TWO words sum up the new Lexus LC 500 Convertible Sport Plus - absolutely stunning.

It's finally put Lexus well and truly up amongst the premium big boys like Porsche, BMW and Jaguar in the automobile equivalent of haute couture.

Without any doubt this is the best Lexus to emerge on these shores from its home in Japan.

With great aesthetics it not only looks the part it lives up to its potential out on the road and is truly a breath of fresh air in the super-expensive, if select, roadster sector where sports performance has to match the luxurious interior.

The LC 500 Convertible has an abundance in both.

The heart of the car's exquisiteness is the engine. Who would not enjoy the driving excitement of having a vocal sounding V8 5.0-litre normally aspirated petrol engine pushing out 475bhp.

Delivering such power in such a remarkably quiet and civilised manner is not only exciting for the driver but the 10-speed direct shift automatic gearbox it simply does the business in every sense of the word.

Leave the gear shift in D and it delivers the true sports car performance in one go - 0 to 62mph zips in at five seconds -but the grabbing the shift paddles behind the steering wheel and putting the car into manual mode and there's ultimate control.

Tap the accelerator pedal and with the hood down there's a rather subtle raucous exhaust to add to the pleasure.

The hood can be lowered and raised at the push of a button, at up to a speed of 31mph, which takes 15 seconds at the most.

With the hood up it's remarkably quiet inside thanks to a four layer lid which keeps the interior well insulated.

Years ago convertibles always had a little downside in that they never appeared to be as rigid and solid feeling because of having the normal steel roof replaced.

This Lexus convertible knocks that well into touch and it has a rock solid feel about it. That's down to the use of high-strength steel and a torsion box to give the car much more rigidity.

With suspension changes over the LC 500 coupe the convertible has a firmer ride and even at high speed it really has outstanding road holding.

It gives a genuine sporty performance and it's a treat to drive - even trundling around town centres it remains quietly civilised.

Move out to the open roads and then the all round pleasure of driving this car comes into its own. It is genuinely exciting to drive but thankfully Lexus has limited the top speed to 167mph.

One of the most impressive aspects of its performance is its mid-range acceleration which is certainly responsive yet safe and quiet to utilise.

The LC 500 is packed to the gunnels with on-board safety equipment such as cruise control, a pre-collision system, road sign assist, blind spot monitor, adaptive variable suspension and much more.

Inside, the cabin is fitted out with the quality luxury finishes and fittings expected with truly leather clad sports front seats, non-glare leather covering for the door and pillar trims plus a 10.3-inch navigation display, reversing camera, smartphone integrated with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto amongst other features.

The official fuel consumption is 24.1mpg although few if any owners will worry too much about such trivialities! CO2 is a hefty 275g/km and the insurance is obviously high, coming in at group 50.

Which all leads to the asking price which is not cheap as anyone would expectfor such an up-market, sensational looking convertible - it's £96,625 - and worth every penny in my book.

For an extra grand you can have a 13-speaker quality Mark Levinson audio system installed to help you on your way. Icing on the cake!