The $375,000 Lexus LF-A

hill · Jun 9, 2010

Sorry folks, if that giant wad of dough is burning a hole in your pocket, your out of luck. The 552hp - 200mph - 0-60 in 3.6 second production run all got bought up. Better luck next year.
Any chance that someone on that list can spot me a $20 ??

Lexus LFA 2012

Now ... when's the hybrid version going to hit the road.

.

silentak1 · Jun 9, 2010

I don't know about everyone else, but if I really had that type of dough sitting around, I'd end up in a Porsche 911 Turbo, GT2/GT3, Ferrari 360 or some other type of Exotic... just not a Lexus.

hyo silver · Jun 9, 2010

Nah, that's a bit much for a car. If I could actually drive it to its potential without amassing a zillion tickets and scaring the general population, then maybe. As far as exotics go, I'd be perfectly happy with a Lotus Exige, a trimaran, and change left over from my 375.

MERIDIAN · Jun 9, 2010

silentak1 said: ↑

I don't know about everyone else, but if I really had that type of dough sitting around, I'd end up in a Porsche 911 Turbo, GT2/GT3, Ferrari 360 or some other type of Exotic... just not a Lexus.
Click to expand...

Yeah, you said it all. This Lexus looks like somebody put a cheap aftermarket body kit on top of a Nissan NSX and then painted it with six cans of Krylon, You can keep it

bedrock8x · Jun 9, 2010

Not so fast, the picture OP shows is the racing version of the LF-A.
Go to Lexus web site and look at the consumer version.

MERIDIAN said: ↑

Yeah, you said it all. This Lexus looks like somebody put a cheap aftermarket body kit on top of a Nissan NSX and then painted it with six cans of Krylon, You can keep it
Click to expand...

hampdenwireless · Jun 9, 2010

I would buy a Tesla Roadster Sport instead and keep the extra $200,000+ dollars in the bank.

V8Cobrakid · Jun 9, 2010

I like the 3rd and 4th photos. from head on, it sneaks up on you. as you get passed, it's snarling at you.

these pics were taken from the LFA Webpage.

i noticed a lot of people are still showing the race photos.. that's not production model.

V8Cobrakid · Jun 9, 2010

btw... i hope you guys realize the frame of this car is made with 1 of only 2 carbon fiber weaving machines in the world... the suspension is aluminum.. and everything in between is leather, carbon fibre, wood, or aluminum... (except the hoses in the engine, the electronics, and the titanium valve heads)

i assume the air vents and such are plastic still.. o well..

a_gray_prius · Jun 9, 2010

The LF-A is a pretty amazing performer on the race track. I'd still rather get a GT-R and pour $40 or 50k into it and get similar performance though.

The video of the carbon fiber loom was taken down by Toyota/Lexus.

V8Cobrakid · Jun 9, 2010

yes... lexus has mad everyone remove every video of it.. not sure why. i did find a pic though...

Tideland Prius · Jun 10, 2010

That's ok Hill... there's always the NÃ¼rburgring version.

1SMUGLEX · Jul 8, 2010

My review of the car here

My new name for the LFA is LFA+++++++ (as in plus plus plus plus)

Cliche but it usually works

1624 miles in less than 3 days
1045 songs on iPhone to play
450h on its first true roadtrip
80 or so CDs to also play
$50 or so in tolls on the Florida Turnpike
19 bottles of Gatorade/water
16 or so various Lexus vehicles
12 hours sleep in those 3 days
4 hits of crack rock to stay up (I kid I kid)
3 Lexus IS-Fs on the track
1 of 2 prototype Lexus LFA cars in the world on the track
Experience of a lifetime riding with Scott Pruett in the LFA-PRICELESS!

As you can imagine I am very tired but I wanted to write my review while everything was still fresh. I am also still smiling. Later on, I will talk about the entire trip. I will not bore you with that now but instead will get to the meat and potato's.

