So this is it. The big one. The LFA.
With only 500 units ever made - and most of them likely locked away in a hermetically-sealed garage - statistically speaking you have a higher chance of being struck by lightning than clapping your eyes on a Lexus LFA on the road.
I recently lived in the UK for a whole year. Didn't see one.
In Malaysia too, there isn't one on the road yet.
All 500 samples of the Lexus LFA have been sold so if you're in the market for one of these ultra rare supercars, or if you're a bit pinstripe in the wallet like me but just want to get up close and personal with one, it's in the second-hand car market where you'll luck out. That's where I headed. TJM, a parallel importer along Jalan Tun Razak, had a luscious specimen made in 2011, coated in diamond black paint and trimmed in ivory leather.
Can you possibly fathom the jeers, howls and petrified looks from your mates? "Say, what do you drive nowadays," one of them asks, "Proton?"
Lexus, I know the LFA is all about taking extreme weight-saving measures, and yes I know the actual key is made of carbon fibre but let's not take it too far okay? I can't go to dinner and put that set of keys on the table and not have the other person thinking I bought a spare remote module from Brothers.
The headlights... I don't know... they try too hard to look aggressive. Sure, it hides these crystal indicators inside but there seems to be too much going on. Where you expect the lines to go all the way straight, it sort of kinks out at the top, like a pair of slitty eyes. It tapers at odd angles and lacks the mannerisms of effortless fluidity.
And I'm not so sure about the front end...
Design-wise, it would be cracker if it was a Toyota Supra. But as a RM2,000,000 supercar from Lexus? Fail.
In the world of supercars, Lexus LFA is a superlight streaker that tips the scales at 1,480 kg. Bear in mind, there's a V10 engine under the hood. To understand just how light this supercar is, the following diagram compares it to the four-door family saloon Lexus IS 350 and this is how the scales tip:
Why is it so light? There is no steel in this supercar. The body was originally designed to be constructed out of aluminium alloy - itself already light and strong. But the engineers were not satisfied with the power to weight ratio on early aluminium prototypes. They went back to the drawing board and redesigned the entire structure out of carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) incurring significant inflation to the overall R&D budget. What isn't CFRP is made of titanium. If it isn't either of those, it's aluminium or some other alloy. But there is no steel at all anywhere in this entire vehicle. That's how obsessed they were to save weight.
The upshot of using CFRP was that the designers were able to work with a material far more forgiving than sheet metal. They could conceive whatever design that served the highest functional purpose, and that shape, curve, flex or bend can be achieved with CFRP. One of the areas that clearly benefitted from the use of this ultra lightweight and amazingly strong weave is the air intake on the shoulders of the Lexus LFA.
It's one of the Lexus LFA's most striking design elements which you'll find just aft of the doors. Don't let the looks deceive you. It's actually a very complex shape, curvish yet sharp, concave from one angle and convex from another, and the overall effect looks like a tidal wave. It's a striking feature but personally, I'm not sure if it works for me - it looks too busy and tries too hard to look un-German. But it serves a useful purpose: Both intakes deliver air to the rear brakes, rear radiators and the titanium mufflers.
The airflow gutter cleverly conceals the door handles. As you press the handles downwards, the gutter wall acts as a grip to pull out the door.
There's no escaping the 20" 10-spoke rims. They're massive.
I never liked large chrome rims; they're a bit too flashy for my liking. It also doesn't help that Jay Z or Kanye West music videos feature drop top cars with these sort of blingers. But, somehow today, seeing it in the flesh, it looked the part. Must be that aura I was talking about earlier. And golly, I've never seen ceramic brakes THAT big.
Moving to the back, the rear diffuser is arranged as an inverted triangle. Those three mufflers mind you, are made of titanium. Nice! And you can just make out the carbon fibre weave at the bottom. This exhaust, I like.
Let's pop the hood open. One thing that amused me to no end is that despite being one of the world's most expensive supercars, there's no denying the Toyota DNA. You know the bonnet release? It's no different from a Corolla! Hahaha... But okay, let's cut it some slack and concern ourselves with the business end. All the magic happens here, the beating heart of the Lexus LFA. Welcome, guys, to the much-lauded 4.8-litre V10!
Pretty much everything you see here is made of lightweight materials, including titanium valves, and connecting rods. This featherweight construction is what allows the engine to rev all the way to 9,000 rpm (automatic fuel cuts off at 9,500 rpm).
Even the rod that props up the hood is made of carbon fibre. Essentially it's a loose, unhinged stick that's mounted horizontally across the engine bay just above the radiator when not in use. When you pop the hood up, take the rod (I'm sure there's a more technical name for it, like le stick) and mount it vertically like so:
Everything - everything - is carbon fibre.
Now let's look at the boot:
For a supercar to be a bonafide supercar, there's one characteristic it must have, which is really lousy boot space. Phoar!! Take a look at that. It'll be years before the wife learns to limit her spending and fit all her shopping in that trunk.
Come to think of it, that's a good thing. If you had one of these, you can be guaranteed your wife won't touch your Lexus LFA. Now there's a bonus point the designers never thought about.
In Part 2 of this article, I swing open the doors of the Lexus LFA and dump my 5'8" frame in the bucket seat. While the exterior design didn't leave me breathless, the interior pushed all the right buttons. Click here to read Part 2.
For now, share your opinion guys: Do you agree or disagree that the exterior design leaves much to be desired? I'd love to hear from you.
Cheers!
All Lexus
With only 500 units ever made - and most of them likely locked away in a hermetically-sealed garage - statistically speaking you have a higher chance of being struck by lightning than clapping your eyes on a Lexus LFA on the road.
I recently lived in the UK for a whole year. Didn't see one.
