Special Editions

According to the Business Times, Singapore’s allocation of 2 Lexus LFA supercars has been “sold at speed of light” - being spoken for even before the price was announced. Lexus Borneo Singapore received deposits of SGD$80,000 shortly after the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays from two undisclosed customers. The LFA’s price in Singapore has since been announced as SGD$1.25 million, which is approximately equivalent to US$893,300.  With sixteen prospective customers expressing interest, Lexus executives in Singapore hope to increase their country’s allocation of the Japanese supercar.

Who are the lucky future LFA owners?  Lexus’ Singapore head William Choo would not disclose their names, but did reveal the following: both are “very successful businessmen but very unassuming”, “run their own companies”, are in their 60s, and “are very low profile and do not want to be identified.”  Other details: one is a longtime owner of Lexus LS sedans, the other has had multiple Lexus vehicles, and both own Porsche and Ferrari models.

[Source: Asia One Motoring]

A Lexus IS 350C F-Sport special edition is on its way to the USA later this month, and will feature the following upgrades over the standard IS 350C:

• Newly designed 19-inch forged alloy wheels with a wheel lock set and Michelin Pilot Sport 225/35ZR19 tires in the front and 255/35ZR19 tires in the rear
• Front and rear brake upgrade for a firmer pedal feel and enhanced fade resistance
• New and unique F-Sport grille not previously available
• Shock set developed in cooperation with Bilstein
• Lowering springs that reduce the ride height approximately one-inch in the front and rear
• Sway bar set that helps reduce body roll and provide flatter cornering
• Embroidered floor mats with F-Sport logo
• Leather-wrapped shift knob with F-Sport logo
• Exterior badging and an individually numbered badge on the center console

This IS 350C F-Sport special edition will have a MSRP of $57,500 and is limited to just 100 units. Only two exterior colors, Tungsten Pearl or Obsidian, will be offered.

So far no photos (the photo above is of an earlier IS 350C loaded with F-Sport parts), but most of the announced upgrades are already available individually at dealerships. There are two exceptions—first are the new 19” alloy wheels, which I’m going to guess are the same that were seen on the TRD IS-C at SEMA last year:

The other new option is the new grille, which is likely identical to the grille found on the UK/Canadian IS F-Sport package:

The full Lexus press release after the jump.

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Lexus USA has formally announced the LFA’s base price of $375,000, and has revealed additional information regarding the LFA two-year lease and purchase process in North America:

All LFAs will be hand-built to customer specifications and production will begin December 2010.  Customers will be able to choose from three-configurations included in the base MSRP:

• Configuration 1 – Leather or Alcantara®-trimmed seats.
• Configuration 2 – Leather or Alcantara-trimmed seats, Lexus Navigation System and Mark Levinson Premium Surround Sound system.
• Configuration 3 – Leather or Alcantara-trimmed seats, Lexus Navigation System, Mark Levinson Premium Surround Sound system, and Lexus Enform™ with Safety Connect™.

Customers will be able to customize the LFA with 30 exterior colors, six brake caliper colors, and 12 interior colors.  Some choices carry an additional cost.

As previously reported, buyers in the United States and Canada must lease the LFA for two years before they can purchase it—this is a measure meant to thwart speculators from acquiring the car only to sell it at higher price shortly thereafter. The global sales window for placing LFA orders reportedly closes at the end of this month’s Geneva Auto Show.

As detailed above, the customization process allows initial lease customers to have their LFA built to their specification, with the expectation that they will acquire full ownership after 2 years. Numerous automotive media reports have presented inaccurate information about this process: it is not all 500 LFAs that will be leased, rather only the 150 in the US and 10 in Canada; nor will LFA enthusiasts be limited to just 2 years of lease time with the vehicle, they will be able to purchase it fully. 

On top of this official information from Lexus, a prospective LFA buyer on ClubLexus also revealed more detailed packaging information regarding the LFA lease and purchase process, including the payment process and list of factory options—full details are after the jump.

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Great story in Modified Magazine about Jayson Pizarro and his heavily modified LS1-powered Lexus GS 300—absolutely no compromises in this build, and it shows down to every detail. One of the complete custom 2GS’ I’ve ever seen.

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Lexus Japan is offering a two unique customization options for the Lexus RX 350 & RX 450h, starting with this aggressive under-spoiler:

Hard to judge with only the front-end visible, but it’s similar to the LX 570 Sport Luxury package we saw last week in that it doesn’t seem to fit all that well.

The other option of note are these LED fog-lights:

They may be expensive (¥136,500 / $1,529 USD), but they would be fantastic paried with the RX 450h LED headlights. Hope to see them as an option here in North America.

[Source: Lexus Japan via Club Lexus]

The 2010 Lexus LX 570 is getting the sports treatment down under, as Lexus Australia is releasing the supersize SUV with a muscular body kit as part of new Sports Luxury package:

There’s something ill-fitting about that front bumper and the way it overlaps, but I do like the reverse trapezoid air intake mirroring the grille. The rear bumper looks quite fussy in the creases, but with only one photo to go on, it’s tough to judge.

Some more photos:

The LX 570 Sports Luxury will retail for $165,400 AUD and will likely be limited to Australia—you can find out more information on the Lexus Australia website.

[Via: The Motor Report]