Hot off making the announcement that the production version of the Lexus LF-A supercar is on its way to the Tokyo Motor Show, the supercar in question was recently seen leaving a gas station just outside the Nurburgring.
Care to venture a guess where it’s going? Or maybe, where it came from?
Chances are, you’ll probably get the same answer.
In any case, the minimally-disguised white LF-A did have a date with him, in the form of another of its kind that incidentally was cloaked all around in black camouflage. Just to give you an idea just how powerful this new supercar is, we invite you to press your ears against your speakers and listen to that symphonic – and blood curtling – scream emanating from that powerhouse of an engine under its hood. For what it’s worth, that’s 550 horsepower V10 ripping through an otherwise quiet afternoon in Germany.
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.
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.
For a few years now what most expected to be the rebirth of the Toyota Supra, a turbocharged sports car from Japan that was overbuilt and able to compete with the best that the world had to offer, they have even been known to race motorcycles and win. So once we knew that the Japanese automaker was going to once again build a proper sports car, the question then became, what will it be called?
For a while we thought that the future super car from Toyota’s luxury brand Lexus would be called the LF-A. Well the automaker has just come out with a new surprise, the LF-A will now be known as the LF-L to signify the endurance racer’s scheduled appearance at Le Mans next year. Although before we see it in production race trim, the production car is expected to make its world debut this October at the Tokyo Motor Show.
The good news is that nothing is changed under the hood, the LF-L will use a 4.8L “1LR-GEU” V10 engine with a rear mounted transaxle that includes a sequential six-speed gearbox. The Lexus LF-L will be offered with ASG (Automated Sequential Gearbox) that will have four modes, Auto, Normal, Sport and Wet; the cog swapper will be capable of making shifts via Formula 1 style paddles in 0.2 seconds when in Sport mode.
The Japanese luxury automaker Lexus will unveil the new LF-A super car this October at the Tokyo Motor Show and will start appearing in showrooms around the world shortly after. The first every Toyota designed super car will be limited to only 500 units, priced at around $400,000 each.
Lexus began working on the L-Finesse design language back in 2003 with the LF-X concept crossover. Since then, the 200 MPH LF-A has been taking shape at auto shows starting in 2005 and test mules have been spotted on real world racetracks since 2007, more recently the super Toyota has made its way into the virtual realm. Over the past two years, preproduction versions of the LF-A have been competing in endurance races at the Nürburgring.
When it finally arrives in showrooms, the production LF-A will be built around a carbon fiber tub and feature other high tech hardware like carbon ceramic brake rotors hidden away underneath a set of 20 inch wheels wrapped in high speed rubber. The production version will be powered by a 5.0 Liter V10 engine that will send 550 HP from the car’s nose to the rear wheels via a 6 speed semi-automatic transmission, geared so that Toyota’s future super car will be able to hit a top speed of over 218 MPH.
Until now you have seen a multitude of spy shots with the Lexus LF-A’s exterior in frame. Just like the spy photographer who had the good sense to peak under the hood, this automotive paparazzo decided to focus on the interior. From what we can tell, the carbon clad cabin looks to be top notch. The photojournalist has also captured the LF-A’s road going rolling stock, a treat for any wheel enthusiast.
Limited to only 500 units, the Lexus LF-A will be powered by a 4.8 Liter V10 that delivers a screaming 550 HP shifted via a 6 speed semi-automatic transmission that is geared so that Toyota’s future super car can hit a top speed of over 218 MPH. After its official debut at the Tokyo Motor Show in October, the car will go on sale next summer. But for now, if you are dying to see one of these beauties for yourself, head on over to Goodwood next month where the Japanese automaker will have not only the LF-A on display, but also a few of their race proven winners.
Check out the link below to see the rest of the spy shots.
The Japanese automaker Toyota will bring a handful of their remarkable racing cars to the Goodwood Festival of Speed, July 3-5. The three day event is Europe’s answer to Monterey Historic Races that take place every year at Laguna Seca. The event allows racing enthusiasts to get an up close look at everything from classic competition cars to the racecars of tomorrow and allows these machines the opportunity to do what it is that they do best when they race against the clock and the hill.
