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Lexus LFA Customization Program Announced by CEC

Posted by Kevin on January 30th, 2011

Los Angeles tuner CEC has announced that they will be producing three limited-edition LFAs — from Autoblog:

“We believe these three CEC Tuner Edition LFAs will be the most expensive and rarest of all the LFA supercars that Lexus will manufacturer and sell worldwide,” said Sherif Yassa, Vice President of CEC.

Thanks to the technical innovations that went into building the LFA, the CEC upgrades will mostly be limited to aesthetics. “We looked at the LFA and what Lexus engineers had done, and knew it would be crazy to try and improve it from a performance or engineering standpoint,” said Claus Ettensberger, founder of CEC. Even so, the tuner has managed to squeeze an extra 10 horsepower from the 4.8-liter V10 and trimmed shift times to .15 of a second.

It will be interesting to see if CEC was able to improve the LFA on their own or if these vehicles will be equipped with Lexus’ Nürburgring package minus the body modifications (the performance bumps are identical).

To commerate the announcement, the yellow LFA prototype was displayed at CEC headquarters in Los Angeles wearing some new shoes:

Lexus LFA CEC Wheel

Lexus LFA with CEC Wheels

Autoblog has some great photos of the car — be sure to check them out.

[Source: Autoblog]

Update: Edited the post to reflect that this is not an official partnership, but rather CEC will be purchasing the LFAs from Lexus and then customizing them from there offering 3 customers who purchase the Nürburgring edition an opportunity to purchase special CEC modifications. Also, I have confirmed with Lexus that these three LFAs will be equipped with the same engine modifications as the Nürburgring package.

Update 2: As it turns out, CEC isn’t purchasing the vehicles, but instead is offering 3 Lexus LFA Nürburgring package owners the opportunity to purchase CEC’s special modifications.

