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Now, we’re talking. The lack of a European presence at the Tokyo Motor Show has left the field virtually devoid of supercars. But not we’ve just heard that, at long last, at least one supercar will be in attendance. The V10-powered Lexus LF-A. In addition to the LF-A, Lexus will also showcase to the Japanese market the debut of the LF-Ch compact-premium hybrid. But the real news here is the highly-anticipated debut of the new Lexus supercar. Expected to be in the same class as notable new supercars like the Ferrari 458 Italia, the LF-A comes with a 4.8-liter V10 engine that delivers over 550 horsepower shifted via a 6-speed semi-automatic transmission that, in turn, allows the super car to hit speeds of over 218 mph. Only 500 units will be made of the LF-A and we can now fully expect without a tinge of hesitation to see one of them in Tokyo. Lexus has yet to release further news about the car but nevertheless, the company’s confirmation that the supercar will be in attendance at the Tokyo Motor Show is as good a news as it can get. .
18 comments: Lexus LF-A supercar confirmed for Tokyo If what you said about the interior adjustments not being ready is true, then by logic the lap time was done with a stripped out LF-A, meaning the lap time is not for the production version.
 Who are you asking, Naterade22? If you’re asking me, I already said that my LF-A/LF-L information is an inside-Toyota thing and that the lap times are according to one of the main engineers. If you don’t believe me about the 7.13, this isn’t the exact video but it shows a LF-A’s lap side-by-side with an ACR’s. The LF-A laps the ’Ring, while dodging other cars, faster than the Viper ACR’s famed 7.23 with no other cars on the track. Here’s the link: http: / / www. you tube .c om / watch?v=D3oJ Y KmI phU Sorry for all of the spaces in the link it wouldn’t let me post it otherwise. These publications have been making claims about a production LF-A for years. And yes, it is absolutely possible for Lexus to chop off 3 seconds and hit 7.10 with the power its got. If a 320 horsepower Supra with no mods other than TRD accessories ran it in 7.39, a 552 horsepower LF-A can nail 7.10.
It is production ready because there is an article in Autocar saying it is going into production. There is also an article on this site, I believe. The GT-R has been in production for two years but it is still undergoing suspension testing. And as I said, there is no way in hell that this car will achieve 7.10 with the production version, not with a 500/550hp NA engine, no matter how much suspension tuning you do. How is it production ready? Even if they did manage to finish the interior features and smooth out the clutch that fast, it is far from ready. I mean, the team is at the Nurburgring working on the suspension as I write this, and they only thing that’s undergone full dependability testing is the engine. Also Toyota doesn’t want to put it into production until they can achieve 7.10 around the ’Ring and beat the Gumpert Apollo as the fastest production car. Not to mention the abnormally high redline at 9000rpm. Eat that Ferrari! It is production ready though. It is going into production for the Japanese market. Even if the LF-L is at the show, it won’t be fully production-ready. The engine is completely finished (552 bhp@approximately 6200 rpm), but the gear changes are still a bit rough and the suspension tuning has yet to be finalized. Besides, the audio systems and various other power equipment in the prototypes’ interiors don’t even work yet.
It’s a Toyota inside-thing. Some LF-A/LF-L engineer said that 7.13 was the best they’d gotten so far, down from 7.24 for last year’s prototype.
I’ll believe it when I see it - it was reported that it would be at the show last year, but it wasn’t. And what’s with comparing this to a 458-Italia? With a Nurburgring time of 7.13 for the last prototype, the LF-L competes more closely with the Gumpert Apollo and CCXR.
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10.15.2009 @ 19:56