This is the Lexus LF-C2, and it's kinda stunning

Lexus has brought along an eye-catching new concept to the LA Auto Show 2014, the Lexus LF-C2, though while the droptop 2+2 might be described as a design study, it looks almost ready for the road. A clear descendent of both the IS and the IS C convertible, the LF-C2 envisages a life on the open road where the many angles would have plentiful opportunities to catch the light. It'd have to be a dry route, though: since the LF-C2 Concept has only the climate inside auto shows to consider, there's actually no roof at all.

Lexus of course excuses this by pointing to the concept nature of the car, and similarly there's no specific engine in mind for the LF-C2.

Instead, it's all about the looks. On the outside, there's a more dominant spindle-grille that we've seen on any other Lexus to-date, with a braided-mesh finish, while side vents would cool the brakes as well as help with airflow for stability.

Triangle-shaped headlamps and Lexus' now-traditional daytime running lamp designs keep the fascia looking familiar. Similarly, at the back the rear lamp clusters have echoes of the production range.

Five-spoke 20-inch alloy wheels certainly have the size for a self-respecting concept, dotted in the center with trim that matches the golden yellow paint job.

As for that paint, it's a five-coat process that layers up clear, yellow, and silver to give it a special sheen.

Inside, the dashboard runs through the middle of the cabin and separates the seats front and rear. Some of Lexus' familiar infotainment and control systems are present, albeit presented with a flourish: the touchpad is a riff on what we saw in the Lexus NX, for instance, while the top display in the center stack seems to have been lifted straight out of the production cars.

The driver binnacle is new, however, with a full array of digital gages, and there's a second screen – presumably with touch support – lower down in the stack. Buttons on the wheel illuminate as well, when the car is powered on.

185.6 inches long, 72.4 inches wide, and 54.5 inches high, the LF-C2 is surprisingly compact despite still seating four.

White and grey leather is paired with LED lighting that runs the interior of the car, casting a glow just below the sills.

So is Lexus likely to give the LF-C2 the green light? Though announced as an indication of the company's evolving design direction, strip away some of the traditional concept car conceits – the tiny side mirrors, for instance – and add in things like roll bars or reinforced headrests for the rear passengers, not to mention some sort of roof, and it's not hard to imagine it making it to the road.

Lexus representatives would say nothing of the sort when I asked, though knowing smiles and winks almost theatrical came with the weakly voiced denials. Given that the current 2015 IS C convertible is still based on the old IS, not the new model which has so impressed us, it seems ripe for a refresh after all.