In Awe of a Legend: LFA Visits Toyota’s Texas HQ
Hanging out amongst a handful of Lexus’s greatest hits for a special event, LFA stands out above all simply by standing still.
Nearly a decade after the final copy left Nagoya, the Lexus LFA still resonates within the bloodline. There’s no denying how influential the brand’s halo car continues to be, whether its the F Sport line, or the carbon fiber trim in any given Lexus model. The energy is so strong, Lexus knows it’ll still be a while before it can create a proper successor, if ever.
Add to the fact that just 500 were built, and only a handful made it to the United States, and you’re guaranteed to be floored by its presence. Just ask Joe Raiti of Raiti’s Rides. While at a special event at Toyota’s Plano, Texas headquarters, he got to spend some quality time with a white LFA. Awestruck would be an understatement.
“Lexus. They’ve really have built a name for themselves,” said Raiti. “Started in 1989. When we think of performance, obviously, we think of great cars like the RC F, RC F Track Edition, LC 500. But this car right here was something so special.”
And of course, as Raiti says, it was a long time in the making, with the first concepts going back to the turn of the millennium. Only in 2010 did the production LFA hit the line, just to leave it forever in 2012. Yet, its short life left a big impact upon not only Lexus and their fans, but gearheads all around the world.
“You’re looking at a 4.8-liter V10, naturally aspirated V10,” said Raiti. “That’s gonna be 553 horsepower, 354 pound-feet of torque. It’s mated to a six-speed automatic manual transmission […] 9,000-RPM redline. Top speed, 202 miles per hour. Zero to 60 — it may not seem like a big deal — 3.5 seconds. Back in 2012, that was a huge deal.”
Of course, Yamaha’s music department tuned the V10 to sing beautifully, too. It’s details like that that made the LFA worth over $300,000 in its day, and even more now.
“It just really goes to show that the minds and the energy they put forward towards a goal of producing something that’s just out of this world when it comes to power, when it comes to driving experience, and definitely, this style, the LFA checks off so many boxes,” said Raiti. “It’ll definitely go down in history as one of the most ultimate cars.”
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