Their knowledge of performance begins with their participation in the Rolex Grand Am ports car series. Everyone is new to this series, but Lexus managed to look experienced by finding the right path before all others. Lexus captured 11 of 12 poles in 2004, won 5 races, and captured the drivers’ and manufacturers’ championships.

Lexus’ knowledge will grow vastly as owner Toyota Motor Corporation competes as a full-constructor team in F1 in 2005, as well as acting as engine supplier for the Jordan F1 team. New teams, as a general rule, have not fared well in recent years. Toyota has had their work cut out for them, but they will certainly learn.

That knowledge should be put to good and profitable use, for the good of all automobile enthusiasts – perhaps something that looks like this here LF-A would do the trick. Jim Press, the Executive Vice President and COO of Toyota Motor Corporation, tells us that Toyota is “seriously considering” building this powerful statement of Toyota technology and Lexus design.    

The LF-A has intriguing, low-slung proportions, with a 103-inch wheelbase, and a 173-inch overall length. It is just 48 inches  tall and 73 inches wide, and rides on 19” tires.

The design, as chief LF-A architect Wahei Hirai tells us, is “a clear indication of the path that Lexus global design will follow into the near future.” It’s a design that Lexus has been kicking around and perfecting for two years, and now they get to see what we think.

It certainly raises an eyebrow in the way it mixes flowing lines with sharp details fitting of contemporary Japanese design. And it has grown on us since we first laid eyes on it 2 months ago. But we must ask the question why. Why would Lexus enter an already heavily occupied (albeit rapidly growing) high-end sports car market? Well there’s this bit about Toyota being involved in racing; there should be some very obvious reflections of their racing efforts and knowledge gained in their products. But, still, what place does Lexus have in this segment? Why are they really going there? We asked Jim Press.

Toyota COO Jim Press discusses with great emotion the value and luxury involved in this F1-inspired Lexus supercar. photo by Andrew Gardner

He said: “First of all to show that we can, and to show that we have the capability. And we have a lot of our customers that have that kind of purchasing power that love Lexus, love their dealers, love the [Lexus] experience, and want to be able to have a Lexus of the kind of car that they want to drive. So it’s really driven by our customers; the customers asked for it.” Ah, we see. There’s certainly a lot to be said for being known as a provider of good service, and as a courier of great customer satisfaction. And to bring to those happy customers the performance they have dreamt of, but still deal with those same nice people at the dealership, well that sounds pretty sweet.

And why not build it? Toyota passed the 2 million mark in annual sales last year; that’s up 11 percent from 2003. Their customers are the most satisfied, according to J.D. Power & Associates. Lexus is the number one luxury brand in America. And they really should have a product to help them recoup operating expenses of Formula1 campaigning.

photo by Andrew Gardner

And it may be just the first showcase of racing lessons put to the street for Toyota. As Jim said, “On the racetrack, you learn things about efficiency, aerodynamics, performance, and safety. And all of those are fundamental objectives we would have for every Lexus. And when you can define them on a car like this, and then start to bring this technology into every Lexus we have, and eventually ever Toyota and every Scion, you can see how the whole company gains from this kind of experience.” Hmm. An F1-inspired Scion? Now there’s the affordable dream machine every high school kid will want to drive to prom.

Really, though, this is all makes more sense when VP Jim Press lays it all out for you. He had key themes that ran into his answers to just about every question asked of him, and you begin to get the idea that the LF-A is intended to be a comfortable, luxurious, well-priced supercar that benefits from Formula1 race experience and builds on top-notch consumer satisfaction and dealer relations to provide a very nice take-home rocket which also happens to showcase the full capability of Toyota engineering and the future of Lexus design. Got it? We’ll repeat all that stuff again as you read on, so don’t worry – you’ll be ready for the quiz at the end.

So the term supercar has been used. The general qualification for that term is the ability to hit the 200mph mark. Nowadays we also expect a sub-4 second zero to sixty time, and it most likely should have more than 500 horsepower. How does the Lexus LF-A stack up?

