One more massive Lexus LF-A leak, with specs
by Damon Lavrinc on Oct 20th 2009 at 6:48PM 
Lexus LF-A - Click above for high-res image gallery
The Tokyo Motor Show countdown continues with yet another round of Lexus LF-A leakage courtesy of OmniAuto. Check out the gallery below to get up close and personal with the official shots of the LF-A before we bring you live impressions from the floor. But before you do, get a load of the preliminary specs:
- 4.8-liter 72-degree V10 putting out 560 hp at 8,700 RPM (that's 116.5 hp/liter) and 354 lb.-ft. of torque at 6,800 RPM
- Redline: 9,000 RPM
- Titanium valves, connecting rods, forged aluminum pistons, dry sump lubrication and a titanium exhaust manifold
- Six-speed sequential gearbox
- Torsen limited slip differential
- 3,263 pounds with a 48/52 front-to-rear weight distribution
- Power-to-weight ratio of 5.8 pounds/hp
- 65 percent of the body is carbon fiber
- 20-inch BBS wheels wrapped in 265/35 ZR20 Bridgestone tires in front and 305/30 ZR20 in the rear.
- 0-62 MPH (100 km/h) in 3.7 seconds
- Top speed of 201.94 MPH
- Production limited to 500 units
Gallery: Lexus LFA
[Source: OmniAuto]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 10)
Hicks 7:07PM (10/20/2009)
not all that impressed
Reply
daleam 7:17PM (10/20/2009)
After the FT-86 Toyota is going to have a hard time impressing me with anything else. Build that sucker!
Franz 7:55PM (10/20/2009)
I'm very impressed with the stats, but sadly not the looks. I thought the original LF-A concept was beautiful, but in all honesty I find the front of this to look eerily similar to the last gen Supra with a Veilside or some other overdone body kit on it. I'm sure it's gonna be an amazing performer, but IMO too much has been lost in translation from concept to production, design wise.
Imag 8:17PM (10/20/2009)
The NSX is not a car to be judged by the numbers. If we were able to drive the full set of $200K cars, I don't think we'd be caught up in exact horsepower or zero to sixty times. The driving experience is what is important at this level.
One thing Toyota have done well with here is weight distribution. The dynamic balance is what makes for a fun drive, and I have a feeling they have done this right. Moving the radiators rearward governs a lot of the looks, and it's a neat idea. And, whatever people say, 3200 lbs. with a V10 and all the luxury toys is reasonably light, considering modern safety crap. The Evora has a V6, is smaller, and is made by Lotus, and it still weighs 3000 lbs.
I'm not a JDM fanboy, but I think this car is gorgeous. I think it's impressive, and I'm glad Toyota did it. Everyone seems to want to bash on them because they showed the auto industry how to build some of the best cars in the world - they are the reason BMW, Audi, and Porsche got their sh!t together. Toyota lost the fun to drive aspect in the mix, but they build damned fine automobiles, and I think it's great that they did something that will compete with Ferrari. Sometimes it seems like people will complain about anything - too slow, too fast, too expensive - then they clamor for car companies to build something all out. Toyota did. It's a cool car that no one on here will ever own.
As for it being a failure, I have a feeling there are way more than 500 people who would value an exclusive pinnacle of Japanese engineering, one that will forever be a collectors item, more than a run of the mill Ferrari.
Carlos 8:26PM (10/20/2009)
That torque number is underwhelming, you have to rev the piss out of this engine to extract maximum performance out of it. It peaks at almost 7k rpm that is hilarious. Why not go with a larger displacement engine? Area of torque curve > peak horse power
futurama 8:41PM (10/20/2009)
@Imag
Nice write up. Very well said! I couldn't agree more with you. It looks to be a very impressive car. Can't believe to see what experts has to say about driving dynamics of this car.
Franz 8:58PM (10/20/2009)
In a world where people on here regularly bash a car like the Nissan GT-R for being too easy to drive, here we have the same kind of people bashing this car because you have to rev it to get the most performance out of it... so what? Some of us who love to drive actually enjoy caning it up to redline every time. And for those who say the torque number is very low, how come I NEVER EVER heard one complaint about a Lamborghini Gallardo being down on torque (5.2 liter V10, 398 lb. ft.... and the original Gallardo only had 369)? Or a Ferrari F430 Scuderia (about 350 lb. ft)? Or an Audi R8 5.2 (same engine as a Gallardo, but less torque on tap)? Gimme a break. Some of you guys are so biased it's pathetic.
thipps 9:19PM (10/20/2009)
i agree. as a designer it visually looks very heavy handed and busy.
if i was going to pay 200k for a car a toyota wouldn't even register on my list. every video i have seen of this car all i can think about is how much it looks like the zr1 from a distance. the zr1 is a far better car except for the interior. but if the zr1 cost 200k if sure that would be addressed. ZR1 makes 540 torque at the wheels and 571hp. i cant wait to see what the C7 corvette will do!!!!!
The story is the ZR1 will embarrass the LF-A
Clay Garland 9:35PM (10/20/2009)
Wat ZR1 makes 571HP? It's about 640. and 604 Lb Ft.
Franz 9:37PM (10/20/2009)
@ Clay Garland:
Guess you missed the "at the wheels" part.
zamafir 9:37PM (10/20/2009)
After reading actual driving impressions of the car. And the Staggering cost. I'm with hicks.
"The chassis is great and the soundtrack superb. But this is not a £325k car. It doesn’t look like one, doesn’t accelerate like one and, whether Lexus likes it or not, it doesn’t have the badge or motorsport/supercar pedigree that many image-conscious supercar buyers demand.
At the £150k the new Ferrari 458 or McLaren MP4-12C will cost, you could make a strong case for the new Lexus LF-A, but at £325,000, it just doesn’t add up."
