Lexus LFR/LFA II Megathread

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ssun30

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The LFR is a farewell to traditional performance ICEV. F plans probably changed a lot when Lexus was reconsidered as a full BEV brand. Whether we like it or not, Lexus will not introduce much in terms of performance hybrids of plug-in hybrids in the next 5 years. Anything other than the LFR is wishful thinking.

I don't know how much real progress they made in batteries or it was just marketing hype to shut up the climate activists. But by 2028 they would have battery tech that could consistently operate at 6C (required for their "10-min charging" goal). That would allow a whole lineup of products starting at 360kW/480PS in the low end and up to 750kW/1000PS for halo cars. A full F lineup could be built with a common platform and standardized parts. And they can give all of them manual transmission just with software.

If you haven't been living under a rock, you probably heard about the Volvo EX30 which brings a 430PS, 0-100km/h in 3.6s BEV for the price of a NX350h. While the world has been lagging behind ChDM for 2-3 years, I think the time for very affordable high performance BEV is becoming a reality globally. In the next 2-3 years nobody would care one bit about any new performance ICEV with less than 600PS. It certainly doesn't help when people look up "super car performance" online they will likely see a video where a Model S Plaid destroys Lamborghinis and Ferraris in a drag race.
 
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dylanfoos

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Really saddens me that Lexus has sent some mixed signals within the F brand :(. Might just have to cop a IS500 already.
 
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JustADude

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Instead of the whole RD going to a supercar, I'd rather have them revamp the IS,RC,GS big time. Give the GSF/LCF this V8 Hybrid, the same powertrains but different body style, kinda what the old M5/M8 are. ISF/RCF with gas TTV8. Lighten up the rwd platform, tune the T24/V35 for power and put them in these cars. If they had a whole lineup with new F cars as the end of ICE that'd be better imo. Maybe I'm just dreaming
 
F1 Silver Arrows

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JustADude said:
Instead of the whole RD going to a supercar, I'd rather have them revamp the IS,RC,GS big time. Give the GSF/LCF this V8 Hybrid, the same powertrains but different body style, kinda what the old M5/M8 are. ISF/RCF with gas TTV8. Lighten up the rwd platform, tune the T24/V35 for power and put them in these cars. If they had a whole lineup with new F cars as the end of ICE that'd be better imo. Maybe I'm just dreaming
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What people in this forum need to understand is that we needed this car for motorsports purposes. Cars like the LFA trickled down their tech and hype to other cars in the Lexus lineup. The LFR will serve the same role. Lexus can also spend time on other RWD-based products and F cars too.

I know a lot of Lexus executives read this forum, but they can develop the LFR and revive the GS, update IS/RC/LS/LC/etc. and create F variants of them.

There are people here that WILL buy them.
 
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Kelvin2020 said:
The road version?
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Should be both. But remember, you need to have a certain number of cars produced before it can be homologated as a GT3 car. If the race car is to debut in IMSA's 2025 24 Hours of Daytona, then we're supposed to see LFRs on the road next year, which should spell out a reveal soon. Lexus will also race on the international scene in WEC's new GT3 class that is starting in 2024. We're unsure if the RC F will race in 2024 as a stopgap or if Lexus will officially start in 2025. It remains to be seen.

For the World Endurance Championship, the GT3 class gives first priority to Hypercar manufacturers. Then, remaining spots will be given to other manufacturers/privateer racing teams racing an OEM's car. So, Ferrari will race the 296 GT3, Porsche will race the 911 RSR, Cadillac will race the Corvette Z06 GT3.R, and Toyota should race the LFR GT3.

BMW and Lamborghini will join the World Endurance Championship next year so they are able to field the M4 GT3 and the Huracan GT3 EVO2. The remaining spots will go to manufacturers like Mercedes with the AMG GT3, Honda/Acura with the NSX GT3 (Honda/Acura MAY run their ARX-06 in WEC but it remains to be seen), and McLaren with the 720S GT3 if there is enough space. To clarify, teams that are in the Hypercar class will be offered two GT3 car slots first. Aston Martin have been racing with the Vantage GTE car for a long time in the World Endurance Championship so there may be a chance they'll be given some special concessions despite them not having a Hypercar.

Anyways, the whispers I've heard is that the world reveal should be 2-3 months away. The supposed time should place it right at or around when ToyotaCon is supposed to be held. It was shown in private last week and everyone murmurs that it looks really menacing (but also very beautiful). I unfortunately haven't been able to see any leaked pictures myself.
 
