The Lexus LC is shaping up to be a legitimate contender to the established order of German sports cars, but as well-developed as the LC currently is, it still doesn’t have a range-topping model to call its own. Well, that’s all about to change now that parent company Toyota has officially filed trademarks to the names “LC F” and “Lexus LC F.”

Granted, trademark filings aren’t automatic signs that a company is going to use the names it’s securing for a soon-to-be-released production model. For all we know, Toyota’s simply protecting the names so that other companies can’t use it. This is different though. The Lexus LC F is a car that’s on it’s way. You can take that to the bank.

Consider this: Lexus wants the LC to become its answer to established sports cars like the Porsche 911. It’s an ambitious goal, but it can be done if the automaker has the horses to make the 911 sweat. Here’s the thing though. The current LC lineup peaks with the LC 500 and its 471-horsepower and 398-pound-feet of torque numbers. Those are good numbers, but not good enough if Lexus hopes to truly compete against a car like the Porsche 911, let alone its two top-dog variants, the 540-horsepower 911 Turbo and the 580-horsepower 911 Turbo S.

A range-topping LC F would help fill that void for Lexus. It’s going to have to develop the heck out of it, but with the options it has at its disposal – don’t sleep on the LC F getting some form of turbos or even hybrid assistance – it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to see the LC F packing some serious punch that can knock down a German titan or two.

Remember, these trademarks filings aren’t clear indications of the LC F. But let’s not kid ourselves either. The model is coming and it’s coming for Germany’s finest.

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Don't sleep on the Lexus LC F to make a name for itself

I personally have no knowledge about Lexus’ plans for the LC. I don’t know if it’s content with the LC 500 being the model’s range-topping model or if it really is working on an LC F model. But all signs seem to indicate on the latter happening, especially when you consider that the LC 500 already sits too close with the Lexus RC F, the F-badged version of the entry level RC coupe. It certainly wouldn’t make any sense for Lexus to leave the LC 500 as the top-of-the-line version of the LC model when a 467-horsepower RC F coupe is also available. Doing so not only creates two similar versions, but it also doesn’t do anything in differentiating the RC from the LC.

Now if Lexus does green light the LC F, it has a number of options to tap into to get its power up north of 500 horsepower, maybe even close to 600 ponies. One option is to go the hybrid route to create a more potent version of the coupe while also keeping it on the economical side. Another version would be to strap two turbochargers to the existing 5.0-liter V-8. Toyota has actually pulled this move before on the 2012 Lexus LS TMG Sports 650 Concept. Not only did that concept carry a pair of turbochargers to go with a 5.0-liter V-8, it also carried an output of 650 horsepower and 524 pound-feet of torque.

All this is not to say that Lexus would go down this road and look to get that much power for the LC F. 650 horsepower would be a little too much even for my liking. But 600 horsepower could certainly be in play and if Lexus and Toyota are really serious about taking the fight to established models like the Porsche 911, it’s going to have to sell a model to the public that’s capable of holding its own against those sports cars.

At some point, I think the Lexus LC F will become a reality. It makes all the sense in the world for such a model to exist, not only for Lexus, but for the entire segment itself. Remember, there’s no such thing as having too many sports cars, especially when there are still plenty of people in the world who are more than willing to spend money for them.

2018 Lexus LC F

Read our full review on the upcoming 2018 Lexus LC F here.