,
it's got so many fantastic little details. Nothing's done in a that'll do. You know, that... It's also
not chintzy. It's not like... No. It's very tasteful. Yeah. Yeah. The past besides...
I imagine you could possibly update that infotainment system now.
Do you know what? I'm sure maybe you'd live with it. Only if you wanted maps and...
Yeah. As I've said, I'm not a massive fan of carplay because I like the native... I like when
manufacturers do a good job with the native screen. Yeah. They're computing softwares and always amazing,
but when you've stuff like the Renault 5, which has a cool native screen and it's got the Renault
5 on it, it's got these kind of quirky little... It's black background. You know. Yeah. I like seeing
when manufacturers do that. When you hop into a car and every screen looks the exact same because
of carplay, it takes some of the character out of them for me. Yeah. Anyway, yeah. LC 500H.
Yeah. Really good. Yeah. I would prefer to have the V8, but I would not kick the hybrid out of
bed from making crumbs. No. No. Both are very good. And like, yeah, I did... I did it with Neil.
Actually, me and Neil, I'm nearly certain he's going to... Neil Briscoe is currently shouting at
his speaker. We did the drive and it was... Maybe I didn't do it with him. Anyway, we did the drive,
it was like from Munich to Milan via all the mountains. And we did... That was been a nice two
hours. We did. did the hybrid one day and then we did over two days. And then the second
day we switched over. We had a very circuitous route, but then we switched over to the V8.
Yeah. Oh, man. It was... If I had oodles of money, I don't see why I wouldn't daily drive that.
Oh, and things... It's such a daily car. It's a Lexus. With the exception of... It's going to work for
the next 80 years. The exception of stepping over the sill and having to fit it in an actual
car park space. Yeah. Like, and it's got such fantastic lines that... Yes. Yeah, you find yourself
parking like nearly in the loading dock if you go to the shops. It's... You need to go that far away.
But yeah. The other car I've been driving. Yeah. Also Japanese. Sorry about that. Sorry,
you're afraid of who's not a fan of Lexus for us. Fan girling over and over for the last 10 years.
If you don't like it, you're wrong. Yeah. Yeah. Trust us. It's an exquisite car that's massively
underrated. If you ever get a chance to poke around one, just do. It'll impress you. Better
still, if you get a chance to drive on, go and drive us. Yeah. I think it would... Absolutely
would change people's perception of what a Lexus is. And it does the gauges. If you put it in Sport
Plus, do the LFA thing. Yeah, it slides across. When you... When it goes... It's all white, red needle,
and when you pull a gear, it leaves the needle, a hologram of the needle at your last shift point,
like the LFA. So, yeah. Anyway. The other car is the current shape, otherwise known as the FL5,
Honda Civic Type R. Yeah. Oh, God.
Go on. 335 horsepower. Yeah. Front wheel drive. Manual. Yeah.
Yeah. This thing is... It boogies. Animal. It boogies. It is absolutely feral.
As only Honda Type Ores could be. I hadn't got amazing hopes for it. I have... Why?
I just figured it would be as muted as all current things are. Right. So you thought they
phoned it in. I have been in many Hondas, many Type Ores. You know, I... B16, 18, K20, F20,
K24. Thanks to you. No stranger to 9000 RPM and bang in a second. Yeah.
So I just figured, now, new car, it's going to have to do all the new car things,
and it'll be dialed down. But it looks amazing. And I have always loved how it looked. I still
remember the first time I saw one, the Angle M. I didn't like the one before. Okay. Right.
There were even the two before. They were really, really angular and really, really busy. And a bit...
Yes. Busy is a good way of describing how it looks. A bit going out tracksuit.
They kind of looked like they'd been crashed into a Halvors. Yeah. Yeah.
Whereas this FL5 coming out of that, that's not a good looking Honda. That's a good looking car.
The front end, really, really nice. And that blue, not a Honda color, but
suited it really, really well. And it's got red Alcatara buckets again. Yeah.
Anyway, it's now turbo. Yes. So unfortunate. Because like everything nowadays, it has to be turbo.
