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."
Lexus sales have been down every month so far this year, which may be due in part to its SUV and crossover-heavy lineup. It also seems that Toyota's luxury division doesn't quite have redesigns of its sedans ready yet. According to Automotive News, the automaker's smallest car, the IS, won't be redesigned for another few years. While the SC coupe/convertible is set to go the way of the Dodo, expect to see a coupe and convertible iteration of the IS sometime soon. Some sales help is also likely forthcoming from the Lexi-fied version of Toyota's next-gen Prius.
In a blow to high-performance sedan lovers, however, the rumored GS-F performance edition of the marque's rear-wheel drive mid-size sedan has been put on hold with fears that the sinking economy will shrink the market for gas-guzzlers too much to make it worthwhile. In more bad news, the $200K-plus LF-A supercar is also being delayed, reportedly in part for failing to meet its desired performance targets. Could that have anything to do with the recent Nissan GT-R and Corvette ZR-1 'Ring lap times? You bet'cha.
Yesterday's announcement that Hyundai would be bringing three Genesis coupe concepts to SEMA has been met with some skepticism surrounding the legitimacy of the first rendering Rhys Millen Racing released.
John Sibal posted the RMR Genesis coupe illustration on his site today, along with his own LF-A rendering that we featured back in April. There's a striking similarity between the LF-A's front bumper design – specifically the molded winglet, side air intake, air dam and tow-hook placement. We've tried contacting Hyundai about the matter, hoping they could provide contact information for the artist who drew up the coupe, but got stuck in voicemail Hell instead. While this could just be a case of indirect inspiration, we somehow doubt it and are looking forward to getting the full story soon.
The Lexus LF-A has taken the crown from the Chevy Camaro as the perpetual show queen that we're tired of seeing in concept form. Granted, it's already run the Nurburging 24 Hour enduro and has been spied enough times that we've almost stopped caring, but aside from an astronomical price, details are still scarce on Lexus' first attempt at joining the hyper car fray.
Thankfully, the automaker brought sometime else to the London Motor Show to compliment the two LF-A concepts on stage. Enclosed in a Plexiglas case is the 5.0-liter V10 that's slated to power the coupe, and although there's no accompanying spec sheet to give exact horsepower and torque figures (expect around 500 hp and 400 lb.-ft.), CAR shot a brief video showing some beautifully crafted exhaust manifolds and a gorgeous set of ITB trumpets. It's not much, but its small size is telling, providing further proof that the bent-ten will be mounted close to the firewall for a front-midship placement.
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By now we've all seen the spy shots showing Acura's NSX revival bombing around the Nürburgring in Germany. There's a reason those drivers are pushing their prototype hard enough to get air through the turns. Inside Line is reporting the Honda CEO Takeo Fukui wants his NSX to toast both the Nissan GT-R and the Lexus LF-A around the Green Hell. Considering that the GT-R has posted lap times on the 'Ring that utterly defy what it should be able to do on paper, and that the LF-A is still a moving target that's trying to best the GT-R too, Honda engineers have some serious work to do developing the NSX over the next two years. IL suspects the next NSX will get a 5.5L V10 producing 550 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque that's derived from a V8 that's slated for the next-gen, rear-wheel-drive Acura RL. They also surmise that it will use an 8-speed auto with paddle shifters, feature an advanced version of Honda's Super-Handling All-Wheel-Drive system and use lots of aluminum in its construction to keep weight down.
Toyota's campaign of the Lexus LF-A racing prototype at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring wasn't lacking for drama, with a serious crash that took place during the night-time qualifying session followed by some technical issues on race day. Details haven't been released as to what caused the crash, but the damage to the driver's side rear quarter panel was enough to cause the vehicle to limp back to the pits, where KGP spies snapped off 15 shots of the LF-A before it headed back to Toyota's 'Ring workshop.