2011 Lexus LFA

Before I got to see it, I heard it. We were driving the IS-F/F-sport/stock cars when you hear something like a jet fighter. The entire crowd turns and you see this black diamond colored car moving at a rapid pace on the oval. You quickly notice it is reflecting the sun but not completely. Then it is gone. (I am assuming warm up laps as it was around 8:20 am on a cool, dry morning with clear skies).

Lucky me. Some of us lucky ones were in a separate line and again, you hear this wonderful sound unlike anything I have heard in a car. I looked at the sky thinking it was a F-22 or something. You don't realize how compact it is until you see it in person. Slightly shorter than a 911 Turbo. As you can see in pics in bitkahuna's thread (I will link it) and the last pic I post, the LFA comes to slightly above my waist (I am 6"5).

You don't look at the LFA. The LFA looks at you. So I looked back. If it was a person, it would be Chuck Norris or Daniel Craig as James Bond. Not the most handsome thing but you can't help but watch. Like Bond the car has a swagger just sitting there. It looks at you, as it knows what it is capable of. The question is do you? Butch, not particularly beautiful in the traditional sense but so purposeful and beautiful in a way an F1 race car can relate to. You know every damn thing on the is designed FOR A REASON. In a world where cars are getting bigger, heavier, humongous, the LFA fights that. Purity comes to mind.

This is a Lexus unlike anything you could have thought of. The flat black paint is marvelous and adds to the cars charm. It looks like it just did 500 laps at the Nurburgring and is on the way to Fuji to do more. The headlights and gaping mouth speak pissed off Samurai and very proud to be Japanese. You then notice the air intakes at the rear, which are seemingly perfect in size, not to big, not to small. You notice the doors curve but the bottom of the car is flat as Europeans thought the Earth was. You get to the rear and with the spoiler recessed it is a clean look, even with those gaping mesh outlets. The exhaust pipes are fantastic looking.

Execution to a T.I walk away as I don't want the LFA to think I am staring, especially at its nice nice person. So I do....and then you notice the stance. If every Lexus/car had fitment like this aftermarket wheel companies would be out of business. The 20" BBS forged wheels look the business, yet the spokes are thick enough to present strength. You notice the tires are thin and you also notice no tire shine as this car is here to GO, not SHOW. You go past the wheels as they are open spokes to the huge Carbon Ceramic brakes, with subtle gloss black calipers. No bright red/yellow, orange. This LFA doesn't need to shout anything to anybody. You can see the wear on the brakes, like a good pair of worn in basketball shoes you can stop well in.

This is an EVENT. The car idling sounds amazing, it sounds powerful. You expect to see the car shaking. Instead it is a proper Lexus, a gentleman and sits there patiently. If the LFA could talk, it would say "time to go, now" in a stern yet polite voice. I did. The door opens and has a wonderful sound, again like a Lexus. You notice it is a thick door and well, this is going to be a drop to enter. I sat and it kind of became slightly surreal. Not only am I going to ride in a LFA but Scott Pruett is in the driver's seat. At the same time I am looking at the interior. It was a lot to absorb for those initial seconds.

The interior is magnificent. The center console so daring, different, yet logical. The NAV screen is slightly under the air vents to prevent glare. The contrasting stitching is not overdone as this car had white leather seats. The LCD drivers screen is visible in bright sunlight with no issues from my seat. Legroom is fine, clearly not great but more than ample. The LFA does feel very compact in a good way as there is no space wasted. The view straight ahead is clear. You really feel as if you are riding on the ground, like Fred Flinstone with his feet. It only adds to the charm, to the knowledge that "low mass" was one of the main goals.

Scott Pruett is a class act. I told Mr. Pruett I have followed his races and it was an honor to meet him. He replied with a smile and "thank you" and when I asked him to sign my LFA booklet he gladly did. The attractive Lexus lady then comes over and says "I will take those, don't want them flying around". :uh: They were in my hands. Odd I thought. Mr. Pruett than asks "so what is the fastest you have gone"? I reply "almost 155 mph (if you are good you can find me talking about in the 2GS forum, funny but I did it in Florida). He grins.

