Shot-callers and ballers, take note: there’s a new drop-top Lexus in town, and it packs a meaty V8 punch to deliver its unmistakable wind-in-hair magic.

Launched virtually earlier today, the new Lexus LC500 Convertible complements the recently refreshed coupe twin. Aptly, this offshoot packs a retractable soft-top mechanism that takes just 15 and 16 seconds to retract and extend respectively, and it works on the move at speeds of up to 50kph as well.

The addition of said mechanism does see the LC500’s so-called 2+2 cabin shrink further at the back. Its ability to ferry the +2 in coupe form was already questionable at best prior, so let’s just say this space is perhaps best served for, uhh… luggage?

Nevertheless, the news does get better, especially with what’s lurking underneath the distinctively sleek and striking metal the LC500 Convertible is dressed in. For starters, there’s a 5.0-litre naturally aspirated V8 heart delivering meaty 470bhp and 540Nm figures.

Power goes to the rear wheels via Lexus’s 10-speed auto box, and this drop-top is just 0.2 secs slower from nought to 100kph – 4.9 secs – than the coupe – respectable considering it weighs about 90kg more. And like the coupe, the Convertible also lives with an electronically capped 270kph vmax.

Noteworthy here is the presence of Lexus’s Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS). According to Lexus, this suite has been further optimised to provide 650 different levels of damping force, thus promising a sharper ride and handing – perhaps warranted when you’ve got massive and shiny 21-inch two-tone alloys at each corner.

Apart from the cramp-er rear seats, things don’t look nor feel too different up front as how the coupe feels. There’s plenty to plush leather, exquisite metal trims and a load of high tech novelties for both driver and passenger to bask in.

Notable here is the presence of the Lexus Safety Sytem+ (LSS+) suite that brims this drop-top grand tourer with advanced driver assistance like radar-powered adaptive cruise control, both lane-departure warning and mitigation, as well as a pre-collision system.