Being such a masterpiece, I always wonder why the LFA didn’t do well when it first came out. Yet now you see them selling for damn near $1M. It’s like Van Gogh. No one appreciated the work of art until it was gone. But why?
What changed? Do you see any brand new V8’s, V10’s and V12’s being offered these days?
A V10 Lexus is desirable in an era where you will never see a vehicle like that ever again.
If I wanted an LFA I could afford one, but it doesn’t have cruise control. hard deal breaker.
Every time you see a jaded supercar reviewer jump into one and start it for the first time, their eyes come out of their sockets at the sound.
The biggest reason IMO is that people didn’t think that this engine was the second-to-last high revving V10 that would ever exist. I think we all thought 9k NA engines would continue forever. I’m pretty sure at the time I thought we’d be seeing 10k, 11k, 12k redlines in the future.
Shit Honda had a 9k RPM engine in a 30k car at the time. And now the Ferrari V8 is dead. Unpredictable plot twist that made the LFA much more special now than it was at the time.
I know this one. It cost more for R&D and to build them then they were able to sell them for. They were $375,000. A Ferrari had a far better pedigree so for that amount of cash I am going to save 150k and get a 2015 458 Ferrari Especial for $239,000 instead of a haute’ Toyota. Lexus was so perfection driven that it was completely finished in aluminum and they tore it apart and made it out of Carbon Fiber. *source Car and Driver. Jeremy Clarkson drove one all around Japan and really loved the car. It revved so fast that only a digital RPM Guage could keep up with it. The N/A V10 was awesome but the Ferrari 458 (4.5 liter V8 = 458). It made the same horsepower with 2 fewer cylinders. I think it is a beautiful car. It just isn’t as beautiful as cars in its price range. “It costs 6 times more than a Nissan GTR, but isnt 6 times as fast” -Jeremy Clarkson, Top Gear.
Because most of the people that buy these cars aren’t real enthusiasts. They care about hp numbers and track times they’ll never be within 10 seconds of. The LFA is one of the best sports cars ever made. For example, the rx7 is not that fast, and won’t be fast without extensive modifications; but it’s an amazing sports car and because it’s more attainable to car enthusiasts it was popular and reached goat status much faster than the LFA.
It failed because it launched years after it’s performance contemporaries as a result of toyota/lexus’ pursuit of perfection, car was delayed over and over again.
It didn’t fail. These cars are marketing tools. They weren’t planning on making anything other than trying to basically break even on the LFA and get some patents.
It has a terrible transmission.
When it came out everyone had switched to dual clutch by then.initially failed because it took too long to develop, was immensely expensive, there were still a fair few N/A supercars available that outperformed it (an Aventador could be had for almost 100k less than the LFA when it released) and the Lexus badge hasn’t got the same prestige for supercar buyers compared to manufacturers like Ferrari or Lamborghini
but it continues to demand super high resale prices because of scarcity (only 500 made), the driving experience (many auto journos have stated it is incredible to drive) and of course the legendary engine and exhaust note. as time has gone by people care less about the raw numbers a car has and moreso the overall experience and how that car makes them feel. you can find a car that matches or beats the LFA in terms of performance very easily these days - but a car exactly like the LFA may well never come around again…and I think the market has realised that too
There is no rationality to this. Supercar purchases are 100% emotional. Hypercar purchases are even more removed from reality. The people that buy these cars hardly ever drive them. When they do, its following the speed limits to a cars and coffee or something. These are wealth trophies for flexing and nothing else.
Everyone in here is saying something about performance figures, which is nonsense.
its more along the lines of the car being an outlier branding wise. All these rich cunts want trophies to show off their wealth. Ferrari, Porsche, and Lambo have established themselves as the three certified rich trophies. A few others have crept in, like Pagani.
The LFA required a ton of explanation to justify. You cant roll up in one and have the same instant reaction you get in a Ferrari. Your rich friends are going to rip on you for buying a Lexus over a Ferrari. No one in this level of wealth has the driving skills or the motivation to actually extract performance out of these cars.
The LFA is a cool car now because its in the second hand market. Actual enthusiasts bought them used. Top Gear and a bunch of other enthusiast shows raved about them. Prices are up because rich people are hoarding them again because and the need for explanation is dissipating. There is also this trend for nostalgia and “something different” among the rich folks. The LFA checks those boxes as well. There is a tone of “oh its just another Ferrari” type of thing going on.
Source: Ive been in super/hyper car enthusiast circles and had to leave because the people there are worse than anyone even realizes.
Nothing wrong with the LFA. Just the timing of its release (just before the financial crisis) and also at the same time, the R35 Nissan GTR came out which is faster and cheaper.
The Lexus LFA should’ve been the new Supra instead of a rebadged BMW Z4
This is exactly what leads to a car becoming a high value classic. Good cars that aren’t super popular when they come out frequently rise in value once people have time to appreciate them. Toyota wiped the board and started over 3 times on the LFA, it was never going to be profitable. It became a moonshot car and contines to be a halo for the brand, the LC cars have very reminiscent styling and i think this helps those cars find relative success. The ford GT, Carrera GT, S2000, Toyota FJ, they weren’t very well liked in their time but ridiculous prices now
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