Tokyo 2009: Lexus LFA super car finally revealed

Look out Mercedes SLS et al, Lexus has finally tossed its hat into the super car ring with its ambitious new LFA. In development since 2000, the rear-wheel drive V10-powered coupe is a “clean-sheet” design, capable of 0-100 km/h in just 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 325 km/h.

Created by a small team of engineers, only 500 examples will be hand-built at the Motomachi plant in Toyota City, Japan.

The LFA’s naturally aspirated V10, developed with Yamaha, will also be hand-assembled and signed-off by a single technician. It’s Lexus’ first 10-cylinder engine. Capable of a heady 9,000 rpm redline, it makes 552 horsepower at 8,700 rpm and 354 lb-ft of torque at 6,800 rpm.

Lexus says the front-mid mounted engine is about the size of a V8 and weighs about as much as a V6. A race-inspired dry-sump lubrication system is used. Forgive us for drooling, but engineers say the LFA’s exhaust note, “is inspired by the sound of a Formula 1 engine at full revs and is unlike that of any other road car.”

The LFA’s only transmission is a purpose-designed, rear-mounted, six-speed Automated Sequential Gearbox (ASG). Operated via paddle shifters, an up-shift takes just 0.2 seconds and the tranny has four driving modes: Auto, Sport, Normal and Wet.

The chassis and bodywork of the Lexus LFA are largely Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic (CFRP). The components are built in-house at Toyota, drawing on the automaker’s textile weaving heritage. To fabricate parts for the super car, new carbon fibre looms and laser monitoring was developed.

Lexus says, CFRP accounts for 65 percent of the super coupe’s body-in-white. It has four times the strength of aluminum and saves around 100 kg (220 lbs.). Aluminum alloy is used for the remaining 35 percent of the car. The LFA’s curb weight is 1,480kg (3,262 lbs.)

You probably already know the LFA was track-tuned at the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife in Germany, thanks to countless months of spy shots. The car rides on an extensively aluminum wishbone front/multilink rear suspension. Its monotube dampers are the same used for the LFA racecar in the Nurburgring 24-hour race.

The Lexus’ standard disc brakes are a Carbon Ceramic Material (CCM), lighter than steel and fade-free for track use. The LFA wears six-piston aluminum calipers up from and four-pots in the rear. The standard wheels are 20-inch forged BBS alloys.

That term “hand-built,” comes up again in the cabin. Highlights include leather and Alcantara seats, exposed matte and gloss carbon fibre, brushed metal and floor-hinged brake and throttle pedals made of forged aluminum.

The LFA will likely be around $400,000 Cdn. and surely scarce.