Yeah. But it means that you lose 2000 off the red line. So it's 7000.
But Jesus doesn't get there quick. Yes. Yeah. So it's an urgent engine. You put this in
or plus. Right. You have a drive select mode. Yeah. Comfort, sport, individual. You can set it up
however you want. But there's a bypass switch for all of that. That just says or plus. And you
hit that and it goes, yeah, we're good. And it is immense. I haven't experienced a car like that
in a long while. How that thing goes down the back row. It is torque steering like no tomorrow.
Trying to put you in the nearest ditch. Yeah. You bang the next gear and it just,
you get shift lights across the dash and it doesn't matter how twisty it is. It will warp speed down
us. Yeah. But with such a sense of excitement, it's scrabbling that the ground. It's just,
you know, darting this way and that way. Oh, wow. Like this is really fun. And then the suspension
stiffens up so much. I left the seat at one stage. And it's just on a private road, Mexico.
Not even got the wasn't a speed thing. Yeah. It's that stiff. It just really like
locks out the dampers completely. And it is so stiff. And I love it because
so many cars looking at you, Galvar, they have to do everything. They have to be
really, really comfortable and really fast, but not loud because they have to be quiet
because you have neighbors and it has to be an SUV and it has to be an estate and it has to be
a sports car and has to do everything all at once. Or mode. No, I'm a sports car now. And you get
the sports car drawbacks because we're going quickly. Yeah. And I love that it goes, here's the
compromise mode. And you can have it ludicrous and sore and painful if you want it that way.
Yeah. That's brilliant. It's not diluted at down all into, you know, yeah, yeah. So only thing I
mark it down on really is it lacks a bit of noise. I'm used to Honda's being busy and loud.
The turbo is a bit of that as well as in naturally, it's not revving as much.
Yeah. But as an out of the box thing that isn't supposed to be a supercar,
it'll put a smile on your face. Like every single time will put a smile on your face.
And that's before you start doing anything to one. I wouldn't. Yeah, I know. But you know what I mean?
Like it's already that's like out of the box. It's yeah, it's just it's I found that you or
Yaris was like that other than the early ones that had the seat position was too high. But
the G or Yaris go going from that which was also in this week going from a G or Yaris to the type
or is much the same as when I had a one of six GTI and then went to a clear 182 Right.
It's the same. You know, this is the same thing, but dialed up a lot. Yeah. Yeah. So love that.
So yeah, that's what I've been driving this week. Yeah, that's not good. So for through, you know,
good. I have to say I've not had such an exciting week of me driving a false talking T Rock in
Canary yellow, which sounds worse than it is because it's a fucking great color and cars,
colors make cars. As for the T Rock, it's a bit, it's a bit forgettable. It's fine, but
it's just a hundred and fifty horsepower, miles, hybrids and that's it. You know, so
do you know what a truck is in France? No, it's a brick of rack shop.
This is not quite that exciting. Like a second hand brick of rack. Okay, right.
Anyway, some news which might be of more interest to you than me over Finch,
those Range Rover people have just unveiled a one of one Holland and Holland bespoke commission
as they call it. No, there's a lot to go on here. This is just a Range Rover that
has been had bits added to us, right? Right. It's like what's over these days over Finch is
they used to do a lot more than they do now. Sorry. Yeah. Yeah. It feels now it's more
just a styling exercise. So over Finch used to put Corvette engines in Range Rovers.
That is like you in a Venn diagram. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. If my one you amalgamated all of my cars.
If you were a car company, that's so you would be Peter the eight that got an LT one from a C four
Corvette engines and the altitude who got an LS from a C five. Okay.
Everything gets better with an LS, right? Yeah. Yeah, it does because the power went up and the
reliability also went up. Not normally the thing that happens when you tune engines, but it was
Tiffany Dale. He raced one on one of the old I can't remember if it was fifth gear or top gear.