I don't care how you slice it, double the cost of the 458? double the cost of the MP4-12C? no. Just. Plain. No.
Tool 10:28PM (10/20/2009)
"Production limited to 500 units"????
WTF? That seems very un-Toyota like to do a halo car like this but do in such limited volume.
zamafir 10:36PM (10/20/2009)
@Tool - they're loosing money on every one. I'm struggling to find a point to this project, really. The most efficient producer of cars needs several multitudes more money to manage to meet Ferrari, Mclaren, Corvette (ZR1) et-al at their game, and can't make a profit on the car... and this is supposed to establish them as a player? wow.
IRONFIST 10:41PM (10/20/2009)
@Hicks
100% agree with you. Sorry that everyone is taking away your stars just for telling it how it is. Oh well, not all of us are Toyota fanboys. Lucky us.
Level 1:25AM (10/21/2009)
I agree I'm not impress at all given the fact it has been in R&D testing for like over 5 years now....Lexus is the new kid on the block to join the "super car" world and for the time it had bringing this car to market it had to have come with something better...The GT-R is a JDM super car...The Z51 is the poor mans Ferrari...The Ford GT was the poor mans exotic...Where does the Lexus fit?? it's just "average" it doesn't over achieve in any department over the competition....This might have the same tq numbers as a Gallardo but the Gallordo is a exotic looking sob compared to the Lexus looking like a GT car so it doesn't even have the WOW factor going for it....If anybody is going to do a Halo car they should of looked over at Ford with the Ford GT it had the price on check cheaper then this, the Lamborghini factor "exotic" looking, better performance then a Ferrari, the exclusivity as all, and the collectivity factor, plus the heritage of beating the best without using or bragging that it's made of CF....
When you look at this car the first question comes to mind, What is it supposed to be??? and represent??? If it's just suppose to represent the best that Toyota/Lexus can do then great but in every other department the competition has it beat...All the other cars have something going for them this one like the IS-F has no soul just the average new kid on the block....
Level 1:29AM (10/21/2009)
ment to say the ZR1 b4 I get corrected.......................
San Francisco Kid 3:09AM (10/21/2009)
I am also unimpressed... If this is priced anywhere near $300k (going of European prices which have leaked) then I just dont understand what this car really has to offer. Yes, you can say that it is exclusive, but when you are driving down the street, how many people are going to turn their head to check out a Lexus? Maybe the pictures just don't do it justice, but it just looks to... Toyota, haha. So without the wow factor, what else does an exclusive car have? I don't see this having the same collector following that Ferrari/Porsche/Lambo etc have.
To me this is just another blunder on part of Toyota trying to spice-up their line up, the first being the IS-F, which in its own right is a very nice car, but when compared to the M3's, (R)S4's and the C63, most reviews that I have read show that it comes up short, and I think that when the reviews finally come out on the LF-A, its going to be very similar. "Nice car, sounds nice, handles nice, looks nice... but not Great".
And lastly, those of you who are talking about the reliability of this car being a selling point... don't understand what a super car is. These are not designed to be daily drivers, they are taken out on weekend and when you want to impress you buddies. Take a look at the average Ferrari/Lambo on sale used, and you will rarely see more than 4 - 5k put on the car a year (and that is still stretching it). Also, in case something does go wrong, I don't think that you will be able to just take this down to your local toyota dealership and get it worked on, just as with the GTR, you will have to take it to a specialist. And considering that they are only going to make 500... These specialists are going to be few and far between (Read: LA, NY, and a handful of other large market cities)
This is going to be purchased by those with too much money to care, and JDM fanboys who want to believe that the days of the Supra and SC300/400 have returned (Very few people mention the original SC's, but that is the last time I think Lexus had even a small FTD factor)
Honestly, I am more excited about the FT-86 than I am this car, and before anyone says its because I cant afford a LF-A (I can't, haha) I think that the FT-86 is Toyotas real chance at breaking into the fun car category, and that is a car that Toyota reliability will be a selling point.
Zeph 6:34AM (10/21/2009)
500 x 375 000 = 187.5 Million dollars. If someone like Troy Trepanier can build a show car all by hand(s) for a couple of million dollars I have a hard time believing Toyota can't build 500 of these things at a profit. I don't buy it for the Bugatti either, which will end making over 500 million in the Veyron's commercial life. Even the Reventon, rebodied murcielago that it is, will no doubt make Lambo millions.
Do you guys always believe marketing? Wake up.
This car is pretty awesome, and I love the exaust note. No doubt it is one of the swan songs of the ICE. But it's not better than a 458 Italia, which makes it's price point rediculous, it's not a sports exotic brand and last and not least the GT-R will probably give it a run for it's money if not flat out beating it.
The price point should be halved and production multiplied by a factor of 10. Then it starts making sense. I'm sure they'll sell all 500 though, there are many rich people out there that want rare sports cars and can offord to buy dozens of them, which seems to be their target demographic: the elitist douchebag.
cit09 6:56PM (10/20/2009)
It looks like a successor to the Supra. And for a Lexus this looks cool! I wonder how it will do against the Italian and German exotics and of course against the Nissan GT-R? And what will Nissan do next to the GT-R to go against the new Lexus super car? I can't wait for the first comparison test! Or first tests of this vehicle!
Reply
audi_arena 7:10PM (10/20/2009)
I agree. Put a toyota badge on it, and sell it for $80k and I'd feel a lot better about it.
Yes Lexus has done amazing things in the marketing world as far as re-branding, but no matter how good this thing is it still has a MAJOR dissadvantage going up against the big boys of Ferrari, Porsche, etc: It has litterally NO heritage.
If you are going to be the talented upstart, you have to beat all the guys who are currently in the game, and from what it looks like this will only run with the pack, not beat them.