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Gor134

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F1 Silver Arrows said:
Should be both. But remember, you need to have a certain number of cars produced before it can be homologated as a GT3 car. If the race car is to debut in IMSA's 2025 24 Hours of Daytona, then we're supposed to see LFRs on the road next year, which should spell out a reveal soon.
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NB1 NSX would like a word 🥸 fairly certain they would make "exceptions" under GT3 like they would for Super GT, perhaps. Off topic but so upset we were done dirty with that... Wish Honda would showcase the final product in a museum at least.

If the LFR has been shown privately I wouldn't be surprised that that's why BestCar had such good renders, as they usually have insiders that they base their renders off of.

That said.. I'm a bit skeptical of a 2-3 month time frame for debut.. for something as major as this, I would definitely expect Lexus to do some major hype like Toyota did with the Supra and recent SUVs, with doing camoflauge reveals and then racecar variant reveal before the final product.

OR... They do a bombshell drop reveal like Ford did with the GT at NAIAS in 2015 before going on sale a full two years later.

Either way, extremely hoping to seeing Lexus show it off at the LA Auto Show at the end of this year.
 
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LarryT

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JustADude said:
Instead of the whole RD going to a supercar, I'd rather have them revamp the IS,RC,GS big time. Give the GSF/LCF this V8 Hybrid, the same powertrains but different body style, kinda what the old M5/M8 are. ISF/RCF with gas TTV8. Lighten up the rwd platform, tune the T24/V35 for power and put them in these cars. If they had a whole lineup with new F cars as the end of ICE that'd be better imo. Maybe I'm just dreaming
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Revamping their haphazard lineup with legitimate luxury/performance vehicles that many people/Lexus fans have been clamoring for is exactly what Lexus should be doing instead of wasting extraordinary resources on an overwrought halo "supercar."
 
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F1 Silver Arrows

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Wait... actually I think it won't be released to the public for HQ Confidential. Come to think of it, two to three months away would imply the beginning of September.

The 6 Hours of Fuji will take place on September 10th. I think Toyota would take full advantage of doing a grand reveal in front of the entire motorsports and automotive world, and create a lot of fanfare for this car. It would make sense because the LFR GT3 will race in the World Endurance Championship, which is the biggest championship concerning sports cars/endurance racers, and the WEC arguably has the best racing product right now of all world championships.

I have reason to believe they'll reveal it in Fuji now. It would make much more sense to reveal it at their home track, while they're the most dominant manufacturer in the series, and do a shock reveal in front of the whole world, and most importantly, in front of their competitors.

 
mikeavelli

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mediumhot said:
I can't help but notice that there is no one fifth of the hype for LFR like it was for LFA so gotta ask the question what is the upside for branding LFR as Lexus?

To introduce Lexus to major racing events?
To boost Lexus image with another halo car?

Since this will not be a BEV car I'm really not sure why LC-F was cancelled and now reintroduced as this years later. Whle LFA was Ferrari and Lambo competition this is more of like AMG GT rival and Mercedes take on SL/AMG GT combo.
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Completely different. LFA was shown as a Lexus as a concept on the show circuit for years with multiple updates including a convertible.

The next car has technically not been shown yet. The GT3 Concept had no badges and the Lexus badged one which leaked from the dealer meeting. I can’t say obviously what all was there.

I expect the hype train to arrive when. the car is officially shown I assume first as a closer concept than eventually as a production car.

Let them take their time so I can keep working on stacking chips hahhah
 
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sl0519

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F1 Silver Arrows said:
Wait... actually I think it won't be released to the public for HQ Confidential. Come to think of it, two to three months away would imply the beginning of September.

The 6 Hours of Fuji will take place on September 10th. I think Toyota would take full advantage of doing a grand reveal in front of the entire motorsports and automotive world, and create a lot of fanfare for this car. It would make sense because the LFR GT3 will race in the World Endurance Championship, which is the biggest championship concerning sports cars/endurance racers, and the WEC arguably has the best racing product right now of all world championships.

I have reason to believe they'll reveal it in Fuji now. It would make much more sense to reveal it at their home track, while they're the most dominant manufacturer in the series, and do a shock reveal in front of the whole world, and most importantly, in front of their competitors.

Click to expand...

lol sounds like ur just speculating what if unveil doesn't happen on Sep? :unsure:
 
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sl0519 said:
lol sounds like ur just speculating what if unveil doesn't happen on Sep? :unsure:
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I wasn't told WHERE it would be revealed. So I gave the two most likely locations. I originally thought it was going to be ~August which would mean it's two months away, but given the significance of this car I'm betting it'll get revealed on the 6 Hours of Fuji.

It should be revealed no later than September.
 
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