But he raced it. Towing a trailer, raced a car and beat it. And then there was another one I think
that race might have been Clarkson raced it off like next to the runway and put the Range Rover on
the grass. Okay. Nice. Anyway, that's what they used to do. They used to do stuff like that. And
then it has become as all SUV tuners do a little bit more man them as things have gone on.
Yes. Thanks, urban. You tasteless fox. So this one Holland and Holland. And Holland is a gunsmith.
Yes. Off of weapons. And again, starting with the P 38, the nucleus of all good Range Rovers.
It was a collaboration and limited edition. They were green, this fantastic dark green that
had these brilliant wooden inlays in the dash. They had a shotgun cabinet in the rear.
Of course it is slash drinks cabinet. Because those two things go so well together, right?
Yes, it is. Just after the hunt. So they got this special interior. It was this dark brown,
lovely leather, but the armrests, the sides of the armrest were embossed with wood grain
in the leather to look like the stock of a shotgun. Oh, okay. Yeah.
They sold pretty well. They weren't in big numbers. And they continued this. There was another
Holland Holland edition for the L 3 to 2, which pretty much replicated everything they had done.
Special color green, special leather, special wood. Yeah, cabinet. Then there was a L 405
and now this L 460. This L 460, they already make a Holland and Holland edition in green
with special leather. Okay. I see where it is. From overfinch. I see where it is. Yeah.
This headline is slightly misleading. This is a one off Holland and Holland of a Holland and
Holland. Okay. In that it's black, not green. Okay, right. But it's also got
gold grills. It is in a rap video. Tell me you don't have taste. Well, telling me you don't have
taste. So I bring up the picture so I can be aghast with you. Okay. Yeah. It's got this gold tinted
inlay in the front grills and in the side little... It's a bit like, you know, who is the body in
James Bond's with the metal? Oh, no, Jaws. Jaws. Yeah, it's a bit like gold version of Jaws. It's
like Jaws meets Goldy. Yeah, it's just... Hang on. The other one was green and subtle and this one's
black with a gold badge. Yeah. Do you know, have you ever heard of London? It's quite in your face.
They take the normal range overs. If you put that even anywhere in London, the badges will be gone off.
I just... So I have a bit of the blurb here in front of me. Oh, okay. Do tell us. Enlighten us.
A one of one Holland and Holland bespoke commission by Overfinch,
created as a uniquely specified evolution of the celebrated limited edition.
Yo, dog, we heard you like limited editions.
Distinctive black and gold exterior paired with a refined ivory and black
interior, introducing a more formal and tailored design expression. Yeah, because that's exactly
the complaint about an L460. The interior is too wild. Yes, yes, absolutely. Okay, yeah. Handcrafted
moorland marketry and bespoke bird embroidered elevate the embroidery, sorry, elevate the cabin
into a narrative of British sporting heritage. I feel like this needs to be read in the...
Who is the art dealer in...
Face Jacker. Hello.
Barnabond.
Per demonstration of Overfinch's global bespoke capability,
delivering barely personalized commissions for an international blind town.
Bart.
Bart.
Bartering Bart.
Oh, dear. Yeah.
It's the way they've pictured this in some large houses, gardens.
Yes, yeah, I know.
As if it's some kind of staple piece. Yeah, that's the only place it can go without
someone pilfering something off the front of it.
Which is ironic because the man in charge of Overfinch naturally is named after
the street they'll most be seeing on. And that is a Mr Sloan.
Do you think there was like, you know, a Mr Brompton road and stuff that also applied for the job?
That's a bit like that, a nominative determinism of like somebody that gets named.
Oh, yeah, no, no. A copper called PC Robb Banks.
Yeah, yeah.
So what does Mr Sloan say?
This bespoke commission represents the very essence of Overfinch.
For five decades, we have worked with clients across the world to create vehicles that go
far beyond specification, becoming deeply personal expressions of taste,
craftsmanship and individuality.
Oh, I mean, I thought they all looked the same though.
Yes, historically, they all do look the same.
Historically, they were all exactly the same and you couldn't option anything.
I mean, but yeah, anyway, so if you have so much money and you don't want to
simply get a normal Range Rover or even one of their personalized ones,
maybe talk to these guys.