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Comments
W
I'M GONNA SAY THIS AGAIN FOR THE RECORD! I WAS THERE! I WAS THERE! AND I'M IN A COUPLE OF THE AUTOBLOG PICTURES TOO!!!
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    Joshd
  • January 30, 2011
WorldofLuxury wrote:I’M GONNA SAY THIS AGAIN FOR THE RECORD!I WAS THERE! I WAS THERE!AND I’M IN A COUPLE OF THE AUTOBLOG PICTURES TOO!!!
Did you buy...did you buy? lol The yellow from the pictures looks sharp. It really pops.
0
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    05RollaXRS
  • January 30, 2011
I am sure a good tuning company can extract 125 HP/Liter out of the LFA engine (knowing how well Yamaha engine's flow), which should put LFA over 600 + HP.
S
  • S
    Scorch
  • January 30, 2011
Oh? I thought Lexus does forbid any kind of tuning on the LFA? I thought I've read that somewhere but I can't find it again.
W
@Joshd: aha nah... Wanted to though! They also had a an IS 350 F-Sport, GX 460, GS 460, and an LS 460 L. Only the LFA and the GX 460 looked nice with their rims. The other rims were a bit.. cheap-looking. Btw, the GX 460 was black and sported a nice, blacked-out grille with the badge still in chrome. (The GX and LS grilles were all very flimsy) P.S.: Someone from Lexus arrived in a CT 200h, while the many other VIPs there arrived in a boring Maybach, Bentley, an ugly Panamera, and cool Phantom. There were was an SLR, SLS, and Continental GT in the back as well as an AC Schnitzer 5er. (This was the place where Claus Ettensberger showed off his LFA speeding ticket.) Wow... this comment is a mess :-D
W
No wait... The Porsche Panamera in front is on sale: http://www.cecwheels.com/articles1-1208/FORSALE2010PorschePanameraTurbo There was another Panamera in the garage, I think.
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    Getzman
  • January 30, 2011
Hi, great site about lexus, i have been following a lot, superb job n very informative. LFA wow its so rare and now being customized? Wow boggles the mind.. Awesome:-)
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    LarqueFausse
  • January 30, 2011
Unless I'm missing something...is the CEC customization program limited to just just new rims?
krew
LarqueFausse wrote:Unless I’m missing something…is the CEC customization program limited to just just new rims?
No, that's just the same yellow LFA prototype that's been seen all over the US. The customized LFAs from CEC haven't been shown yet -- this was just an announcement to say that they're coming.
krew
Scorch wrote:Oh? I thought Lexus does forbid any kind of tuning on the LFA? I thought I’ve read that somewhere but I can’t find it again.
I believe that had something to do with the LFA leasing program -- I don't think Lexus can control what happens to a vehicle once it's fully paid for.
krew
WorldofLuxury wrote:I’M GONNA SAY THIS AGAIN FOR THE RECORD!
I WAS THERE! I WAS THERE!
AND I’M IN A COUPLE OF THE AUTOBLOG PICTURES TOO!!!
I saw your Facebook photos with the poses in front of the LFA. Glad you got a chance to go! :-)
krew
05RollaXRS wrote:I am sure a good tuning company can extract 125 HP/Liter out of the LFA engine (knowing how well Yamaha engine’s flow), which should put LFA over 600 + HP.
I'm sure we'll see at least one LFA tuned up over 600 hp -- can't wait for the Youtube video. ;-)
W
@krew: Thanks! It was awesome! It's crazy now that I reminisce about it all. The first time I saw the LFA in person, I got to sit in it. The second time, I couldn't 'cause it was at the LA Auto Show. And the third time, I could sit in it again! 2 out of the 3 times! I'm one happy guy! :)
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    05RollaXRS
  • January 31, 2011
Krew: Do we know how many LFAs are yet unsold. I believe only the US allocations have some unsold LFAs. I am beginning to get a little worry about the unsold LFAs considering initially Lexus had way more demand than supply for the LFA, but seems like Lexus decided to focus on most LFAs being sold in the US and turned down other markets.
W
@05RollaXRS: The smallest of the last few claims was 20.
krew
I've edited the post to reflect that this is not an official partnership, but rather CEC will be purchasing the LFAs from Lexus and then customizing them from there. Also, I have confirmed with Lexus that these three LFAs will be equipped with the same engine modifications as the Nürburgring package.
krew
05RollaXRS wrote:Krew: Do we know how many LFAs are yet unsold. I believe only the US allocations have some unsold LFAs. I am beginning to get a little worry about the unsold LFAs considering initially Lexus had way more demand than supply for the LFA, but seems like Lexus decided to focus on most LFAs being sold in the US and turned down other markets.
Though I wasn't able to get an exact figure, I was told last week that there's "approximately two-dozen" LFAs still available in the USA.
R
  • R
    RollaXRS
  • January 31, 2011
Thanks, Krew. So I believe that figure came from Lexus USA?? I have heard Lexus (from AutoWeek magazine) is having a difficult time selling the remaining LFA and (God Forbid) LFAs could end up sitting on dealership lots. I would hate for that to happen. That would s*ck really bad! @krew:
krew wrote:
05RollaXRS wrote:Krew: Do we know how many LFAs are yet unsold. I believe only the US allocations have some unsold LFAs. I am beginning to get a little worry about the unsold LFAs considering initially Lexus had way more demand than supply for the LFA, but seems like Lexus decided to focus on most LFAs being sold in the US and turned down other markets.
Though I wasn’t able to get an exact figure, I was told last week that there’s “approximately two-dozen” LFAs still available in the USA.
krew
One more update -- as it turns out, CEC isn't purchasing the vehicles, but instead is offering 3 Lexus LFA Nürburgring package owners the opportunity to purchase CEC's special modifications.
T
  • T
    toyotaclassics
  • February 1, 2011
well back in middle january when the scott pruett donut video was released, it was said that 60 units remain unsold. Now this video has since been locked to invited viewers only which is essentially locked period.
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    Nataraj
  • February 1, 2011
There is plenty of demand for the LFA in other countries, so if any are unsold in the USA, lexus can ship the LFAs and sell them elsewhere such as canda, japan, austrailia. etc.
0
  • 0
    05RollaXRS
  • February 1, 2011
That article got published too late. The 60 number they are referring to is the increased allocations in the US when they bumped it up from 110 to 171 back in September. By now, I believe only around 20 LFAs are left. There are already 4 people in US who have taken delivery of their LFAs.
toyotaclassics wrote:well back in middle january when the scott pruett donut video was released, it was said that 60 units remain unsold. Now this video has since been locked to invited viewers only which is essentially locked period.
T
  • T
    toyotaclassics
  • February 2, 2011
05RollaXRS wrote:That article got published too late. The 60 number they are referring to is the increased allocations in the US when they bumped it up from 110 to 171 back in September. By now, I believe only around 20 LFAs are left. There are already 4 people in US who have taken delivery of their LFAs.
The US started with 150 units and was bumped by 21 to 171 in late summer 2010.
T
  • T
    toyotaclassics
  • February 2, 2011
So far most people only had to put a relatively low deposit (20 or 60k) for the LFA. When it comes time to take delivery they will have to fork out the remainder of $300k for the lease or the full amount to purchase outright. Who knows how many non-filthy rich people will come to their senses and opt at the last minute. As much as this car is a marvel of engineering, you have to be crazy to purchase one unless you can truly afford to.
krew
toyotaclassics wrote:The US started with 150 units and was bumped by 21 to 171 in late summer 2010.
I believe they are now at 173.

K