Filed under: Sports/GTs, Lexus, Toyota, Rumormill
Rumormill: Lexus LF-A... Stillborn?
by Justin Gardiner on Aug 28th 2008 at 12:27PM 
Click above for a high-res gallery of the Lexus LF-A concept.
The writing has been on the wall for some time. Although the Lexus flagship graduated from "concept" to "prototype" when it campaigned in the 24 Hours of Nurburgring, Toyota has refused to even hint at a production date for the V10 supercar. Then Toyota declined to plonk an LF-A silhouette on their Super GT racer, electing to continue with the doomed SC 430 jello mold.
Then news broke that production cars would cost a whopping $225,000, but the LF-A still wouldn't turn a profit. Needless to say, Toyota doesn't like things that are not profitable.
Finally, members of the testing and development crew who have been putting the car though its paces in Germany, as well as test drivers from rival Honda and Nissan crews, have told Autoblog that the LF-A is not destined for the showroom, and will remain only a development platform.
No reasons were given, but we can think of a couple. How many people are willing to part with nigh on a quarter of a million bucks for a Toyota/Lexus? Also, the world's most prolific car maker may not be willing to join the current Nurburgring pissing contest unless it is 100% sure that they can beat the Viper, ZR-1 and perhaps more importantly, the GT-R and upcoming NSX replacement.
Actually, one 'Ring test driver didn't mind going on the record with his opinion. Former Nissan racer, NSX development driver and Nurburgring legend Motoharu "Gan-san" Kurosawa reckons, "Toyota are good at making money, but they're no good at making sports cars."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
why not the LS2LS7? 12:34PM (8/28/2008)
I know there are a lot of negative reasons listed there, but I think canceling the LF-A is a good idea. They can always do it later or instead adapt an existing car instead of making a new one (like the IS-F).
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aman 12:50PM (8/28/2008)
I agree. While I would love to see this in the showroom, it's a very good business move by Toyota.
I'm just hoping they have something else planned for enthusiasts.
Why not something like a Supra with about 450-500 hp, 70-80 grand, something to go head to head with the GT-R.
Bluestreak 1:02PM (8/28/2008)
I agree as well. Supercar flagships are always exciting, but the timing is bad for it now. Affordable, economical performance is the ticket now, which is why I'm interested in the Toyota/Subaru joint effort that is rumored. A successor for the AE86 would be a blast.
MemphisNET 1:16PM (8/28/2008)
I doubt losing money on one vehicle, when they make mega-bucks on everything else, is going to hurt them.
Sometimes you just gotta whip it out.
Franz 1:39PM (8/28/2008)
Profit, schmofit. They should've just done what VW did with the Veyron and build the darn thing. It's not like Toyota's broke...
Forget all that... I'm just bitter. I agree it probably wouldn't have made much sense from a business point of view, but It showed so much promise. Shame it won't make it to production.
iSpec 12:36PM (8/28/2008)
Welcome to the Big 3, Toyota. You've inherited the coveted #1 spot once held by GM. Now you're looking like GM, ramming offerings thru without thinking, and looking moronic doing it. Your Tundra is a disaster, Scion is negligible and even Lexus, the golden child, is even putting out red-headed step-children. Makes me laugh
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Matty 1:07PM (8/28/2008)
Maybe this is a belt-tightening measure to prevent a GM-like meltdown.
Doug 12:37PM (8/29/2008)
last time i checked, toyota still means profit and the big 3 still mean FAIL.
Torrent 4:24AM (9/04/2008)
Your mom means fail, Doug.
The big 3 have come a long way...
Tim 12:40PM (8/28/2008)
I'll have to take issue with the Toyota can't make sports cars. The Supra, MR2, MR-s were class leading in handling and performance and could match anything in the price range. The sport compact Celica (all generations) had sharp handling and bulletproof reliability. Even the old Lexus SC was fast and handled well despite being softly sprung. However the world is not ready for a 200k lexus unless it had some advanced green tech like the telsa. Even Benz is having a hard time selling their large coupes and roadsters. Now is not the time for performance cars.
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Tourian 12:47PM (8/28/2008)
While those cars may have their fans, that just weren't commercially succesful, and that's mainly what history remembers as well as motorsports accomplishments. The MKIV Supra was the only one that came close and it just didn't stay on the market long enough or sell in enough numbers to be called one of the greatest among sports cars.
fobunited 12:50PM (8/28/2008)
I beg to differ... the only true iconic sports car Toyota built was the MKIV Supra. I don't consider the Celica a true sports car since it's front wheel drive, and the MR-S was special because it used a mid-engine chassis and was designed by Lotus.