I have to just give you this one paragraph before we move on.
Inside the transformation is more profound.
Wow.
Okay.
Wow.
What do you think they've done?
Put it in.
I feel like in the background now, Enya is playing.
Oh, yeah, there's a small babbling brook and some hot stones.
How do you think they've had a profound transformation in the interior of an L460 Range Rover?
The pan pipes.
Already six figure.
The pan pipes are intensifying.
A warm ivory and black colorway replace the traditional London tan,
creating a lighter, more composed cabin environment.
So, does anyone ever get into an L460 and go,
so dark and dingy in here?
Yeah.
And a dampness.
Yeah.
This is like a bed sitting rat mines.
Black piping traces the architecture of the seats.
Wow.
That's a good one.
That's it.
I have to say, I've had my first share of bullshit press releases,
but that is a good one.
Introducing clarity and structure while reinforcing the vehicle's tailored aesthetic.
My gosh.
Clarity.
I'm sorry, where do you sit in this thing?
I can't tell the seats from the walls.
My god, this is the automotive equivalent of those men that walk in front,
those people that walk in front of celebrities shining the torch on the floor at a concert
so they don't trip up over anything.
That's impressive.
Now, remember, Jesus.
After you breathe in, you breathe out again.
Anyway.
That's impressive.
There you go.
Yeah.
And Joe, the person who wrote that is on more than you and I combined.
Oh, absolutely.
And that's the biggest travesty.
I could not, I could not create that word salad myself.
No.
That's far beyond my skills, I have to say.
Anyway, you wanted to talk about video games.
I wanted, yeah, some slight more levity and I've lost the word joy.
So you may have noticed and I'm fully aware a certain demographic,
just kind of tune out right now.
Yeah.
But at the moment, the hot thing is for as a motor, horizon six.
Okay.
To what all the, everyone's on that.
Everyone be playing it now.
Okay.
Even have friends who have bought an Xbox, you know, they wouldn't be massive gamers,
but they've bought an Xbox to join in with the rest of us.
Because it is people have been asking the devs that Forza for years to, can we please have Japan?
Historically, Forza started as a motorsport based game.
A kind of not a full sim.
But as far as a sim can go without, you know, having a full sim setup, if you're still just using a handheld controller,
it's not a terrible rendition of one.
Sure.
And sort of had a couple of iterations.
Let's you set the car up and do all this.
Yay.
Now, it's not, it's not a one to one, but it's not terrible.
It's not a set of course.
But it's also just has always been for Xbox.
Yeah.
Not PC until late.
But a couple of years in, they then made Forza Horizon, which was an open sandbox type thing,
open world set in Colorado, and you could just drive around.
And it was meant to be a music come racing festival type thing.
And you, you know, then it went to the French Riviera for a bit.
And then it went to Australia.
Then it went to the UK, which was actually a lot of people's favorite one.
And then it went to Mexico, which was panned from pretty much day two.
And everyone's gone, why can't we have Japan?
Yeah.
And finally they said, look, we're going to do Japan.
We just want the new, the new software that's going to run on the new engine.
And so finally we have Japan and it's a huge map and was highly anticipated.
And it's got K cars and all these things, you know,
you can drive an S cargo, they have all the pike cars, lots of fun.
Oh, pike cars.
Yeah.
Lots of fun little things in it, you know, and they've done well with the Easter eggs
and there's cherry blossoms and all that.
Yeah.
It's not a terrible game.
But it got me thinking, you know, all the way back to those of us that have been
car or racing game diehards.
Yes.
And there is somewhat of a lineage even for you.
Even for me.
There's only a couple of years between us, but you.
What?
Oh yeah, you had Pong.
Like, not that, not that fucking old.
No, but you're not at a game or you're not, you know.
Sorry.
Yes.
So, yeah, I, well, for me, there were a couple of racing games.
There were a couple of car video games when I was growing up.
Obviously there was Gran Turismo.
And for me, that is still like the car game.
So, Bush, and we'll come back to Gran Turismo in a moment.
