A seven-year production run came to an end last week as the final Lexus IS F left the Tahara facility in Japan.
Although the IS F was never a big sellerrecent estimates put its lifetime global sales at 12,000 unitsit was the first Lexus model to give the company’s reputation for high-performance vehicles credence.
Its creation is now a part of Lexus legend.
Chief engineer Yukihiko Yaguchi transformed the current IS sports sedan into something far more powerful with a tiny staff and a tight budget, replacing the powerplant and modifying the body till it exhaled fire. The end result was a 416-horsepower sports car that was unheard of in Lexus history.
Will there ever be a second IS F? The future is uncertain because there has been no official announcement and because the new RC F coupe, which was also created by Yaguchi-san, will represent Lexus performance going forward.
No matter what happens, I want to express my gratitude to everyone who worked on the first Lexus high-performance car.
You should be happy with what you accomplished because it was a fantastic run.
In This Article...
How many Lexus Lfas exist worldwide?
During production at the Motomachi facility, LFA Chief Engineer Haruhiko Tanahashi is pictured with a piece of foamcored CFRP material in front of the LFA body.
The LFA went on sale for Lexus on October 23, 2009. Lexus chose its customers carefully in the second quarter of 2010. [46] December 2010 saw the start of production. With a starting price of $375,000, just 20 cars were constructed each month for the global market’s total of 500 cars (340,000). Each car has to be ordered specifically for the customer. [47]
After the LFA was debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show, Lexus unveiled a website with a “LFA configurator” that let users choose exterior and interior colors, brake caliper colors, seats, steering wheel leather, and other interior designs.
[48]
[49] Over 30 billion different combinations were available in total. [49] At Toyota’s Motomatchi plant in Aichi, Japan, a committed production team of engineers and specialists hand-built each LFA. [50] [51] [52]
150 vehicles were first offered for sale in the North American market via a two-year lease arrangement. This was done to stop owners from profitably reselling the car. [47] To conduct test drives to potential purchasers and show off the car’s capabilities at Auto Club Speedway, racing driver Scott Pruett was hired. At the end of 2009, Toyota Motors USA’s Lexus division ceased taking orders. At that time, they intended to start talking to the lessees about a purchase plan. Later, Lexus reversed course and permitted outright purchases, but only if the buyer signed a contract giving the dealer the first option to acquire the LFA back if the owner decided to sell it during the first two years. The used LFA might be purchased back by the dealer for the lower of fair market value or the original sticker price. [53] The only Lexus outlet in Park Lane, London where customers could order the LFA for the European market was an outright purchase. [54]
Haruhiko Tanahashi, chief engineer of the LFA, in front of an autoclave for curing CFRP components
Each LFA was given a plaque with a unique number that identified its position in the production run during its manufacture. Each LFA V10 engine bore the expert’s signature from the assembly process. [51] The LFA was produced from December 2010 to December 2012 at a rate of 20 units per month. The final vehicle, which had the Nrburgring package and an exterior finish of white, was completed on December 14th, 2012, marking the end of production. There was no planned successor when manufacture halted. With a limited staff, the LFA plant in Motomachi carried on producing parts. [55]
Has the Lexus IS F been retired?
Since the performance-focused IS F was retired in 2014, the Lexus IS lineup has had a V8-shaped hole in its core. Despite not being a full-fat F model like the RC F coupe, the recently unveiled 2022 Lexus IS 500 F Sport Performance sedan should, at the very least, help quell your V8 hunger thanks to its 5.0-liter engine.
The new vehicle will be the first in the automaker’s newly revealed F Sport Performance tier, which will provide a somewhat hotter performance gradient between the moderate (and typically style-focused) F Sport trims and hot F performance vehicles. Similar to BMW’s M Sport, M Performance, and M series stratification, the three-tiered structure ought to be equally perplexing.
The IS 500 F Sport Performance, which is only available in the North American market, differs from the 300 and 350 grades thanks to an upgrade to Lexus’ 5.0-liter V8 engine. This appears to be the same 5.0L 2UR-GSE engine that powers the RC F and LC 500 coupes, producing 472 horsepower and 395 pound-feet of torque. Fun fact: From 2007 until 2014, this plant powered the old 416 horsepower IS F. It has been modified with better compression and output.
The powertrain is coupled to the rear wheels using the well-known Sport Direct Shift eight-speed automatic transmission, and it exhausts through a sport quad-tip exhaust system. The car is predicted to accelerate from zero to sixty kilometres per hour in around 4.5 seconds when using its sportiest Sport Plus mode. Toyota says that when you’re not hitting it, it should achieve about 24 highway mpg.
Will Lexus produce a new IS F?
A BRAND NEW F SPORT The Lexus F SPORT Performance line makes its debut with the 2022 IS 500 F SPORT Performance, which is destined to catch everyone’s eye.
What is the lifespan of a Lexus IS F?
The Lexus IS is a luxurious sedan that is incredibly dependable and can travel, on average, between 250,000 and 300,000 miles with regular maintenance and cautious driving.
The fastest Lexus is which?
Discover the most potent car that Lexus has ever produced. The Lexus GS F flawlessly mixes power, style, and grace into one ideal performance vehicle, with an amazing 467 horsepower and top track speed of 168 MPH.
Which car is the most uncommon?
The 25 Most Expensive Cars in the World
- Ferrari’s 250 GT California SWB Spider from 1961. Price or estimated value: $17.2 million.
- Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita from 2009.
- Lamborghini Veneno from 2013.
- Pagani Huayra BC from 2017.
- Oldsmobile F-88 from 1954.
- Ford GT40 from 1964.
- Icona Vulcano Titanium, 2016.
- Pagani Zonda Revolucion from 2013.
How did the Lexus IS fare?
Lexus IS sedan, RC coupe, and CT hatch will no longer be available locally. Three well-liked models from Lexus’ lineup have to be discontinued because of new side impact crash test regulations that took effect in November 2021.