Ready for Takeoff. The seatbelts feel fantastic, soft yet strong. My helmet does hit the roof but I am taller than most. I let the others go before me for a few reasons, mostly so the tires get nice and warm. I would not be disappointed. The dash is unlike anything ever built as you look forward. Amazingly, even if it shares nothing with another Lexus, it felt and looked like one. For an exotic, it is just luxurious and appropriate. I can see a previous Lexus owner having no issues with ergonomics. Now with the helmet on, you can't see behind you as a passenger and the side windows are small. The front dips.

If you want to know what a bullet feels like, ride in the LFA on an embankment. He slowly gets out the pitlane and even with the helmet on, the sound is unreal. He has both hands on the steering wheel and you can see paddle shifters are perfectly placed. We start out slow and then it kind of reminds me of the starship enterprise going into warp speed. ENGAGED The LFA literally takes off. There is no warning of this. You just get pressed into the rear of the seat. The "G" force is incredible. The V-10 roars in approval. The next feeling is like going up an elevator at 100 mph. We are going straight up the embankment and if you haven't been on one before, you don't really see road initially, you see the sky. We turn and after I finish saying "aaaammmaaziiing" he turns and goes around the oval. Ride compliance felt pretty darn good for an all out race car with 30 series 20" tires built with all out performance in mind on an oval. It was not overbearing (even on the roadcourse). That is when you notice four things.
1. The car sounds absolutely incredible.
2. You are pinned into the seat. You are not moving around.
3. The shifts are felt each time. (Lexus has done this on purpose, to give the car feel. It is not the final shift pattern/quality).
4. The car feels like it is molded out of some unearthly metal. To say "stiff" is an understatement.

Sorry how fast again?Mr. Pruett then is kind enough to tell you how fast we are going. It is one thing to go over 150 mph in a GS 400 as I have done. It is another to do it in a LFA. The LFA does this task in a lap, Mr. Pruett says "158" calmly. I say "#($#()# amazing" politely. :woot: . The GS 400 in comparison would take 14 days. Well there is no comparison. The LFA makes it feel like an EVENT, it WANTS to go 150 mph, it WANTS to go faster. FEED ME FEED ME FEED ME.
Any other Lexus I've drive over 100 mph feels like the engine is saying one thing and the suspension is saying another. THERE IS NO ARGUMENT in the LFA. To describe it, it would be like Noah and his ark. Noah put two of every animal on that ark and dang it that was his singular purpose. The LFA knows it's entire purpose is to ROCK YOUR WORLD.

The Virgin. Well right when you thought I was finished the fun fun fun starts. The small, tight road course. Virgin comes to mind to describe it. And if you are with a Virgin, in something like the LFA, you are going to go hard and fast and finish. :bigok:
Scott likes virgins. He is driving the LFA like a bat out of hell. He is driving it like there are 500 other LFAs at the track if he crashes one. The LFA doesn't flinch, doesn't argue with Mr. Pruett's inputs. Not one tire squeal. Not one sound from any electronic gizmo's. All you hear is the engine roar (and me screaming like a 3 year old). You need to fully understand that Mr. Pruett did not hold back on the LFA. There is no way I could have come remotely close to his execution and with how you drove this car. If I was wealthy and could not drive very well, I would simply hire him to take me on joy rides IN MY OWN LFA.

The LFA laughs. We enter the first corner with what I thought was sensational speed but I soon realized Scott was the master and the LFA could handle this. The virgin is then when I understood why this car costs so much and any target or competition. We hit the first apex and before I can blink, we hit the second apex, left to right. The rear of the car does not swing out. I could not believe it. Instead you feel how sticky the tires are, how strong the chassis is, how the 52% rear distribution is working. You then enter a sweeping corner thinking he is going to slow down. Well he does. The carbon ceramic brakes grip with authority. So much authority I felt I had the brake pedals and I was pressing them. To say they were impressive would be another understatement. He then shoots out the brake zone and I swear the LFA is saying to Scott "Is this all you got"? Scott replies in kind, hitting another apex, braking, coming out another corner, braking and the LFA just obeys. Over and over. The LFA obeys without disagreeing with the driver. I could not believe the entry, stopping and exit speed. Utterly amazing.

