Your prospects of obtaining an LFA, even if you can afford the $375,000 price tag, are minimal to none. The Lexus LFA is a very uncommon car, with only 500 of them being made worldwide over the course of a single year of manufacture.
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Could I purchase a Lexus LFA?
With a reported price of $680,000, the dealership Hyper Voitures is selling a 2012 Lexus LFA in an unusual hue.
Only 178 of the 500 supercars produced by Lexus were exported to the US. Even among that exclusive group, this car stands out thanks to its Pearl Brown Metallic paint job and orange leather interior.
The original price for the LFA was an astounding $375,000 when it was brand-new, so this lightly-used model with 1,073 miles on the odometer offers a sizable markup.
Any LFA is unquestionably uncommon and collectible, but as of January 2020, five brand-new, unregistered LFAs are still available. Some dealerships kept their LFAs as showcase vehicles to increase showroom traffic because the vehicle did not sell quickly when it was first introduced. The last LFA arrived in the United States in February 2013 after LFA production came to a stop in December 2012.
The LFA was designed to represent Lexus as a brand and bring some of Toyota’s Formula One expertise to the road. It has a 4.8-liter V-10 engine with a 9,000-rpm redline and 552 horsepower and 334 pound-feet of torque. Although the LFA’s carbon fiber exterior and powertrain still appear to be cutting-edge, the vehicle’s outdated 6-speed single-clutch automated manual transmission is a dead giveaway.
The LFA was never followed up by Lexus. The more opulent LC is currently the brand’s flagship model, having been produced in the same Japanese plant as the Toyota Mirai fuel-cell car. Still a possibility is a hotter LC F performance variant, but this time with a twin-turbo V-8 rather than a roaring normally aspirated V-10.
What number of LFA remain?
According to the listing, the owner of the dealership, Arlington Lexus in Palatine, Illinois, bought the vehicle after it was delivered to the business. However, according to the listing, it has only 72 miles on the odometer and has spent the most of the last nine years on display in the dealership’s showroom. The LFA’s final sale price of $808,000 reflects a profit of $433,000 over its initial sticker price of $375,000 plus any initial dealer discount. Sometimes it makes sense to keep a brand-new car for almost ten years.
Many dealerships kept their LFAs as showcase items to draw customers into their showrooms. Five brand-new, unregistered LFA vehicles were still available as of January 2020, even though production on the model finished in December 2012 and the final vehicle arrived in the United States in February 2013.
The carbon-fiber-bodied LFA was intended to be a halo vehicle for Lexus, elevating the company’s reputation while leveraging some of parent Toyota’s Formula One expertise.
A 5.2-liter V-10 with a 9,000-rpm redline and 552 horsepower and 334 lb-ft of torque powers the vehicle. An automatic manual transmission with six speeds and a single clutch is attached to the high-revving engine.
Despite that magnificent V-10, many people have trouble grasping the concept of a Lexus supercar. In comparison to the rest of the Lexus series, the $375,000 base price appeared absurd. That could help to explain why even the modest 500-unit production run was difficult for Lexus to sell.
According to the listing, this vehicle is one of just five Pearl Yellow versions made for the American market. Though sources disagree on the precise number, less than 200 automobiles were imported into the United States.
Even more than other recent LFA sales, the sale price was high. A brown LFA was posted for sale at a dealership in January with an asking price of $680,000, while a silver LFA sold for $720,000 at an auction earlier this year.
Who is a Lexus LFA owner?
Only 50 of the even more rare Lexus LFA Nrburgring models left the Motomachi production line, and Pasin Lathouras is the proud owner of one. When visiting the UK, Pasin, who is based in Thailand, drives the LFA on a regular basis. We spoke with him to learn more about what it’s like to drive and own this storied supercar.
The Lexus LFA’s demise: why?
Last but not least, the price tag of this supercar was the main factor in its failure. The LFA debuted in 2011 with a windscreen sticker that read $400,000 on the market. It cost almost twice as much as a Ferrari 599, the same model.
Will the LFA ever resurface?
According to one Japanese publication, one of Japan’s current supercar icons could make a comeback in 2025, but say goodbye to the roaring Yamaha V10 engine.
Why wasn’t the LFA purchased?
Lexus eventually released the LFA after a decade of development and thorough testing, but nobody bought it.
The Lexus LFA is not only an excellent sports vehicle, but it is also an engineering marvel and a stunning work of art. The LFA, the Millau Viaduct in France, and the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland would be among the top 10 structures ever created if engineering were to someday be considered an art form.