In Malaysia too, there isn't one on the road yet.
All 500 samples of the Lexus LFA have been sold so if you're in the market for one of these ultra rare supercars, or if you're a bit pinstripe in the wallet like me but just want to get up close and personal with one, it's in the second-hand car market where you'll luck out. That's where I headed. TJM, a parallel importer along Jalan Tun Razak, had a luscious specimen made in 2011, coated in diamond black paint and trimmed in ivory leather.
My admiration for the Lexus LFA knows no bounds, but I still think it's a failure as a design exercise - tragic for such an expensive supercar. Let's start by scanning the details outside and what I think is wrong with it:
Paint this scenario. You're life's sorted. You can pretty much buy whatever supercar you desire, which you do. One day, your friends agree to meet for lunch at the country club. You arrive in your Lexus LFA, brimming with confidence that no matter what exoticars are parked outside in the lot, your ride can thrash them all. You see your friends at the table, you stride over to join them. And just like everyone else, you put the keys to your Lexus LFA on the table.
Bam!
Can you possibly fathom the jeers, howls and petrified looks from your mates? "Say, what do you drive nowadays," one of them asks, "Proton?"
Lexus, I know the LFA is all about taking extreme weight-saving measures, and yes I know the actual key is made of carbon fibre but let's not take it too far okay? I can't go to dinner and put that set of keys on the table and not have the other person thinking I bought a spare remote module from Brothers.
So this is what the Lexus LFA looks like... take a moment.
The headlights... I don't know... they try too hard to look aggressive. Sure, it hides these crystal indicators inside but there seems to be too much going on. Where you expect the lines to go all the way straight, it sort of kinks out at the top, like a pair of slitty eyes. It tapers at odd angles and lacks the mannerisms of effortless fluidity.
And I'm not so sure about the front end...
In the world of supercars, Lexus LFA is a superlight streaker that tips the scales at 1,480 kg. Bear in mind, there's a V10 engine under the hood. To understand just how light this supercar is, the following diagram compares it to the four-door family saloon Lexus IS 350 and this is how the scales tip:
Why is it so light? There is no steel in this supercar. The body was originally designed to be constructed out of aluminium alloy - itself already light and strong. But the engineers were not satisfied with the power to weight ratio on early aluminium prototypes. They went back to the drawing board and redesigned the entire structure out of carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) incurring significant inflation to the overall R&D budget. What isn't CFRP is made of titanium. If it isn't either of those, it's aluminium or some other alloy. But there is no steel at all anywhere in this entire vehicle. That's how obsessed they were to save weight.
The upshot of using CFRP was that the designers were able to work with a material far more forgiving than sheet metal. They could conceive whatever design that served the highest functional purpose, and that shape, curve, flex or bend can be achieved with CFRP. One of the areas that clearly benefitted from the use of this ultra lightweight and amazingly strong weave is the air intake on the shoulders of the Lexus LFA.
It's one of the Lexus LFA's most striking design elements which you'll find just aft of the doors. Don't let the looks deceive you. It's actually a very complex shape, curvish yet sharp, concave from one angle and convex from another, and the overall effect looks like a tidal wave. It's a striking feature but personally, I'm not sure if it works for me - it looks too busy and tries too hard to look un-German. But it serves a useful purpose: Both intakes deliver air to the rear brakes, rear radiators and the titanium mufflers.
The airflow gutter cleverly conceals the door handles. As you press the handles downwards, the gutter wall acts as a grip to pull out the door.
There's no escaping the 20" 10-spoke rims. They're massive.
I never liked large chrome rims; they're a bit too flashy for my liking. It also doesn't help that Jay Z or Kanye West music videos feature drop top cars with these sort of blingers. But, somehow today, seeing it in the flesh, it looked the part. Must be that aura I was talking about earlier. And golly, I've never seen ceramic brakes THAT big.
Moving to the back, the rear diffuser is arranged as an inverted triangle. Those three mufflers mind you, are made of titanium. Nice! And you can just make out the carbon fibre weave at the bottom. This exhaust, I like.
Let's pop the hood open. One thing that amused me to no end is that despite being one of the world's most expensive supercars, there's no denying the Toyota DNA. You know the bonnet release? It's no different from a Corolla! Hahaha... But okay, let's cut it some slack and concern ourselves with the business end. All the magic happens here, the beating heart of the Lexus LFA. Welcome, guys, to the much-lauded 4.8-litre V10!
Pretty much everything you see here is made of lightweight materials, including titanium valves, and connecting rods. This featherweight construction is what allows the engine to rev all the way to 9,000 rpm (automatic fuel cuts off at 9,500 rpm).
Even the rod that props up the hood is made of carbon fibre. Essentially it's a loose, unhinged stick that's mounted horizontally across the engine bay just above the radiator when not in use. When you pop the hood up, take the rod (I'm sure there's a more technical name for it, like le stick) and mount it vertically like so:
Everything - everything - is carbon fibre.
Now let's look at the boot:
For a supercar to be a bonafide supercar, there's one characteristic it must have, which is really lousy boot space. Phoar!! Take a look at that. It'll be years before the wife learns to limit her spending and fit all her shopping in that trunk.
Come to think of it, that's a good thing. If you had one of these, you can be guaranteed your wife won't touch your Lexus LFA. Now there's a bonus point the designers never thought about.
In Part 2 of this article, I swing open the doors of the Lexus LFA and dump my 5'8" frame in the bucket seat. While the exterior design didn't leave me breathless, the interior pushed all the right buttons. Click here to read Part 2.
For now, share your opinion guys: Do you agree or disagree that the exterior design leaves much to be desired? I'd love to hear from you.
Cheers!
All Lexus
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