Lexus LF-A still testing at Nurburgring

Posted Thu Sep 18 2008 6:31 AM by Ralph Hanson

More prototypes confirm Lexus LF-A development is ongoing

Lexus has always positioned itself as being more about luxury than outright performance, but that is about to change with the new LF-A supercar due to be launched sometime next year. Destined to compete against cars such as the Ferrari F430 and Lamborghini Gallardo, the LF-A will come well prepared, likely to feature a 5.0L V10 engine churning out 500hp (373kW).

A hybrid variant will also be available, but it’s unknown how much power this version will have or what affect the heavy batteries and extra motor will have on handling and weight.

The car's front mid-engine placement, along with a rear-mounted transaxle and rear-mounted radiators, should allow for excellent weight distribution, however. Lexus has billed the concept version of the car as having a top speed in excess of 200mph, and we have no reason to doubt the production version will reach these limits if it’s sold unrestricted.

These latest spy shots don’t reveal many new details that weren’t already visible in previous shots, but they confirm that Lexus engineers are still hard at work finetuning the car. There was speculation that the project may have been cancelled but this seems very odd considering the time and investment already spent on it.

Lexus corporate product planning manager Ben Mitchell, meanwhile, recently confirmed the price of the LF-A would “begin with a two,” while an inside source has also stated that the final price is likely to be closer to $225,000.

Gallery: Lexus LF-A spy shots September 2008

Reader Comments

Mon May 26 2008 6:52 AM
Strada Auto Store says

Thank you for the photos! It will be interesting to see the final version.
Mon May 26 2008 9:09 AM
bc says

Cant believe the price... I would much rather have the GT-R over this (assuming you are able to get a GT-R).
Mon May 26 2008 12:18 PM
Dre says

@bc..

read.. "assumed to be" .....
Mon May 26 2008 12:32 PM
Gus says

Engine bay? What engine bay? Looks like a big piece of plastic... :)
Mon May 26 2008 5:33 PM
bambam says

We will just wait and see. it sound be good but no one expects perfect or a masterpiece
Tue May 27 2008 3:58 PM
Andy says

I disagree bambam - many people thought the same about Nissan and then the GT-R came out and blew a lot of critics away.

I think Toyota could have a real gem on their hands here.
Tue Nov 11 2008 5:53 PM
b59 says

This would definitely add the excitement toyota has been missing since it killed of the supra, also it should do much to establish lexus and move it away from toyota.

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