The Lexus LFA was only ever built for a single model year, and it’s likely the company lost money on each of the 500 examples it sold, despite the astronomical $375,000 price tag. But that doesn’t mean the project was a failure, as the halo effect it’s had on the rest of the Lexus lineup, at a time when the company was attempting to shed its staid image, is immeasurable. That’s why it’s likely Lexus will build a successor to the LFA one day.
According to Lexus executive vice president Mark Templin, a successor to the LFA may be launched in the longer term. He explained that Toyota president Akio Toyoda is keen on the idea.
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“Akio believes that every generation deserves to have a car like an LFA, so we’re building an LFA for the generation we have today,” Templin told Bloomberg. “At some point, there may be another special car for another generation.”
Unfortunately, a Lexus spokesman was quick to point out that Templin’s “another generation” comment could be about 30 years in the future.
Lexus fans shouldn’t be too disappointed, however. That’s because the company is working on a new high-end coupe based on its LF-LC concept car, which will likely revive the SC name when it debuts in the next couple of years. The new coupe will come with roughly the same power as the 552-horsepower LFA but a price tag less than a third that of the LFA’s sticker.
Interestingly, during the same Bloomberg interview, Templin revealed that the LFA was originally meant to be a $120,000 coupe but the amount of technology and features quickly inflated the price. The change in requirements also led to long delays in its development.
