With a price that'd almost buy you any two Italian supercars, the Lexus LFA was expected by many to be a tough sell--including us. But it turns out there are at least 500 people in the world with the money to step up to the table, as the entirety of the 500-unit production planned is already spoken for.
We're not exactly sure why the $375,000 lease-only (in the U.S., anyway) car has taken off so well, but it must have something to do with the unique status of the car. While Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Porsche make several models of their sports and touring cars, the Lexus LFA stands alone--and given the cost of the venture, is likely to remain alone for the foreseeable future. That breeds a sort of inherent collectibility, regardless of the car's merits.
Not that the LFA isn't meritorious. It's a capable, sweet-sounding vehicle packed with enough technolgy to make the Nissan GT-R look like an early-90s Kia. But at the same time, it's not twice as good as the Ferrari 458 Italia or even the Porsche 911 GT3--though it costs about twice as much as the former and more than three times as much as the latter.
Whatever the reason behind it, you've missed your chance if you were looking to get one. And with a mandatory, non-transferable 2-year lease in the U.S. to circumvent price-fixing regulations, you won't even be able to pick one up on the Stateside used market until at least 2013, as the first examples won't be delivered until sometime next year.
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