My body didn't roll. I understand why they put so much effort into low mass. Why this car took 10 years. Why they chose purity. My head moved some. My body didn't. It was not because of the seats or seatbelt. It is by design. If I didn't have my seatbelt on, if there were no seats in the car, you could drink hot Green tea, make a club sandwich, fry your bacon for your club sandwich while using your new iPad telling Clublexus you are in the LFA as you type. I am not saying this to say it was soft or boring at all, hell no! I am explaining that the carbon fiber and aluminum chassis works so well there is no flex or movement inside the car. Simply incredible. Unlike anything I've been in.

The shifting felt like a shotgun. And we were the bullets. In a wonderful, slightly course way, he would shift and immediately the car was in the gear he selected but you could "feel" it. I swear it felt like we were the bullets in a shotgun and every shift was another shot! I assume it is to give the feeling of shifting a tough manual/clutch in a car with 552 hp. It felt GREAT and added character to the LFA.

Yes it is a Lexus.I want to remind you this car has over 4000 miles on it and all they have changed are brake pads and tires. Not 4000 miles on Rodeo drive, 4000 miles driving like it is the bull at the Rodeo! Let me explain to you the car arrived Monday and was driving like mad that day, driven like mad Tuesday and the day I was there Wednesday, from 8am to 1pm Mr. Pruett simply drove back to back any lucky Lexus enthusiast there. The LFA laughs at what you think is a workout. No smoke from the engine, no leaks, no fuss. Not one flinch. The A/C works. The rear spoiler doesn't get stuck. As a matter of fact, you could literally take your LFA to any dealer and GET THE OIL CHANGED in the usual wait time (this is per Lexus!!).

The LFA changed my perception on drivers and automobiles. As the ride came to a close and we slowed in the pit lane I was smiling ear to ear. I thanked Mr. Pruett for being kind and also for not holding back. He showed me and surely everyone else there what the cars full capabilities were on that track. Now everyone else seemed to get out the car pretty subtle but I could not hold in my excitement. I jumped up and down and yelled "WHOO HOO" at the top of my lungs!! I also have a new appreciation for race car drivers. That is no joke, you have to be in tip top shape to handle that sport. Kudos to them.

Riding in the LFA with Scott at Homestead for a few minutes> driving 1600+ miles in 24 hours to ride in the LFA...

scratch...

Riding in the LFA with Scott at Homestead for a few minutes> all my driving in my entire life.

I looked back at the LFA and it looked to say........................................................................

"don't doubt me, crown me".
Click to expand...

1SMUGLEX · Jul 8, 2010

At Goodwood...

New commercial

daniel · Jul 8, 2010

If it's not electric, I'm not interested.

Tideland Prius · Jul 10, 2010

Sounds like a great event, 1smuglex!

Voltan · Jul 11, 2010

silentak1 said: ↑

I don't know about everyone else, but if I really had that type of dough sitting around, I'd end up in a Porsche 911 Turbo, GT2/GT3, Ferrari 360 or some other type of Exotic... just not a Lexus.
Click to expand...

By virtue of its unique carbon fiber construction and projected limited numbers, it is every bit as exotic as the vehicles you mention.

praecurvo · Jul 11, 2010

Fortunately, being an auto enthusiast, I know everything about this car...This car is phenomenal. It is just not a car to be truly appreciated by this forum.
aaron

xs650 · Sep 12, 2010

praecurvo said: ↑

Fortunately, being an auto enthusiast, I know everything about this car...This car is phenomenal. It is just not a car no be truly appreciated by this forum.
aaron
Click to expand...

When did you drive it?

hill · Sep 12, 2010

I don't believe the first one will even be delivered for at least a couple more months ... even though the folk in line have already pony'd up the cash. Unbelievable.

.

SW03ES · Sep 13, 2010

And remember...its $275,000...for a 2 year lease! Paid in advance!

The $375,000 Lexus LF-A

hill High Fiber Member

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1SMUGLEX I love the smug!

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The $375,000 Lexus LF-A

hill High Fiber Member

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