Lexus LFA supercar debuts at Tokyo; Toyota USA provides price, delivery info and video

October 22, 10:45 AMAuto Review ExaminerJohn Matras

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It's debuted in Tokyo,
Next Vegas and L.A.
Then if you're rich and quick enough
You'll own a Lexus LFA.

Well, it's not The Bard, but that's the gist of the introduction of the Lexus LFA supercar by Lexus at the Tokyo Auto Show and by a press release by Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. today announcing the production, show debuts and consumer availability of the Lexus LFA supercar. Although hinted at with concept cars, teased with spy photos and even endurance racing in Europe, the all-new front-mid-V10-engined rear-drive two-seater is officially Coming to America for its North America premiere at the 2009 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) trade show in Las Vegas this November and then the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show in December. The debuts will be followed by appearances at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the Chicago Auto Show, Dallas Auto Show and the New York International Auto Show.

A visit of production models to individual owners' driveways will take a little longer. Production of the LFA supercar will begin in December 2010 with deliveries continuing for the following 24 months. Lexus will build 500 examples of the Lexus LFA at a new “Lexus LFA Works” at the Motomachi Plant in Toyota City in Japan. The cars will be hand built to customer order--no spec cars will be made--with no more than twenty of the Lexus LFA supercar made per month.

Buying an Lexus LFA  Lexus dealers can begin accepting "purchase applications" now. With this level of exclusivity, one can't expect to merely walk in and place an order; one requests to spend the $350,000 to $375,000 price for the Lexus LFA (assuming no significant exchange rate changes before then).

That's a supercar price, but the Lexus LFA deserves to be called a supercar for more than just the window sticker. Genuinely all-new, the Lexus has carbon fiber chassis and bodywork and is powered by a purpose-built 525-horsepower V-10 engine set low and rearward in the chassis as possible. The LFA has rear drive and achieves what Lexus engineers call an ideal weight distribution of 48:52 front to rear in part through an all-new rear transaxle. Total weight has been kept to a curb weight of only 3,263 pounds, slightly more than a Corvette Z06.

Lexus claims a novel attachment technique for joining the carbon fiber chassis and metal components. Rather than using a threaded aluminum insert wrapped in carbon fiber, Lexus engineers developed a flanged aluminum collar to join the two materials. According to Lexus, it's a better, stronger connection.
The 4.8-liter V-10, which Lexus claims is smaller than a V-8 but weighs the same as a V-6, revs out to 9000 rpm and is capable, claims Lexus, of pushing the LFA to a top speed of 202 mph and 0-60 mph in just 3.6 seconds. The official horsepower rating is 552 hp at 8700 rpm with torque peaking at 354 lb-ft at 6800 rpm. The latter figure is deceptive, however, as the engine leverages out ninety percent of max torque all the way from 3700 rpm to 9000 rpm.

Engine  The engine has an angle of 72 degrees between its banks, said to be provide perfect primary and secondary balance for a V-10 engine. The V-10 also has a dry-sump lubrication system, allowing the engine to be positioned lower in the chassis for a lower center of gravity and also ensuring full lubrication during sustained high-speed cornering.

The engine is a showcase of race-inspired technology and components, from forged aluminum pistons and low-inertia valve springs to a dual-port intake system that uses one port for low to medium engine speeds and both for higher rpm work. Each cylinder also has its own individually-controlled throttle body and of course, direct fuel injection with 12-hole injectors.

Lexus cites an unusual measurement of engine performance as proof of low-mass, low-friction technique: The engine can accelerate from idle to 9000 rpm in only six-tenths of a second.

A claim that few car owners are able to make is that their engine block is cast in the same foundry that makes Formula 1 engine blocks. Owners of the Toyota LFA will, the LFA's engine block sourced iat the same place as the Toyota F1 engine's. High performance engine specialist Yamaha collaborated with Toyota on both the race and the LFA's engines.

Gearbox  Only one transmission will be available in the Lexus LFA, a six-speed automated sequential gearbox located at the rear axle. Contrary to the now-common twin-clutch automated manual transmission, the LFA's gearbox has a single light-weight clutch as part of the low inertia engine strategy. As a side benefit, says Lexus, the LFA team engineers favored the single clutch action better than the twin-clutch arrangement, which they criticized as having an "almost artificial smoothness."

The gearbox can be tuned to seven different gearshift speeds, from 0.2 to 1.0 seconds, plus four driving modes--auto, sport, normal and wet.

Lexus has taken the unusual step of mounting the paddle shifters on the steering column rather on the steering wheel itself, claiming that it makes the paddles easier to find when the wheel isn't pointed directly ahead. Lexus also differentiates the feel of upshifting and downshifting, giving the latter a heavier feel.
Lexus also knows that a good score makes a good movie even better:

"The LFA's acoustic teams studied the unmistakable soundtrack generated by a Formula 1 car at maximum revs. By emphasizing the secondary combustion frequency of the LFA's engine and then introducing primary, secondary and tertiary firing harmonics, (chief engineer Haruhiko) Tanahashi and his team created a soundtrack unlike that of any other road car."

Lexus notes that the LFA's "horizontally split intake surge tank mimics the acoustic chambers of wind and string instruments for a rich and resonant bass." In other words, music to your ears. Julie Andrews, eat your heart out.

Brakes  For maximum braking performance, the Lexus LFA will come with carbon ceramic brakes as standard equipment, with 15.4-inch front and 14.2-inch rotors front and rear, with monoblock calipers and six pistons front and four pistons rear. The pistons are variously sized, which makes them come into action progressively for smoother braking.

A double A-arm front and multilink rear suspension was developed specifically for the Lexus LFA and is "aluminum intensive" for lighter weight. Twenty-inch forged aluminum wheels are standard and mounted with custom Bridgestone tires, 265/35ZR20 front and 305/30ZR20 rear.

Interior  Befitting a supercar, the interior will have leather and Alcantara, and what Lexus calls "matte and glossy carbon fiber and satin metal accents," and controls include a tachometer with a LCD virtual needle: A real needle couldn't keep up with engine speed. To help the driver keep up, the whole tachometer area turns red when the engine nears redline. And because the whole shebang is digital, the dials and symbols perform a show when the engine is fired up and turned off.

We can describe how the Lexus LFA sounds, but we'd be listening to the same recording you do--and probably with better speakers-- so to experience it with your ears rather than through our words, visit the official Lexus LFA website, and click on "product info" and then "video." The Lexus LFA website also has a configurator that allows users to create obnoxious (and attractive, for those so inclined) color combinations.

No doubt the Lexus LFA will be an outstanding performer and we look forward to time behind the wheel. Just don't blame us if we come back not only penning poetry but breaking into song as well. 

Illustration: 2011 Lexus LFA. Photo courtesy Toyota Motor Sales USA.

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