The Lexus LFA: The Car That's Too Good for You

Aaron Broverman

It goes zero to sixty in 3.6 seconds, has a top speed of 325 kph, powered by a 10 cylinder, 552-horsepower engine and its all under a carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer body, which makes it 220 lbs lighter than an aluminum equivalent. Production begins in December, with only 20 of these hand-built marvels being made each month to a maximum of 500 before it all comes to a halt. I'm talking uber-exclusive, uppercrust, once-in-a-lifetime, one time only, act now, kind of thing. I'm sure all you gearheads are drooling right now. But even if you had the $350,000 US it takes to drive this two-seater sports car off the lot, there's one thing you ought to know....

You may want the Lexus LFA, but the Lexus LFA doesn't want you.Just to have a shot at it, you have to submit to a rigorous application process designed to see if you've got the right stuff to shill this car for Toyota. That's right, Toyota. I wonder if automatic acceleration comes standard? You're rated in terms of the other cars in your driveway, the neighbourhood you live in, what areas you drive in and how often. Looks like those undercover millionaires in Vancouver's downtown eastside aren't going to cut it.

The national manager of Lexus College, Toyota's dealer training school, Paul Williamson put the finest of points on it in an interview with The Wall Street Journal: "We want people who will drive the car, who will be seen in the car," said "We want it to be seen on the right roads, in front of the right restaurants and not just being enjoyed by one individual in their private garage."

These luxury-car apartheid rules are how the Japanese car-maker hopes to tap into the ultra-rich market previously dominated by Porsche and Lamborghini. The LFA initially made a big splash at Detroit's North American International Auto Show in 2005 as a concept car and Toyota thinks it can sell a third of the two-seater's 500 unit run in North America.

Of course, if you don't measure up it doesn't matter if your butt is made of gold, you're never getting a seat in the LFA.. Ironic, given the company isn't exactly in a position to play gatekeeper. They find themselves begging the middle class to start driving their cars again in the wake of the faulty accelerator recall and yet. Even if you're one of the super rich, your money isn't enough: Toyota wants your lifestyle too.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

3-14-2010 @ 11:23AM

Webb said...

Tell Toyota to shove it up their Ya Ya's. The adacity of a car company that does not even know how to build a car. They have car's killing hundreds of people on our highways right now and we are suppose to beg like lap dog's for one of their over valued pieces of junk. Ha I say.

8-20-2010 @ 2:00PM

garnet said...

I would take a 2010 Jeep SRT It is just as fast but not the cop magnet or piece of crap this car is. Sorry it only goes 300kph, but then again we were on a two lane black top,

3-15-2010 @ 2:15PM

cw said...

Why do you have to take a shot at Vancouver's East side?
Is it something you read during the Oylmpics? Or are you just jealous that there is nothing worth talking about in the "centre
of the universe" Toronto.
If you want lawless try, Toronto's Jane-Finch corridor.
I'd trade you for a walk down Main and Hastings anytime
of the day or night.

3-15-2010 @ 9:57PM

Friendofthugs said...

I wonder why any idiot will still dare to buy a Toyota car. Toyota should be blacklisted and prevented to market all troubled models any where in the world. Don't take me wrong, I am not on the payroll of GM, Chrysler or Ford. They are all money grabber bastards. Example is, how long it took Ford to accept one of its model had problem with fuel tank position. How many got burnt alive before it was corrected?

3-16-2010 @ 1:14PM

W.Palmer said...

I'll buy a used one and park it outside the downtown mission.

Does it go 0-60 by itself or with a driver? Right now you couldn't give me a Toyota.

3-16-2010 @ 6:56PM

Anthony said...

Nobody really cares about any idiotic opinions about Toyota (at least not the people who matter in the world aka. the people who can afford the LFA), you idiots actually think you can compare a shitty econo-box like the ones you all drive to the LFA. The LFA will give a Lambo or Ferrari a run for its money easily (car magazines are already saying IT IS better) as for the "unavailability", almost every supercar claims that, just go to dupont registry and you will find Enzo Ferraris, Bugatti's, and any other car which has years long waiting for sale right now if you have the money, and I'm sure the LFA will be up there for sale as soon as it hits the market. ps. if you cant afford a car than dont comment on it because it wasnt built with YOU in mind

8-24-2010 @ 10:15PM

Julian said...

The lfa costs three times more than the cheapest Ferrari and it doesn't go as fast. It's another Japanese attempt to copy the best because that's all they do.......copy.....never an original idea......i bet the design engineers are all European. Look how much money they poured into Formula 1 and they never came close to winning a championship. Go to Top Gear and you will see that the top 20 fastest cars in the world are not Japanese.

3-17-2010 @ 9:53AM

jc said...

does LFA stand for Lightining Fast Accelerator????? Lol...........

3-17-2010 @ 12:15PM

W.Palmer said...

"A rose by any other name......."
It's still a Toyota, Just like a Jaguar is a tarted up Ford. and how many Chrysler bits went into a Daimler.

I think Toyota have Firmware problem, and it goes back many years, and they haven't got a clue what it is, and whatever it is it will almost bankrupt them, and whoever owns certain models are driving a time bomb, and this same CPU controller is used throughout the entire model range, and probably this new LFA...
or maybe just the floor mats....

There's going to be some red faces if that thing takes off on it's own. Especially if it is outside Harrod's.

8-20-2010 @ 11:18AM

sandra said...

my husband built me a 1966 mustang fastback, they stole my color of burnt almond orange, she has horses that will lift her front end off the ground, the most beautiful thing i have ever seen and you couldnt buy it off me for a megger $ 350.000 she also has all the bling she can carry, these cars have none.

8-20-2010 @ 1:31PM

Simon said...

Despite their recent problems with gas pedals (That part made in America) Toyotas generally have a good reputation for reliability but will never be a prestige car. Real prestige cars earn that reputation through a long, hard earned experience building cars. Allot of innovation, race history, triumphs, failures and the ability to come up with original ideas and take risks.

Toyota will never have prestige for the same reason you can't buy experience and knowledge, or fake a rich and glorious past that can only exist from a long history of notible and respected accomplishments. Another words, real prestige can't be created in a boardroom, and then followed up with slick marketing.

Like respect, it has to be earned and can't be faked. Slapping a Lexus badge on a Toyota grille, is just a fake and pathetic way to attempt to get into the prestige club, without earning it like real prestige cars had to. Real prestige cars have a specific DNA, which gives each one a unique to their brand driving experience that the Japanese don't even begin to understand. That DNA, is what endures them to their owners, which isn't going to happen just on basic reliability alone.

Car magazines have stated, that a Lexus is perfect for people that have no interest in driving. Their slogan is the persuit of perfection, but refined to death without any driving feel makes them a boring car. Their attempt to judge any potential owner as having to measure up for this model is a joke, when they don't measure up to a real driving enthusiest.