Lexus LFA production confirmed

The brand’s first grab for supercar territory – with a carbon-fibre body carrying a Formula One-inspired V10 engine that gets it to 100km/h in just 3.7 seconds and to a top speed of 325km/h – is tipped to arrive with a price tag of more than $500,000.

But that’s unlikely to bother those locals who have already put their hand up for the car, according to Lexus Australia boss John Roca. “It’s being touted at about US$375,000, but we’ve heard the equivalent of close to $750,000 … that kind of price didn’t shake anybody off the tree,” Roca says. “Our wishlist is to get five to 10 cars. We are going into negotiation on volume for Australia, but in the initial discussions it was not hypothetically slated for Asia because of projected demand from other markets. “We’ve asked for expressions of interest, and even in these difficult times they have come in. Three have been requested from Queensland alone. “Hypothetically, if we were to get five, the dealer principals would snap them up.”

Roca says Lexus Australia will look at ways to prevent dealers buying the cars and simply locking them away for posterity. “So we might put limitations our dealer group to determine when the cars must be passed on,” he says. “That would prevent them being bought and then hidden away for the next 20 years.”

Roca agrees the LFA development program has been a costly one if the result is simply 500 cars, but says it is an investment in more than just that vehicle. “It will do everything for the brand,” he says. “We’re a young brand – just 20 years in the market – and producing a true supercar like this would raise our profile. “People are asking if this is similar to what Honda did with the NSX in the 1990s, but it’s different. This is another tie into the Lexus (high-performance) F line and would allow us to tap into future F drivetrains.