Lexus joins super league

So many car companies now-a-days are making supercars - it's great!

nice car, however the engine is way too big you could get away with a mid sized v8, a 5ltr v10 is over the top, remember that thing called a speed limit, autobahns exist in germany, everywhere else there's that thing called highway patrol. still looks cool, like it as much as the is250.

My goodness! Fanbois and fangurls of all creeds .... David, in the States BMW's main contender from Japan is generally considered to be Infiniti and not Lexus. Yes they sell a lot of Lexus in America, but that comes down to very good marketing, service and reliability. Lexus' fortunes in Europe is still to be determined. I'm not bagging Lexus, they're great but Lexus is different from Merc, Bimmer or Audi. Sales data alone do not tell the full story. They're only grouped together because they come under the luxury car banner. Daimler merged with Chrysler as a "partnership of equals". The reality was actually a more like a hostile takeover of Chrysler by Mercedes. That partnership has since been dissolved. Interesting comment you make about BMW. An American motoring journalist once summed it up best when he said (and I'm paraphrasing gently here) that a person who questions BMW exposes onself to being ignorant or envious, probably both. You of course own two so that statement wouldn't apply to you. Brad, I'm not a fanboy but I agree with James and Rod. The GT-R (current one) redefines what it means to be a supercar. It is mind-boggingly superlative in so many ways to other supercars. The only thing that holds it back and wins it the respect it deserves is its image. This is because of the pricetag and hence exclusivity, playstation association and the crowd that associates with it, ability to make its driver look good even when they are not, country of origin and target market resulting in the GT-R not having the passion or soul or prestige of other "supercars". Jeremy Clarkson said referring to a Ferrari that it is a true Italian sportscar with passion and infers that the car will "you make mistake, I kill".

To the GT-R people - it does say 'arguably'. Lots of arguments apparently.

Ahhh.... the Nissan fans have arrived..... The GTR's of the said era were fast cars, but far from being supercars. It takes more than performance alone to make the supercar grade. GTR's were developed to be a tool used to get around a track as fast as possible, and they were (and from all reports, still are) bloody good at it. But the look and feel of GTRs, inside and out are hardly inspirational, though the latest version has come about nicely. GTR's will always just be dedicated track weapons, and the latest version is trying to be something its not...... a supercar.

"arguably the first supercar from a Japanese brand since the Ferrari-challenging Honda NSX of 1991-2005"??? Aren't we exaggerating a little. Have you not heard of the godzilla's from nissan? Try the GT-R thank you very much. It's performance matches porsche, ferrari etc so I would hardly say this prototype is the first 'supercar' since the NSX.

Right on, David. Those German makes don't realy have the quality or long term trouble free motoring that is becoming a real hallmark of Lexus. And Lexus cars DO have soul, it just a little more subtle.

"...Lexus LF-A is arguably the first supercar from a Japanese brand since the Ferrari-challenging Honda NSX of 1991-2005..." - What about the supercar destroying Nissan GT-R? Isn't this a supercar from a Japanese brand?

Lexus will be the prestige vehicle for years to come and will dominate other German Makes. Lexus already sells more vehicles than BMW in the USA and Europe it is giving them a run. At least the Lexus will be running in tens years which more than I can about BMW or Merc. But wait, except people to come out bag lexus because it is owned by Toyota. Remember Merc is still owned by Chrysler. BMW, as I have two I can only say they are boring rubbish which constantly have issues.