Production Lexus LF-A Spied Inside & Out

Lexus LF-A Prototype on Nurburgring

By Thami Masemola
June 17, 2009 2:24 PM
Filed Under: Japanese, Lexus, Spy Photos, Supercars

New spy pictures of the Lexus LF-A production version during another shakedown have appeared. For the first time a small part of the interior appears in the pictures. Not much can be seen except for the steering wheel which appears to be made of carbon fiber and the massive gear peddles behind the steering wheel. The dashboard seems to be covered in Alcantara.

Previous spy shots and a video showed a rear wing and diffuser. The LF-A is a sports car said to possess a V10 engine worth over 500hp (368kW). Reports have suggested that it will be launched sometime in 2011. Some economic experts believe that by then the economic climate would have improved. In cotranst, Toyota rival Honda is not taking chances with buyers who are currently pressed for money. Last year the company shelved plans to introduce its own NSX supercar quite late in its development programme.

Lexus is said to be readying the LF-A production model for a public appearance at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show. A 4.8-litre V10 racing version took part at the 24-hour Nürburgring last month.

 

Tags: Lexus LF-A

Comments

Wojtek
June 17, 2009 2:51 PM
whatever... maybe this car will be great but the brand is lame.

Renegade
June 17, 2009 2:59 PM
The cars make the brand....

Wojtek
June 17, 2009 3:34 PM
...and the customers. ok, let me put it this way: they produce rx400h (which is IMO one of the worst looking and most pointless cars ever) and some pensionary cars, so they have to launch a lot of cool models to change their image.

This might be the first step...

Narco
June 17, 2009 4:17 PM
From a business perspective, the rx is one of their most profitable ventures. And its actually a great car - both the 300 and 400h. However, I understand that you say you only want lexus to produce 10,000 hp sports cars with turbine engines and 3g cornering forces, so to make yourself look cool in the eyes of the rest of the stevens on this board. However, in order to stay in business and have more than 1000 customers, lexus has to product products that will have more than 2 seats and have utility function, just in case you actually need to go to home depot and get some topsoil for your garden.

So don't knock the rx. It and the camry are the only reason you have the lf-a. And to be honest, those cars are rather nice.

Fishes,

Narco.


Edited by user on June 17, 2009 at 4:20 PM
jdmgtr
June 17, 2009 9:43 PM
You're lame. Take one look back at the 2000GT, and then call Toyota "lame".

wjaprep
June 18, 2009 4:33 AM
agreed. Lexus makes me sleepy.

scratchy996
June 19, 2009 3:48 PM
somehow Lexus always makes me think of laxatives for some reason.

archytype
June 17, 2009 3:16 PM
styling-wise it's a bit ahead of the Nissan GT, which looks circa 1995. The front is styled more conservative, while the rear is supercar. I appreciate the hatch in profile to avoid the phallic look. If there was abit more chiseling on the hood I'd say this car looks thoroughly modern, which in supercar years gives this about 2-3 years before they start dropping the price to make a sale.


Edited by user on June 17, 2009 at 3:27 PM
Prince_Ash
June 17, 2009 3:20 PM
intresting, id like to see how this car fares. and i hope that this would bring lexus back out of the background like the IS300 did way back when. hopefully this will show that lexus can actually make high end sports cars instead of the day to day over luxury four door saloon.

fujiturbo
June 17, 2009 5:56 PM
I think RX400h is cool. It has a power and style, innovation and looks. I think it's about time that Lexus showed it's rough side. It better be tough from what it looks to be.

SigSauer
June 17, 2009 6:34 PM
I prefer Lexus over any other Asian car company. I do hope that when this comes out it'll crush the Nissan GT-R, but I doubt it. Looks nice, but you can clearly see styling cues from the GT-R.

RobERob
June 18, 2009 1:42 AM
Styling cues from a GT-R? I see more styling cues from it's predecessor; the Toyota supra. I don't see any more resemblance to the GT-R than I do a GT-R to a Porsche.

Airbag
June 17, 2009 6:39 PM
Great interior from the looks of it, but still, it says Lexus on the front. Badge it as a Toyota and we'll talk.

N20_Purge
June 17, 2009 6:59 PM
Looks awesome, maybe Lexus are really starting to get their brand out of it's boring reputation, but has to be really good to be a Porsche 911 Turbo/Nissan GT-R beater.

HEMI426
June 17, 2009 7:35 PM
THIS IS THE BEST LEXUS EVER. Now hopfully lexus isn't so stupid to limited the production, allways good for some extra cash. This engine is the engine the should be in the next M5, no v8 turbo

500lbman
June 18, 2009 3:56 PM
This engine is already in the M5. The M5 has had a 500+ horsepower V10 in the M5 since 2006.

Scuderia-Paul
June 17, 2009 10:40 PM
I have high hopes for this car. I like Lexus but think it could do with adding another dimension to it's brand reputation and this LF-A should be the car to do that. It has it's work cut to better the GT-R but the IS-F was better than anybody expected so maybe just maybe Lexus will pull it off. Plus, it has been in development for about 1000 years so there has been sufficient time to hone the dynamics.

The steering wheel looks a reason in itself to buy one plus the rest of the interior should be special.


Edited by user on June 17, 2009 at 10:43 PM
500lbman
June 18, 2009 3:59 PM
This car will be 8 years old when they release it. I would love to hear who, if you had $100,000+ to spend on a sports car, would buy this over all the stuff Audi, M-B, BMW, Aston Martin, Bentley, even Chevy and Nissan has to offer.

HEMI426
June 18, 2009 4:23 PM
500lbman, I mean the next BMW M5 for 2011 or so, that one gets the same engine as the x5M and X6M, that's no v10

scratchy996
June 19, 2009 3:52 PM
so you want the next M5 to have a weaker engine that the 550 hp turbo V8 ?

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