Report: Lexus LFA Replacements on Way
Autoblog is reporting that Lexus has not one, but two cars in the works to replace the supercar LFA.
And one is, of course, an EV.
Ed. note — We apologize for the dearth of content today, but at least two of us had to deal with off-line emergencies of the minor sort. Everyone is O.K., no one is sick or anything like that, but two of us were pried away from our desks for large chunks of the day. We’ll be back full blast Monday.
According to reports, the LFA, which hasn’t been in production since 2012, will be replaced in 2025, first by a car using a hybrid powertrain that includes a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8. This car will ride on the same TGNA-L platform that underpins the LC and LS.
Up to 700 horsepower is a possibility.
Even though the LFA’s production run ended a decade ago, some basic Internet searching suggests Lexus sold units as recently as 2020 and one unit may remain unsold as of this moment. It’s unclear if that’s true, however.
The EV will follow but probably not until 2030. Performance specs are obviously speculative at this time, but a 0-60 time of under 2 seconds and a range of 430 miles are cited as possibilities by AB.
Toyota might also build a GR GT3 supercar to serve as its own flagship model, although it’s possible that any GR GT3 will be for racing only.
This author has always found the LFA sexy — though I’ve not driven one — and I’m happy to see even the relatively buttoned-down Lexus brand staying in the unobtanium super-car game.
[Image: Lexus]
Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.
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And here we are: https://youtu.be/Tk_y_r5cXZs
The front end on that yellow car should be what Lexus should have been doing instead of the "spindle" look.
So the lightest version of the upcoming LFA replacement will be around 4,600lbs with the overweight TGNA-L platform, hybrid, and turbo plumbing. Definetly not excited about it.
The problem with this car is one that so many new vehicles have - the windshield is raked almost flat, the roof is low, and there is no rear visibility. It's like it caught something from the Camaro. Aerodynamics are important, especially over 100 MPH, but this is getting ridiculous. As far as V8s being obsolete, in most parts of the world fuel is much more expensive than in the US, and purchasing power is much lower. A V8 is realistically impractical. However, in the case of this car, it is very expensive to just buy one, and it won't get driven every day commuting to work. It will be a rich man's weekend toy, so maximizing the power and speed numbers for his ego are what really matter here.