Creating the LFA wasn’t simple. Everyone is already familiar with the tale. Over the course of six years, Toyota engineered and designed the vehicle, and just as it was about to be completed, an engineer questioned whether carbon fiber would make for a better body. After undergoing a revision, it took another four years before the car was unveiled at the 2010 Frankfurt Motor Show in its final production form. Toyota famously lost money on each and every one of the 500 LFAs it made despite selling them for an eye-watering $375,000 each. Although the LFA was seen as a commercial failure, its popularity has grown over the past few years to the point where used cars now fetch double or even more than the MSRP.
Therefore, even if it is extremely improbable that the majority of car aficionados ever drive, let alone see, an LFA, we can still daydream about it and enjoy its heavenly engine sound online. The LexusLFA is the most underestimated supercar ever created for the following ten reasons.
The Uniqueness
The LFA is more than just a typical supercar, despite the fact that it does so obviously. Both the exterior and interior appear to be completely custom-made. Since every single car was totally handcrafted in Japan by a small group of workers known as takumi, the attention to detail is astounding. There’s a slim possibility that you’ll see two LFAs, much less one, at a supercar meet as just 500 of these vehicles were produced.
The Engineering
In addition to having a small number of units produced, the LFA is a marvel of engineering. The first LF-A concept car was unveiled at NAIAS in 2005, but the car’s development actually started back in 2000.
A few years before manufacturing, the development came to an end after continuing continuously for some time. The LFA’s planned aluminum body would be excessively heavy, thus CFRP was chosen instead. It only weights 1480 kg as a result, and when combined with the 552 hp of the 4.8 L V10, you get a vehicle that can accelerate from 0 to 60 in 3.6 seconds and reach a top speed of 326 km/h (203 MPH). Yes, that does seem impressive, but not really. But how it delivers that power is what really stands out about it. Which brings up the next point.
The Sound
The LFA is arguably best known for its instantly recognizable, distinctive, and high-pitched sound. It’s frequently compared to an F1 car because of this. The engine’s relatively small displacement need higher engine revs in order to produce adequate power. As a result, the redline can reach 9000 rpm.
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.
LFA stands for what in a car?
The initial LF-A concept made its public debut as a design study with no production goals in January 2005 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan. The original LF-A concept’s wheelbase was 2,581 mm and overall length was 4,399 mm (173.2 in) (101.6 in) [22] The idea was roughly 1,219 mm (48 in) tall and 1,859 mm wide (73.2 in). [22] A allegation made by several news organizations that the concept name referred to Lexus Future-Advance was later refuted by Chief Engineer Tanahashi. [24] The initial LF-A idea has side cameras built into the side mirrors and a glass roof. Installed behind the back wheels and concealed behind huge screens were twin rear radiators. A triple exhaust was mounted in the shape of an inverted triangle on the rear bumper. Air scoops were mounted on the C-pillars, and the wheels had turbine-like shapes. [22] Following positive feedback from the general public about the LF-A concept during the auto show circuit, development carried on with a stronger focus on a potential production vehicle. [25] While this was going on, Lexus was getting ready to introduce its long-rumored F brand series of high-performance cars, which may potentially include a production LF-A in the future. It was reported in 2006[26] that the LF-A concept car had been given the go-ahead for production, although this information was not formally confirmed. [27]
What was Lexus’s loss on the LFA?
Fuel efficiency, production costs, and profit margins are now all defining features in modern automobile mass production, and this is true of the majority of modern cars.
The CEO of a car firm occasionally introduces a vehicle that is only driven by the desire to create the greatest vehicle possible. And one illustrative example of this was the Lexus LFA.
Akio Toyoda, the great-grandson of the company’s founder, took over as CEO of Toyota in 2009 and vowed to stop Toyota from producing uninteresting automobiles, as noted by Autoweek.
A complexly engineered supercar that would serve as the brand’s halo model was essential to establishing the tone for the direction he planned to drive Toyota and its premium division, Lexus, in.
The LFA concept first appeared in 2005 after the LFA development got underway in the early 2000s. However, the real model would not make its appearance until the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show.
Evo claims that the corporation actually lost money on each of the 500 LFAs it sold, despite the fact that they had a list price of about $400,000 when they were brand-new.
Although the LFA was thought to be pricey and underpowered in comparison to its rivals, time has been kind to it. Its well-aged design, flawless construction, and in particular its completely exciting engine have elevated it to the status of a very collectible contemporary classic. And its value has only increased. What exactly is its unique engine made of then?