There were a few, there were a few others that really stood out for me.
Currently paging Nathan.
Toka 2.
Well, she's the British touring car game was when I played that, I was like the first time I played
that was like, this is like nothing else.
It was just, it just seemed at the time incredibly realistic.
It had great, like the cars moved in a way that felt very realistic
and looked in a way that felt very realistic.
I really enjoyed that game.
I think that was, I guess it was PlayStation 1.
I think maybe that might be.
It was PlayStation 1 because it was 1998.
Yes.
Yeah.
That's, fuck off.
Do you know what else?
Okay.
It's just like a, no, no, I saw it on me.
I have that game.
I also have the other racing game that came out in 1998 and that is Colm McRae Rally 1.
Yes.
The very original one, which had a, say like, Bether rally car.
It was yellow and blue and I used to love that.
I have actually driven that rally car in real life.
Oh, hey.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Anyway, Cooper events years ago.
And then following on from that, went to Colm McRae Rally 2, which that was really
classy because the, so that was, I remember Colm McRae Rally 1, but for me, the one that
I was today was Colm McRae Rally 2.
It was, it was just like, so good.
Yeah.
The box had this really cool, like, matte green on it.
That top gear also used for some magazines in that time.
That was 2000.
And you could have loads of cool things that there, I think was a rally Puma.
Mm.
There was the one of the super vans and that was the furry and the two left over creators
don't left.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And that, that's just burned into my mind from, from them games.
Yeah.
But that was shortly after that was that was all PS one.
That was still PS one.
Mine was a slim line one.
Right.
Oh, yeah.
Of course.
Yeah.
Um, that's that was like, that was like the LCI version of the PlayStation.
So then we get on to there are two games here and they're two years apart.
Okay.
One's 2002 and one is 2004.
And depending on just quite your age, it'll, it, these were your entries into car games.
The gateway drugs.
Um, if you weren't a Norden had granted some of which obviously I did.
Yes.
But need for speed hop pursuit to 2002.
Yes.
I remember this.
The yellow mercy on the box with the 360.
So I remember.
So of its time thing is I remember playing, I think I remember playing that actually on a PC.
No, it was available on a PC.
Yeah.
Not on them.
PS two.
PS two.
Yeah.
And following this, whatever, even today we'll go back and play at the odd time need for
speed on the ground too.
We all know that green Vulk or the green 350Z with the Vulk wheels on the cover.
I'm sure somebody's made one of those in.
Oh yeah.
Yeah.
Big time.
Yeah.
Everyone's mad now doing the razor M3 from, from most wanted, which came next with it was 06.
But yeah, Gran Turismo was really.
For me, Gran Turismo is, that's it.
Like I literally, that's all I, I wasn't a big video game player, but Gran Turismo was like,
yeah, I'll just play this.
Gran Turismo two.
Play for hours.
Hours I'd play for.
Two.
I'm pretty sure thought me the difference between
Sylvia K and a Sylvia Q in a PS 13, which was Kings and Queens is what they meant.
But okay.
Queens was non-turbo and Kings was turbo.
That's how they differentiated.
Okay.
Right.
And you could have, they were club based, but it even went so far as like an S40 and depending on
what spec it was, you had a different colored bonnet badge.
So you kind of a red S logo or a green S logo.
That's not in Gran Turismo.
Then going on to three, A spec and four.
What I really loved about it, even I still will go back and fire up Gran Turismo four.
It is a, it's an absolute staple of any car gaming.
There's so many good cars that people don't put in games.
They put in so many stuff that when I was a child, I went, why would annual monitor drive that?
And now it's like, why has no one put this in a game since?
Yeah.
In Gran Turismo four, there is an Aventine.
Yes, there is.
Yeah.
There is a Dushaville.
Yeah.
Yeah.
There is a Honda element.
Yes.
There is the first.
It's just me.
There's the first gen Prius.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I think there's something very cool about putting those cars in.
Yeah, totally.
Nissan Cube.
Yes.
Yeah.
And what I love is.
Also, another one that I really loved was they had a Daihatsu Midget.