The V10 nestled deep into the engine bay proves that Lexus is going for a front-midship layout for its first supercar, and judging by the extensive use of carbon fiber in the cracked body panels and underbody diffuser, keeping the LF-A as light as possible is a top priority. Despite the race-ready interior, KGP's shots show an office very similar to that found in the LF-A concepts we've seen at shows, with a massive central tunnel to house both the transmission and a substantial amount of the engine.
The following day, the LF-A got out to the starting grid, but after an hour of racing, smoke began pouring from the rear of the racer, diagnosed later as an oil leak. The pit crew worked feverishly over the ensuing two hours to get the LF-A back out onto the track to finish a total of 106 laps, with a fastest lap of 9:19.757 on lap 85, and placing 120th overall.
After countless spy photos and appearances at auto shows for the past several years in two different styling forms, the Lexus LF-A made its first official appearance on the road this weekend at the Nürburgring 24 hour race. At some point during the weekends festivities, Automobile managed to snag a shot of the engine lurking under the race-prepped Lexus' hood. We can't derive a lot of details from this single shot, but we can get a few tidbits.
Looking at the area behind the intake plenum near the firewall on the driver's side, the engine looks long enough to likely be a V10 as has been previously postulated. The bank angle appears to be 90 degrees for a lower center of gravity than would be available from the normal 72-degree bank angle for a V10. The intake plenum is apparently made up of a composite material, again, likely for both overall weight reduction and and lowering the CG. Under that however, the intake runners appear to be metal. Finally the engine is set well back in the chassis for a front mid-engine layout, almost entirely behind the front axle line. Now that the LF-A has hit the track in anger, maybe we'll see it in production form soon, perhaps even at the Paris this October or Geneva next year.
The last time we talked about the price of the Lexus LF-A, we had only the car's price in China and a whole lot of speculation to go on. The car's retail in China was set at $264,700, and based on that a Lexus fan site did it's best guestimation to arrive at a US price of approximately $130,000. Say it with us now: oh boy, was that wrong.
Lexus has said the first number of the car's price will be a "2," and Inside Line has word that the car might run $225,000. That is more than either a Gallardo or an F430 Spider, including European delivery and two weeks of vacation in Via Reggio. The LF-A convertible will cost even more.
Inside Line says "Lexus is gunning for the Italians." With that kind of price, we actually believe Lexus is sidestepping the Italians and has simply declared, "Your comparisons are futile, this is the best. If you want it, this is the price." It's almost as audacious as the Babe's called shot. And we respect audacity. But we respect performance even more, so we'll be watching closely to see what kind of chops the race version of the LF-A showcases at the 'Ring.
Toyota is still prepping the LF-A for its assault on the 24 Hours of Nurburgring later this month, but it managed to campaign the Lexus supercar in the ADAC Rundstrecken Trophy Endurance, held on a 15.1-mile course that combines the Nordschliefe with the adjoining grand prix circuit. The LF-A placed 77th overall after completing 23 laps during the four-hour race, with its fastest lap coming in at 9:06. Just to reiterate so there's no confusion: this isn't the same course that the GT-R and ZR1 are lapping. That course is exclusively run on the Nordschliefe, so comparing times is like comparing apples and oranges... racing with traffic. Regardless, we've posted a video after the jump that shows the LF-A racecar up close and personal, along with some text from KGP to go along with the accompanying gallery.
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Smokey Nagata took a Supra to Nardo to flog it around the track and remind Toyota about what it could be doing with its time. Now, a freethinking designer with some serious rendering skills has upped Smokey's Supra by kitting out an LF-A in a similar garb. The result is this, the TOP SECRET LF-A Nardo 400 Supercar Concept.
Created by Jon Sibal, the car is an LF-A with some "Nagata san flavor," customized graphics, and a hunger for the 400 km/hr mark. We'll take it standing still. We don't know how many more people will need to nudge Toyota before the company will give us a sports car again. But if Toyota asked itself "What kind of bada** statement can we make to get back into the sports car game?", this kind of car could the answer. Toyota? Anyone?
