Read more…

" /> Is Lexus Building a Next-Generation LFA Supercar? – Lexus Enthusiast | Lexus Enthusiast

Is Lexus Building a Next-Generation LFA Supercar?

Posted by Kevin on August 12th, 2014

Last week, a Bloomberg article from Craig Trudell suggested that Lexus is building a successor to the LFA supercar:

Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus, which ended a two-year production run of the $375,000 LFA in 2012 after manufacturing 500 units, will build a successor to the 552-horsepower car, Executive Vice President Mark Templin told reporters today.

The plan has the endorsement of Toyota President Akio Toyoda, he said, without providing specifics.

“Akio believes that every generation deserves to have a car like an LFA, so we’re building an LFA for the generation we have today,” Templin said in Kyushu, Japan, before a ceremony for the new Lexus NX crossover. “At some point, there may be another special car for another generation.”

The idea of a new LFA II supercar is exciting, but according to Bertel Schmitt of Daily Kaban, the Templin quote is incorrect — here is Schmitt’s unedited transcript of the conversation between Trudell and the Lexus International vice-president:

“Now, Akio believes that every generation deserves to have a car like an LFA. So we built an LFA for the generation we have today. And at some point we should have a special car for another generation. Because he believes that every generation deserves a special car like this.”

In the end, the whole rumor could be a misheard quote (whether intentional or unintentional) — perhaps Trudell believed Mark Templin is in the habit of casually mentioning next-generation supercars, but that seems unlikely to me.

Update: It appears Trudell has backpedalled — the original article has been edited (emphasis has been added to the changes):

Toyota Motor Corp’s Lexus, which ended a two-year production run of the $375,000 LFA in 2012 after manufacturing 500 units, may build a successor to the 552-horsepower car, Executive Vice President Mark Templin told reporters today. The long-term plan has President Akio Toyoda’s backing, he said.

“Akio believes that every generation deserves to have a car like an LFA, so we’re building an LFA for the generation we have today,” Templin said in Kyushu, Japan, before a ceremony for the new Lexus NX crossover. “At some point, there may be another special car for another generation,” he said, without providing specifics.

A second LFA isn’t imminent, and another generation could be about 30 years in the future, said Brian Lyons, a spokesman.

Lexus LFARumors
Popular Stories

Sorry. No data so far.

Comments
C
  • C
    codenamejanrei
  • August 12, 2014
Meh
A
  • A
    Ayo DocMkize
  • August 12, 2014
30 years i'll be dead and gone !
H
30 years?! Lexus PLEASE!!
L
  • L
    Lexus Cohen
  • August 12, 2014
Lexus will get left behind as usual again.
    L
    • L
      leopard08
    • August 13, 2014
    True that, toyota/lexus have a habit of waiting for others to catch up on them then try to get going again. Soon the germans will make a engine high reving and responsive like the LFA's engine and catches lexus off guard, only then will lexus make another Super car.
J
  • J
    James Hatcher
  • August 12, 2014
Evo put LFA recently in the top 5 greatest cars Evo ever tested, which is consistent with how Clarkson and Top Gear have put LFA in the top 10 greatest cars of all times. Lexus got a huge advantage with the R&D as well as the factory built for the LFA as all of that R&D is now being used for mass produced cars. Lexus needs to stay ahead of the game and build LFA 2. Certainly, the LFA Code X is a big hint that another LFA is in the works.
Y
  • Y
    ydooby
  • August 12, 2014
Come on, Akio, you can do better than 1 supercar per 30 years!! I know Lexus isn't willing to do it often because it lost money building the LFA. What they fail to understand is they lost money on the LFA because there aren't enough people willing to pay a premium for the LFA high enough to cover all the costs, and there aren't enough people willing to pay a premium that high because Lexus doesn't have nearly as high a performance image as manufacturers that build supercars regularly. Only when you build supercars often enough will people expect high-performance cars from you, and only then will people be willing to pay a high premium for a supercar under your brand.
R
  • R
    Raptor
  • August 13, 2014
I am sorry everyone here is actually believing that this is some sort of real timeline. There is no way in hell it will take 30 years to produce Lexus's next Halo car. The LF-LC is right around the corner and to me that is a Halo car. There will be many within 30 years...
A
  • A
    Absolut Sabs
  • August 13, 2014
Maybe 30 months! Not years!!
L
  • L
    lafars
  • August 13, 2014
i don't buy it unless the words are coming from tanahashi himself (which is not the case) were already entering the next gen supercars with cars like the P1, laferrari, 918, i8 and a hybrid veyron coming
    L
    • L
      lafars
    • August 13, 2014
    "A second LFA isn’t imminent, and another generation could be about 30 years in the future, saidBrian Lyons, a spokesman." why i don't buy it, bloomberg may know economics and buisness but they don't know cars PS. put emphasis on the word "COULD", he clearly doesn't know when it comes
    M
    • M
      MD
    • August 13, 2014
    Tanahashi had said in a few interviews, he has been working on a new LFA as a chief engineer, which is why I don't buy this Bloomberg nonsense. Then there is a the code X with a full carbon fiber chassis and a longer wheelbase, 5.3 Liter V10 etc. All of that points to something in the works.
C
  • C
    corradoMR2
  • August 13, 2014
Lexus, make full use of that pricey carbon fibre loom for an "LFB" in the next 10 years. Relying on the RCF, GSF, or even an upcoming prod LF-LC to carry and build on the excitement the LFA created, is a huge risk.
M
  • M
    Mohammed Taha
  • August 14, 2014
Uhhmm by generation I think he means product cycle; the LFA was created pre-spindle grill. We now have many cars taking up many of the key features of the LFA. The next super car is probably in the works but is still in the brainstorming phase. There is no way Lexus would just sit back and forget the success the LFA brought them. The new design language. The way they shocked the world. The emotional part etc ... I would say the new LFA is going to take somewhere between 5 and 10 years. They have most of the tools, they have the facility, they just need to establish what "it" is. It's an "it" because an LFA type car is more than a chassis, engine, a body and moving dials; it's a well thought out product. It's a marriage of the best in class and the future; both of which change on a daily basis. Think about it. What will the all new IS be based on? That car is less than a decade away, most probably 6 years. They need to base it on something. What is that something?
    G
    • G
      Goran
    • August 22, 2014
    At an autoshow one of the Lexus reps told me that LF-LC will be ~200000$ Hybrid supercar, I'm going to assume that will be LFA's successor, it would make sense as far and design and as far as size itself. And by 'next generation' that's supposed to take 30 years i believe they are referring to the power train technology (gas>hybrid>?), not necessarily one supercar per 30 years.

G