The sombrero wearing import carmaker will be showing off a Lexus LF-A super car and a TF108, last year’s unrestricted F1 car complete with the German Timo Glock behind the controls. Making almost as much power as the F1 machine, Toyota will also bring a four wheel drive Celica GT4-X developed by English based tuners Fensport. The Celica makes 700 HP and can make consistent 10 second quarter mile passes all day long.
Rally enthusiasts will be happy to know that their will be a pair of classic Group B Celicas as well as the car that won them the Manufacturer’s Championship in 1999, a WRC Corolla. Alain Prost’s championship ice racing Toyota Auris will also be on hand, the car is built to look like the compact city car, except the racecar is built from carbon fiber and features a tuned 3.0 Liter V6. There will also be a couple of Can-Am and Le Mans racers on hand as well.
However, it will be Gazoo Racing’s V10-powered Lexus LF-A endurance racer, coming straight from competing in the Nurburgring 24, along with an IS-F that competed in the same race twice around the clock, that will be one of the main attractions on the hill climb course, making an appearance at the Earl of March’s annual gathering.
We have all heard about the future super car from Lexus, the LF-A; but what you may not know is that Gazoo Racing is campaigning a pair of prototypes in endurance races all across Europe. This not only serves to give the brand racing credibility before it is even on the market, and also allows the automaker to conduct performance and reliability testing in some of the most demanding environments in the world.
Despite Gazoo’s setback at the Nurburgring24, the team is continuing to develop the car for the track and Lexus is finishing off a very limited number of production versions for the street. This video offers a rather unrestricted view of the LF-A as the car is put through its paces by the English racing team.
Although the production version of the Lexus LF-A will make its official debut this October at the Tokyo Motor Show, there is a way that you can get behind the wheel of Lexus’s first ever super car today. All you need is a video game console and a copy of Need for Speed SHIFT. Judging from these photographs, it looks like the Lexus will be a playable vehicle in the upcoming racing simulator from EA Sports.
Need for Speed SHIFT is the latest offering from the NFS family of video games, in an attempt to change things up from the previous versions, SHIFT, will be a dedicated racing simulator. The game will feature 18 race tracks in all, with some patterned after actual circuits like the Nurburgring, Silverstone, Laguna Seca and Spa Francorchamps. It would be interesting to see if the LF-A could go around the ‘Ring for 24 hours in the video game without catching on fire.
Lexus’s latest super car, the LF-A, has just failed its latest endurance session at the Nurburgring 24. Gazoo Racing has been campaigning the V10 powered LF-A in a number of endurance races in an attempt to bring the lessons learned from the race track onto the streets when the 500 HP Lexus finally does arrive in showrooms around the world in 2010, even if they are in limited numbers.
Apparently only 1 hour and 33 minutes before the end of the day long endurance race, one of the two LF-As competing suffered a catastrophic failure. Nearing the end of the competition, the number 15 car had to pull off to the side of the track as flames were coming out from the rear of the car. Although not much has been disclosed about the failure, this does not look good for Lexus’s future sales figures.
A short while ago, Top Speed announced that the production version of the Lexus LF-A super car will make its official debut this October at the Tokyo Auto Salon, and that potential Lexus super car owners would be able to start placing orders shortly thereafter. Fortunately for collectors, the Japanese automaker is limiting the production of their V10 powered super car to just 500 units, with 120 of them headed for their domestic market.
When the LF-A does hit showrooms, don’t expect to call it an LF-A, instead the Japanese luxury car maker is going to adopt the GT moniker "in order to express the car’s character." The GT name will be combined with some iteration of the car’s 550 HP maximum output. So it will most likely be called the Lexus GT550, it would be nice for the Toyota subsidiary to bring back the Supra name, but maybe that will happen later on. So just remember, when you go to the dealership to place your order, don’t ask for an LF-A.
The first deliveries of Lexus’s super car will be made next summer.
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