I apologize because we here at Top Speed could only bring you blacked out concepts or cartoon designs of the Future Luxus LF-A super car. Please let Top Speed officially present to you, the Gazoo Racing LF-A Nürburgring 24 competitor.
Even though it is a racecar and because of this is equipped with safety equipment like a roll cage, fuel tank and everything else in the rulebook. Things you most likely won’t find on the production version include the GT wing and other aerodynamic features. However one thing that might carry over is the large LCD gauge cluster.
Although this is not quite the street version, it is nice to finally have someone pop the hood to willingly expose the 500 HP V10.
The future Lexus LF-A supercar has been spotted again testing at the Nurburgring in Germany, this time on video. So no more distracting white striped camouflage, no more close ups of the rear spoiler, just the sonorous growl of the V10 and tires screaming for mercy. So take in the sights and sounds of super cars and the rolling hills of the Green Hell. The Lexus LF-A will make its official debut this October at the Tokyo Motor Show.
Rumors have been flying around that the Lexus LF-A will be unveiled at this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon, and this spy shot might just prove that the Japanese automaker is serious about bringing a super car to the table by 2011. The Lexus LF-A has been spotted again testing at the famed Nurburgring test track in Germany.
Due to the fact that Honda has canceled their NSX efforts, the future 500 HP Lexus will only have one other domestic super car to compete with, the Nissan GT-R. Their battle should rival that of Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla.
The model running around the ‘Ring in black camouflage should be much closer to a production version than the LF-A Concept that was unveiled at the Detroit show in 2005 and the updated version of the LF-A sports car we saw in 2007. If all goes well expect that the open-air LF-A Roadster will be in showrooms as early as 2012.
Check out World Car Fans to see the rest of the spy photos.
Lexus has cried wolf so many times about the LF-A that despite official word, we are still skeptical that there will be a production version shown at the Tokyo Auto Salon this October. But maybe Lexus has a good reason to make the LF-A the ultimate tease...Maybe Lexus is just trying to get some serious Nürburgring credentials before the car is released to the public. That would explain why its taken almost five years to go from concept to production version, right?
No matter the lame excuses, the LF-A will attend the 24-Hour Race on the Nürburgring this May (it ran this race last year and was just there in April). As always, the LF-A will be competing in the SP8 (engine ‘close-to-production’) class — this means at least race officials believe Toyota/Lexus’ story about getting the LF-A into production.
Most of the news we’ve heard up until now gave the LF-A’s powerplant as a 5.0-liter V10 making abound 500 hp. The only thing that has seemed to have changed is the engine now officially displaces 4.8-liters.
Back on May 10 of 2008, the LF-A competed in a 4 hour endurance at the Nürburgring where it was the only vehicle in the SP8 class (sports cars from 4 to 6.25 liters) to complete the event. On May 24 and 25 of 2008, the Lexus future super car took part in the 24 Hours Nürburgring competition, where the LF-A finished 7th in class out of 11 competitors. On 4 April 2009, the LF-A competed in the ADAC-Westfalenfahrt VLN endurance race at the ‘Ring. Once again the LF-A won the SP8 class, competing against an Audi R8, a Lamborghini Gallardo, an Aston Martin Vantage, a Chevrolet Corvette and a Lexus IS-F. The LF-A completed 25 laps around the 12.9 mile circuit in only 4 hours 7 minutes and 43.188 seconds.
Production version LF-A will be powered by a V10 engine that produces over 600 HP. The body of the Lexus will be entirely made out of carbon fiber and is rumored to take less than 4 seconds to reach 60 MPH from a dead stop on its way to a 200 MPH top speed.
The Toyota/Lexus LF-A has been a lot like a soap opera: there are a lot of interesting plot lines, but its taken it a while to go anywhere.
We first saw the LF-A Concept at the Detroit show in 2005, then in 2007 Lexus brought the updated LF-A Sports Car, and then Lexus cut off the roof last year with the LF-A Roadster. Then rumors of its demise started popping up. But just as we thought the car was dead, Toyota pulls it out for a track day at Fuji and announces it will be a racecar.
Finally it seems our saga will come to an end. In an effort to boost the ailing Tokyo Auto Salon, Toyota will show off the production version of the Lexus LF-A at the show this October. Will it have the 480+ hp V10 engine? Will it go into full production? Will it be a car ready for the streets or a track-only job?
Hopefully some questions will be answered at the Tokyo show, but hey, this is the LF-A people, just be glad there is even a morsel of info.
As an added bonus, Toyota’s second biggest mystery, the Subaru-based next Celica may also make an appearance at the show. But depending on who can be believed, this project may be ready for 2010 or already stillborn.
Just because we can’t get a straight answer on when or even if the Lexus LF-A will hit the streets, doesn’t mean Lexus’ parent Toyota doesn’t want to get the most out of the design. Lexus will participate in the 2009 Milan Design Week by brining a exhibit titled, “Lexus L-finesse - crystallised wind” - featuring the LF-A.
While the real car is made out of carbon fiber and other composites, what will be seen in Milan will mostly be acrylic. But the appearnce of this artwork does give us new hope for an LF-A for the streets.
In the press release from Lexus, it does mention the 500+ hp 5.0-liter V10 engine (as well of a top speed around 200 mph). This is good news because it suggests that Lexus is once again serious about giving the public its long-awaited supercar.
Toyota has announced plans to produce the LFA, but you probably can’t get one. Toyota confirmed the construction of the car during a motorsports press conference. According to Auto Express, there will only be a handful of LFAs built, and they will likely be built not for street use but for racing.
The LFA (or LF-A depending who you believe) is rumored to be powered by a V10 engine making about 500 hp. Even if the first cars are only used for racing, it’s a step in a much better direction then the recently killed Acura NSX.
In the latest ‘will they or won’t they’ saga that is the Lexus LFA, it seems Toyota is getting serious about the supercar (or at least making sure no one else is.) At the beginning of this month, Toyota filed U.S. Trademark Application No. 77623634 for the "LFA" name (not "LF-A" had originally appeared).
So does that mean the Lexus is still going to launch a supercar during tough economic times? Not necessarily; it just means just means that if a company wants to name its car "LFA", it has to go through Toyota first.
It’s the the Lexus SC 430’s replacement... No wait, it’s the new Toyota Supra... Oops its just a concept car that won’t see he light of day... Wait again, it’s a track car. Whatever the Lexus LF-A is, Toyota/Lexus has been dragging its feet so long that not only is the LF-A’s production hopes more like the car-that-cried-wolf, but also its styling is beginning to become stale.
Optimists would say that Lexus was testing the LF-A at Toyota’s Motorsports Festival at Fuji Speedway, but others may say that Toyota is just looking to get a few uses out of an engineering and styling project that’s gathering dust in that back cornet of the development shop. Afterall this car was not made for this event. The car at Fuji was the black LF-A prototype mule that ran in this summer’s Nürburgring 24 Hours race.
By the time the Detroit Auto Show rolls around in January, it will be two years since the LF-A made its debut. It was rumored to be utilizing a V10 engine making 480-500 hp and good for a 200+ mph top speed. If all goes right, and the LF-A can avoid an official death, there still is hope to see this car by 2010 or 2011.
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