Lexus LFA

Lexus LFA

On August 5, 2009, Toyota’s new CEO, Akio Toyoda, publicly confirmed production of the LF-A in his speech at a conference held at the Center for Automotive Research in the United States.

In September 2009, reports in Japanese automotive magazines indicated that the 4.8 L V10 engine for the LF-A would carry a 1LR designation.

On October 21, 2009, the production Lexus LFA was unveiled on the first press day of the 41st biennial Tokyo Motor Show. The vehicle was introduced by Akio Toyoda at a press conference, in which it was disclosed that the vehicle would be limited to 500 production copies.

The vehicle carried the same designation as the concepts, LFA, but without the hyphen. The production designation reportedly stood for Lexus F-Series Apex. The LFA was shown as the final vehicle of the press conference, following the LF-Ch hybrid concept. Pricing details at the show was estimated at $375,000.

The production announcement for the LFA supercar marked the 20th anniversary of the launch of Lexus. Given the high cost of construction and limited production, analysts do not expect LFA sales to be profitable. However, the coupe is intended to serve as a testbed for new car technologies, including carbon fiber mass-production, and related performance vehicle development. At its debut, a circuit-ready model was also indicated for 2012 release.