bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

if i understood the wording, they improved it BY 0.05, not improved it TO 0.05. it was already 200ms 0.2s, so improving by 0.05 would take it to 0.15 or 25% faster - sweet.

for comparison, an MB SL black series is 0.25s shifts.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

faptastic.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shift_time

assume relatively accurate. so on ferrari it's 150ms, which means it's 0.15s.

as paul quoted, lexus improved it from 0.2 by 0.05 to 0.15, so the shifting is the same as ferrari (enzo for that matter).

MR_F1

But still slower than an IS F :P

GS69

Lease the Lexus LFA for $12,400/month, $298,000 Due @ Signing

The rich are very different from you and we, now more than ever. First off, we don't have the mental fortitude for jumping through all of the hoops that Lexus is making potential LFA customers limbo beneath. Let alone the cash. Thing is, the rigamarole involved never mattered because Lexus is only making 500 examples of the LFA and we're simply not going to lose sleep over the process it takes to park one in our garage. However, a potential LFA owner sent us a copy of his order guide, and like any good train wreck, we can't look away. Also, remember, this info ain't intended for public consumption.

For your living-vicarious pleasure, here's how it works: As reported, you cannot buy Lexus' first ever supercar. You have to lease the mostly-carbon-fiber-and-unobtanium LFA. That's sort of good news for the non-disgustingly wealthy, right? After all, leases are the cheap and easy way to get into a new car. Are you sitting down? The monthly lease payment on the Lexus LFA is $12.398.44. For 24 months. That's $297,562.56 worth of lease payments over two years, at the end of which you own nothing. However, Lexus is quick to point out that the LFA's MSRP is $375,000, so you're technically not paying full price. And at the end of 24 months, lessees are free to plunk down an additional $93,750 (more than the base price of a very comparable Nissan GT-R, we should mention) and buy their LFA outright.

Of course, you can't just waltz into your local Lexus dealership with $12,398.44 and rocket waltz out in an LFA. Lexus has to actually select you to lease its (admittedly awesome) car. Once you're chosen, you've got 10 days to drop off a $10,000 deposit at your local Lexus dealer and submit to a credit check. We should mention that this will not be the only deposit and credit check Lexus requires.

Once your credit checks out, you then have to deposit an additional $50,000. To mini-recap, that's $60,000 down on a $375,000 car. Sounds reasonable (from a detached, algebraic ratio perspective) until you remember that you're not buying the car, just leasing it. All of this will be/is happening from March–June 2010. Production of the LFA doesn't start until December. We don't know how long each car will take to build, but customers lessees will be required to go through a second credit check immediately prior to delivery. We're not entirely sure you really want to pass the second credit check. Here's why.

Remember the $12,398.44 per month lease payment we mentioned a couple paragraphs up? That's just the breakdown. All LFAs are being doled out via Lexus' 1Pay Lease Program. Meaning that to lease the LFA, you hand Lexus a check for $237,562.56, which is the full amount of the lease minus your $60,000 pair of deposits. Oh, and there's a $700 "aquisition fee." Plus tax, title, license and registration. The good news? Even though you have to lease the LFA, because of the lengthy approval/deposit process, each car is still made to order. Meaning that even though you don't own the car, you can still order it in Passionate Pink, a $3,000 option. Make the jump to read the pricing guide.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

you know, that really is a pile of money... maybe Tommy James is right, and Lexus will have a hard time finding 'buyers', except maybe in middle eastern oil states and Asia.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

i have had tons (and i mean tons) of discussions with him on all sorts of issues regarding exotic market and he has shown me a lot of data / trend / group as well. no one will know for sure until the car is out and whether the whole list is spoken for, but it will definitely be interesting to see how lexus sell out everything. their marketing on this car seems to be quite different from the other exotics

TRDFantasy

Maybe he is wrong, we will see.

That Autoblog article is a joke frankly. Anyone who is serious about buying an LFA won't care about the lease setup because it contributes towards the car itself. The article is incorrect that you "own nothing". After the 2-year lease, you've already paid for most of the car. All you do is add less than 100K and the car is completely yours.

Frankly, I think most of us here on CL have no business talking about the cost of the car, or that it's a lot of money. The vast majority of people in CL are nowhere near the target market for the LFA, nor are we in any position to buy an LFA even if we wanted to.

