A Stunning Tribute to the Lexus LFA
There’s nothing like the LFA on the road today. Now, a 48-minute documentary covers the history and the passion behind the halo car.
Once upon a time, Lexus set out on a mission: the change the world of performance and luxury forever. The LS and ES were just the beginning, though. The brand knew it needed a sports car to truly rattle the Teutonics. The SC was a fine start. However, it wouldn’t be until the short-lived, limited-edition LFA arrived that Lexus cemented its place among the greats.
Today, the LFA is Lexus’s greatest halo car, ever. Arriving at that point took a lot of work, a ton of money, and a decade to bring it to life. Mark “Savagegesse” Sanevski recently dropped his longest video yet, in the form of a 48-minute documentary on the crown jewel from Nagoya.
A Dream to Own
“At one point, Toyota had approached me to purchase an LFA,” said J.R. Smart, owner of Smart Toyota in Madison, Wisconsin. “Never dreamed that I would purchase that car. I just put it out of my mind.”
Though Smart was put off by the lease-only program for the LFA back then, once Lexus started selling the halo car, Smart was all in. Thus, he became the owner of No. 453, a matte-black stunner with red/black interior. From there, he received a book about his car, a near-replica scale model with certificate of authenticity, even matching carbon-fiber Tumi luggage. It’s this car Sanevski winds up spending most of his time with.
A Dream to Build
“Haruhiko Tanahashi was [in] their future planning for these types of cars,” said Sanevski. “It was in the back of his mind for a while […] After a while, they started this whole plan […] One of the things they decided right away early is, ‘It wasn’t just gonna be some four-cylinder, eco pile of shit. It was gonna be a sports car, high-end.’ They did not want a baby Corolla-turned-sports car. This was gonna be a bespoke machine.”
Thus, with a hand-selected crew of 175 led by the Lexus baseball team manager, Shigeru Yamanaka, Lexus set about to make Tanahashi’s dream a reality. The brand spent over $1 billion over 10 years “to basically make a statement to the world.” Toyota’s Formula 1 technology, a quantum leap in carbon fiber weaving, and the desire to build an excellent road car all around, resulted in an engineering feat not seen since.
A Dream to Drive
“You see videos. You see the information that’s available out there on the internet. Some of it’s good. Some of it’s bad,” said Sanevski. “But one thing I can tell you is what I expected this car to be, it’s not at all like I expected. What I really didn’t know was that Lexus focused more about the chassis development and the handling […] I thought it was gonna be a GT car, and it’s not. It’s a sports car.”
Though time marched on past the LFA, the masterpiece influences all of the top-end Lexuses available today. It also stands on its own merit, as well. Long live the LFA.
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