VIDEO: Lexus LF-A breaks cover before Tokyo unveiling
Posted Oct 20th 2009 4:26PM by Damon Lavrinc
Click above to view the video after the jump
In less than six hours the wraps will officially come off the Lexus LF-A at the Tokyo Motor Show. And about 36 hours after that, we'll be piloting Lexus' first foray into supercardom on and around Florida's Homestead-Miami Speedway.
But in this day and age, any auto expo wouldn't be complete without one last leak in the final hours leading up to the show, and YouTube – along with the NAGTROC forums -- have delivered.
After the jump you'll find video of the production LF-A making its way around the Nurburgring GP course, along with a slew of still shots that show the Lexus 500+ hp supercoupe sans disguise. Although we've seen everything aft of the A-pillars before, the LF-A's nose is finally revealed – and opinions are split on the chosen headlamp and fascia design. Although we could do without the red-leather steering wheel, the rest of the interior receives high marks, particularly the animated, customizable central LCD display and massive tunnel running through the cabin. And if the video wasn't enough, NAGTROC forum member Adrey has snapped a few shots of the LF-A in Miami as it's being prepped for our big day this week. Expect our First Drive soon, and all the official details to drop in the next few hours. But in the meantime, check the video after the jump and the spy shots from Miami in the gallery below.
[Source: YouTube, NAGTROC]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
sw 4:29PM (10/20/2009)
Frickin' sweet. Now on to the ft-86 please :)
Rich people shouldn't have ALL the fun.
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ripiopower 6:44PM (10/20/2009)
Im with you bro'' Now we need our version. I hope the one they are talking about is in the mid 20's Lets see''
Lexus LF-A -- love the video -- the dash is crazyyy'' u saw thattt
Andre Neves 4:33PM (10/20/2009)
Wow, I never thought the day would come when an exciting Toyota(since the supra) would exist again.
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Chase 9:34PM (10/20/2009)
Yes, this car looks VERY fun to drive.
Farmboy 4:33PM (10/20/2009)
I applaud you Lexus. And that people is a Kodak moment. This will be rare. However, I'm not completely taken by the styling, but who gives a damn.
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Taglane 5:13PM (10/20/2009)
Despite the fact that it's fugly, I bet it drives hella good though.
Will 5:18PM (10/20/2009)
Overstyled exterior. Loving the interior though.
Tourian 5:44PM (10/20/2009)
JDM LIFE hasn't posted yet? Huh. I guess they made him play four square with the rest of the class at recess instead of letting him stay in the computer lab.
Tyler 6:04PM (10/20/2009)
Eh it looks too Japanese too me but it's not bad looking either. I love the 2007 LF-A concept that was absolutely stunning! I'm sure this will look good in person. And why would they have a V10 that produces 500 hp when you can easily get a V8 to have over 500 hp, even over 700 hp, that's how they do it at Ford, Dodge, and Chevrolet. Also over $200,000 is extremely pricey, hopefully this car can give for what the price tag offers but I would take it over a Ferrari or Lamborghini any day knowing Lexus's comfortable, great ride quality, luxury features, and their reliability reputation.
artandcolour 4:35PM (10/20/2009)
nasty, ugly, stupid, wrong car at the wrong time, big mess, pointless, ridiculous, off-base. and did i say nasty and ugly?
so stupid. LF-Asshat is the full name.
and this is from someone that has loved more than one japanese car, so it's not blind hating. this should have been mopped up 5 years ago with the rest of their teenage wet dreams.
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auto.design 5:02PM (10/20/2009)
I'm with you. Lexus successfully made the production car even uglier and more pointless than the multiple concept versions. Disappointed to say the least...
Ligor 5:06PM (10/20/2009)
i'm with you
ugly
hopefully it willbeat the GT-R or this iwll be the biggest POS and most expansive ugly car ever
wtf - that front end is just nasty
zamafir 5:15PM (10/20/2009)
i'm sure it'll be quick but that front end is about as cohesive as...nothing. It’s not. It's confused, big diffuser, small headlights, rear's dope, but front end? no... interior? nah. Toyota managed to make a car more boring looking (from the front the rear is killer) than the new McLaren. The interior looks better than any Toyota I’ve seen but isn’t (from one crappy shot so that’s a grain of salt) close to the R8 in terms of design.
Anywho… I’m looking forward to the official shots, there’s got to be a front angle that looks like $80,000 (GT-R), let alone $115,000 (The R8 JDM Life keeps getting grumpy about), or $225,000 (Gallardo) which this is projected to start around.
zamafir 5:17PM (10/20/2009)
exhaust note also sounds unexceptional, about on par with the R8 V10/Gallardo but not up around the porsche carrera level of f1 sounding frenzy. Sexy as hell, as sexy as the R8 sounding for sure.
futurama 5:24PM (10/20/2009)
@zamafir
I love freaking R8. But as for the interior, compared to very unique LFA, while pretty nice R8's interior is very pedestrian, boring and conservative.
zamafir 5:40PM (10/20/2009)
@futurama - yeah, if you're not a fan of audi interiors, you won't be a fan of the R8. I'd hate to hear what you think of the gallardo :). If the R8's pedestrian the gallardo's down right 90's bad. I honestly can't think of a single interior in the R8's pricerange which is more exciting. A zonda? Sure, it's 5x as much. Veyron? maybe, 10x more. but for R8 money? can you think of any?
MeiSooHaityu 5:41PM (10/20/2009)
That front end looks like a distorted Ford Fusion (minus the tri-bar grille). An ugly version so to speak.
jinsei888 6:00PM (10/20/2009)
I don't know why everyone is downranking the OP and first two posts. They've got valid opinions on noting the looks of this LF-A aesthetic. I also agree, it looks rather messy up front--but this is with us comparing our expectations to the many earlier variants and concepts we saw before. Of all the proposed possible aesthetics that we've been able to experience through concepts, renders, second-gen concepts, the Nurburgring race car, and other sources, this "official" final production model design is arguably the least attractive of the possibilities. I speak only of aesthetic, no talk of the performance as it has not been out FS and tested/reviewed, yet. This blog post is all about looks and not performance, so let's keep the remarks on that subject for now.
That is all.
zamafir 6:24PM (10/20/2009)
"but this is with us comparing our expectations to the many earlier variants and concepts we saw before"
probably because other carmakers are pretty good at making attractive concepts into attractive cars (ie audi lemans and audi r8). It's just not good looking. or cohesive. Ehe GT-R isn't a looker but the front end is cohesive. This is not. Feels slapdash, odd creases, lights to small, grill to plain. It's a classic case of trying to fit the corporate grill to a car that won't take it, like the hyundai genesis, front end looks fine save that odd elantra esc grill in the center.
zamafir 7:04PM (10/20/2009)
Yeah, i'm very eager to hear why anyone thinks this interior:
http://www.autoblog.com/gallery/lexus-lf-a-0/#21
is less boring than this interior:
http://www.autoblog.com/gallery/2010-audi-r8-v10/#14
They seem equally utilitarian to me.