The LF-A is not bound by hard figures, nor have promises been made, but were this car to see production, it would likely have 500 horsepower coming from an engine not more than 5 liters. And Jim Press tells us the LF-A would “probably feature a power and drivetrain system strongly influenced by what’s in competition at the time.” Assuming he’s referring to Formula1 rather than Lexus’ sports car racing efforts, think V10 linked to a sequential manual gearbox.

So, assuming Lexus can hit their weight targets, the LF-A should hit 200mph. And the driving dynamics ought to be at the appropriate level, at least partially because of a perfect weight balance. This is achieved by the positioning of the transmission at the rear, along with the dual radiators and the rest of the cooling system.

photo by Andrew Gardner

To help shed unnecessary pounds, Lexus has created a new design philosophy, called L-Finesse. This philosophy is defined by the combination of simplicity and elegance. On one hand, this combination is intended to produce a dynamic contrast between bare bones essentials and purposeful elegance; on the other hand, elegance does not necessarily imply clutter or excess weight. If you consider that elegance is more composure than ornamentation, then you truly have a desire for simplicity – to an extent – to achieve that elegance. And certainly from an engineering standpoint, the elegant solution is the most simple and straightforward (though not the easiest one to discover!).

Head designer Hawei Hirai explains each component as it is manifested in the LF-A’s design. Says Hirai, we see simplicity in “form and function; [simplicity] is styling that is uncluttered and void of extraneous elements, [thus] revealing beauty, with extreme depth and purity.” That sounds like the proper way to describe a pure sports car: uncluttered, no extraneous elements, and, well, purity of function…speed! Lexus has the right idea here, and the LF-A supports that. It looks lean and agile, with an aerodynamically functional and elegant body.

As for the interior, Hirai says that the “openness and respect for the spatial layout of objects within a given space is closely related to the Japanese concept of na.” Is that clear enough for you? NO?

Good. Cuz we were confused at the press conference, too. Luckily Hirai-san cleared that statement up for us. Basically, this goes back to the dynamic relationship created by, as Hirai explained, “the inherent contrast between simplicity and elegance…the key to the formula is how the visual contrast between simplicity and elegance creates dynamism – a look that is forceful, vivid, and gorgeous.” The view from outside the window left some questions to be resolved, but it looks certainly good enough to sit in and drive…hard.

All this dynamism does more for Lexus than just give it a look: this gives Lexus the opportunity be a player at 200mph. They can do the low weight and not too many thrills thing, but they really have luxury (and all that customer satisfaction stuff) to bring to the plate. Wahei describes how the LF-A demonstrates elegance “inside and out: the clear focus is to avoid exaggeration and to prioritize luxury that is intriguing, subtle, seamless, and always slightly surprising.” Seamless and intriguing luxury delivering you to your destination at near-bullet speeds sounds like a great way to travel.

But that’s not necessarily something new; Ferrari and Lamborghini - not to mention a little company called Aston Martin – know a thing or two about luxury. But value is a different story. The 911 Turbo has certainly been a performance bargain, but if Lexus can keep their package really close to $100k, they could easily out-luxury Porsche and provide the best bargain in the supercar segment – and depending on the level of comfort they could have a go at the Bentley Continental GT and other top grand tourers while they’re at it. 

And you get all this with the service and attention that have made Lexus and Toyota favorites among consumers.

The possibility of a production LF-A is definitely something to look forward to – that’s just what the “LF” should be associated with. It’s not the prettiest, nor will it be the fastest or likely offer the best driving dynamics out there. But it may be both the cheapest and most luxurious car to achieve supercar performance. It will feature new technologies, and it will reflect Formula1 racing experience. It should fulfill Jim Press’s comment, that it will “take Lexus to a design direction where it gives you the feeling of comfort and convenience and luxury but, for some unknown reason, it also has a soothing quality that makes you feel really good, and you want to be around it.” It’s the one, the only, feel-good supercar. The kind you really want to take home with you.The LF-A will not, we have been led to hope, be just another face in the crowd. Well, we shall see about that…