They had just Midget two.
Yeah.
And they had so.
They also, sorry, they also had the Mazda 360.
Yep.
Was it a Mazda or Subaru 360?
Subaru.
Subaru 360, yes.
Yeah.
And they had so many different versions of normal cars, but with different spec options.
It's like you had a normal micro, but then you had a micro SR 160.
And you had all these different, just like trim levels of cars because they came slightly differently.
I thought, this is looking back on it now.
The nerdery of it is amazing.
And you could go to the auto show by secondhand cars and they had odd mileage on them.
Yeah.
And if you went to, in the normal auto show, if you went to a manufacturer, you went to say
or Renault and went to Clio, you could get a Phase 2 Renault Clio V6.
But if you went to the used car.
They had the Phase 1.
They had the Phase 1.
Yeah.
And like no one makes that effort in the game these days.
And even they had a Toyota Chaser, which have only just came into games.
Also, going back to the older Gran Turismo was the Pikes Peak Vitara.
Yes.
Which then.
Was it not in a Scudo in that?
Sorry.
Yeah.
Sorry.
Yes.
It was in a Scudo.
You're right.
And I remember about two years, I don't know, it was a couple of years after that,
I was at, they had that at Goodwood at Festival Speed.
I saw it.
I was like, ah, yeah.
You see that just in the background, just at,
do, do, do, do, do.
So good.
So good.
That's the license and text that hold up.
Yeah.
I, like when my copy of Gran Turismo burns out, I will go and buy another copy of it.
It's, I think it is the best.
Well, we were asked Retromobile and they had Gran Turismo 4 on the Mitsubishi stand.
Mitsubishi, or was it not a Renault stand?
No, it was the Mitsubishi stand.
It was white and red.
And it was next to an EVO.
Okay.
There you go.
Yeah.
Yes.
Yes.
I know it was very good.
I mean, it's just such a great driving game.
There was one, we're going to wrap it up, but there was one
curveball driving game that everyone forgets about.
That was.
Don't say Outrule.
No, it was better than I thought.
No, I didn't like Outrule.
Mario Kart.
There you go.
That's it.
We're going to wrap it up there.
No more comments.
That's it.
As ever, you can get us on Instagram at 50 to 70,
tell all your friends on the podcast, because why would you not do it?
Because we're nice.
You should be nice too.
And let everyone know about it.
We've got stickers available via our Instagram.
There's a link in the bio of that.
And if you're listening to this on the day it comes out and you're wondering
what to do with yourself this weekend tomorrow on Sunday the 19th.
There are two events on.
There is the Borne-Abrina car show, which is in, as you may guess,
Borne-Abrina.
And also our friends at Drive Ireland are hosting their Drive Lake event.
Now it's a very early start.
So go to bed now.
Yes.
What are you still doing?
Meeting at half seven and departing at half eight.
So check the boat out on Instagram.
You can find them under their respective names.
There you go.
Yep.
There you go.
Amazing.
We will talk to you next week.
Goodbye.
Thanks for listening to the 50 to 70 podcast brought you in association with Tree of E Coffee.
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About this episode
Driving the Lexus LC 500 leads into a comparison of the non-hybrid V8 versus the LC 500h’s V6, with the hosts impressed by the V8’s cold-start sound and the hybrid’s shove in Sport Plus. They then pivot to Overfinch’s one-off Holland & Holland Range Rover—black-and-gold outside, shotgun-themed details inside—before debating what makes driving games feel real. The conversation ranges from Forza Horizon’s evolution to Gran Turismo memories and the joy of niche Japanese cars.
The Lexus LC500 might be one of the most underrated cars in recent times. Cormac delves into what makes this coupe so special. Future classic? You better believe it. Is a normal Range Rover not special enough for you? Maybe you need a Holland & Holland. Maybe you need a bespoke one-of-one? Cormac explains before Dave drops a bomb on what the best driving game might be.
Need a coffee fix? Head over to 3FE Coffee and get everything you could possibly need delivered straight to your door. Visit 3fe.com