Tommy James is only ONE person. We have at least 2 people here on CL that are very serious about getting an LFA; they are in the target market for the car and they have the means to get it.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

most of us can't play professional sports either but we can talk about that, so i don't understand what your point at all.

plus we talk about ferraris, other high end brands too, most of which few if any of us here will ever own.

if you don't like those who can't afford one writing about it, then you don't have to read it.

TRDFantasy

You misunderstood.

We can obviously talk about it, there is nothing wrong with that.

IMHO, I feel that most of us can't really make serious judgements on the LFA's price.

Some people have been very personal and judgmental of the LFA's price, as if they are actually going to buy one.

LexFather

I've noticed articles like that just like crapping on the price and people that post it hate the car anyway.

At least it came to the market. You can't pay anything for a new NSX or essence.

Didn't matter what the price was, what the details were this car has ruffled a lot of feathers. I don't think I've ever seen a new exotic so hated and despised before.

What happened to loving exotics for being exotic? I don't recall bitxhing about the price for any of them.

G Star

iTrader: (2)

It's simply a defense mechanism. Imagine working so hard to buy Ferrari or Lambo etc, all that time to work and save to be accepted by a niche group of car owners and collectors, then Lexus prances along and creates this competitor. No, it doesn't play their game but has a game board all on its own, it plays on a different level and is changing the meaning of performance. It may not have the statistical advantage but on the pavement, it can hang with the big boys and give them some attitude while at it. LFA has done some pretty remarkable things and we haven't even seen a production version yet, things will only get better. To make themselves feel better, they have to belittle the LFA, not because of what it can do, only because of where it came from and why it came to be. After the production cars start rolling out and shutting down the haters, more and more sheep will flock towards the LFA.

TRDFantasy

Well said, I agree.

The LFA is going to redefine the meaning of reliability, craftsmanship, and attention to detail in an exotic supercar.

The haters will hate, until they see the real-world performance numbers of the production car in reviews and comparisons.

They will hate, until they hear the incredible engine sound out on the streets.

TommyJames

There are several issues brought up in the above thread that I need to explain once again. First, I think the two payment lease is designed to protect Lexus and not buyers. Lexus claims that they are doing it because of high demand for the car. I can say that regardless of who I ask in exotic circles, nobody knows of anyone who plans to buy one. I think that Lexus created this least so they aren't competing against their own used cars. Believe me, if there was strong demand for the 150 cars, you'd see it on the exotic forums somewhere. This forum is the most discussion anywhere about the LFA and what, TWO people are strongly considering the car? Do we have any actual "notified" buyers here yet?

In this US market, all exotics produced in this volume are depreciating right now. I was offered more for my SV than what I spent, but it's the only one in a particular color. I think the F458 will also be the exception because of a built in market. Take a look at the used versus new numbers on both Dupont and eBay for anything. (I can just see people pulling out the Enzo, F50, F40 numbers which are unique circumstances that don't need to be rehashed again.) Now, imagine what happens to Lexus if the LFA fits the same pattern as other exotics in the current market, and there is no buzz anywhere to support the belief that the car will go in any other direction but down. Imagine now that you're on the production list for a car and a used one comes up for far less money before yours arrives that you can have right now. Chances are good you'd dive on that used LFA and cancel your order.

The problem is under this lease arrangement you can't sell so you can't manage your loss. You are tying up an asset for two years and by then the Murcielago replacement will be out, F458s will be in the pipeline at full volume, and there will likely be a new Gallardo announced, not to mention other exotics on the market. I think it's a rare person willing to tie up their money for any toy, especially on a depreciating asset.

I'm content to just wait and see what happens. I think Lexus claim regarding demand is false. That's my opinion based on my experience with exotics and the exotic community. I don't think it will take long to prove one way or another as June is right around the corner and Lexus has claimed that all buyers will be notified by then, right? We're into mid March so that should mean that 15+ buyers have already been notified (assuming about one a day) and no posts anywhere so far.

I don't think Lexus will find 150 buyers in this current market even if they dropped the lease. I predict the market for the LFA in the US is about 20 cars, if that. I'm not bashing Lexus, I'm just commenting on the reality of the exotic market. Again, only around 43 LP670-f SVs were sold in the US in the past year out of 350 worldwide.

Regarding the discussion, I don't think you have to be a potential buyer to have a good point on the LFA. I think we're all car guys first, right? It doesn't matter what we drive. This has been interesting to follow and I like the debate.

Tee

http://www.autoblog.com/gallery/supe...-renderings/#2