The reason the MKIV was ahead of its time was largely due to it's relatively low price for a sports car and it's low weight due to use of aluminum, something that wasn't heavily used back in the mid '90s. In today's automitive world, Carbon Fiber is the new aluminum, and much more expensive. Toyota won't be able to produce a new iconic sports car that is relatively priced, and puts up good performance numbers without losing money, and Toyota is in the business of making money.
mk 1:09PM (8/28/2008)
Mark IV Supra was not a sports car. It had more than two seats. It was a Grand Touring car, with LOTS of power. It was a big car, Like the 3000GT/Stealth. At least the 300ZX had only two seats normally, with a +2 variant.
The Celica was not a sports car either, again, more than two seats. It was a FWD Sport Coupe.
The MR2 was the only real sports car, having only two seats, and everything, including practicality took a "back seat" to the act of driving. On the MR Spyder, even that figurative back seat was as non-existent as the literal back seats.
The Lexus SC is a luxury GT, as is the IS-F.
That has less to do with power than it does the actual design intent of the vehicle. GT coupes, and even sedans can be very good performance cars, without being strict sports cars.
Now, the Supra/hybrid concept has been canned. The LF-A is evidently canned, which I can't say is a surprise. 250k??? HA HA.
The Subaru/Toyota is the only thing resembling a sporty car. (tC is an econobox in coupe clothing.) And they need Subaru to actually build it to the price point they are aiming for.
No good at making sporty cars, indeed. Nice Job, Toyota. All that money, all that marketshare, and you still fail to build anything worth turning the wheel of. Congratulations on your FAILure.
Tourian 1:41PM (8/28/2008)
@mk
Come on, man. You're not seriously going to pull out the "classic" sports car definition into this discussion are you? If you are then you have to go all the way, because "classic" sports cars are not really suposed to have fixed roofs either. The Miata and S2000 are about the only modern offering from Japan these days that fir that outdated (IMO) model and I don't think "gan-san" is only talking about those, but in the fact that Nissan has done well with the Skyline, the Fairlady, the Sylvia Mazda did great with the FD and the Miata, Honda with the NSX and S2000 and I'm sure he would say the Mitsubishi Evo and Subaru WRX are great sports cars too even though they are 4 door sedans.
David Fekete 7:53AM (8/30/2008)
I had a MR2. I bought it instead of a Harley. Great handling and quite fast. I love the way they look too. However !....Toyota should have put some kind of a trunk in it. My wife and I couldn't even go over night somewhere with it, no place for a small bag. Also, talk about hiding the oil filter !...ridiculous.
Isuzu32 12:41PM (8/28/2008)
I guess I can also point out that a "Lexus Supercar" that may not be as fast as other cars 1/3 it's price, won't be a car that everyone will jump on buying. Of course it would sell, but not like a GT-R or a ZR1. I think the same type of situation will come up with the new NSX, but I bet Honda still builds that.
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Tourian 12:42PM (8/28/2008)
I guess you must mean later after the GT-R Vspec and new NSX comes out so they can make sure their car that will probably cost twice as much as those two performs better, or claim that the market coditions are not right for a 1/4 million dollar car if by some chance it doesn't. Sounds like the article is just saying Toyota it trying to avoid embarrassing themselves. I seriously doubt a IS based car can do anything to overcome what a ZR-1, GT-R, or ACR could do. But this car with its reportedly absurd low curb weight, F1 techno based V10, "should" be able come out on top no matter what. But if it didn't...
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nastinupe 12:44PM (8/28/2008)
This car is going to be one of those legends that we will hear of in the future. It never came to be so it will always be the "what if" of Toyota.
I wonder how much the few cars that were made will go for when the go to the chopping block in 10 years.
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Adam Marcello 1:02PM (8/28/2008)
If they let it die it will be forgotten in a year. I saw nothing particularly intriguing about this car. Simply a lexus with a big motor and questionable styling.
John R 12:45PM (8/28/2008)
I don't know what they were thinking. Would it have been a wonderful machine, most likely yes. But A number of other products should have been rolled out first. Namely one (Supra) to take on the 350Z.
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