This 2012 Lexus LFA Is Ready To Bless Your Ears With V10 Symphony

Back in the ‘80s, Lexus was born from Toyota, as a luxury division to take on the likes of Acura and Infiniti. The first prototype that came out of the brand-new company was the Flagship 1, or F1 - not associated in any way, shape, or form with the racing series. The F1 was created with no budget or time constraints, thus giving birth to a well-engineered, reliable, and luxurious car, which you may know nowadays as the LS.

What followed was a variety of coupes, SUVs, convertibles, and sedans that had the same philosophy behind them. So why is this relevant to the LFA? Well, the LFA played the same role as the LS - creating a halo car that puts the brand on the map and inspires all the other models in the lineup.

The first LFA was completed in 2003, but it took another two years to unveil a prototype to the public, and another two years later, the second concept car was revealed. Finally, in 2009, the car was bestowed upon us.

Today, we have an absolute beauty from 2012 to bless us, and to use as a tool for us to bask in its greatness, and also to see why it didn’t really work, so let’s dive.

First of all, behind the Absolutely Red paint job of this particular LFA lies a lot, and I mean a lot, of carbon fiber. The chassis, the body panels, the hood, and even the steering wheel were made from the space-age material, and that was in a time when only a handful of cars were using it. But that was a curse in disguise because it delayed development by four more years, as the chassis was originally made from aluminum.

Staying on the topic of the body, it is sculpted to be as aerodynamically efficient as possible. The door mirrors are molded in such a way that they direct air to a pair of rear scoops. Out back, you get a wing that rises when you hit 50 mph (80 kph) - Lexus, just like with the F1 project, spared no expense in their quest to create the ideal supercar.

Complementing the insane body is a set of wheels that are just as special - what did you expect? They are made by BBS and measure 20 inches. They are also wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber. Remove them, and they’ll reveal something pretty good - a set of Lexus-branded Brembo calipers finished in red and placed over carbon-ceramic disks all the way around.

Staying on the topic of things hidden by the wheels, we should talk about the suspension setup. To the aforementioned carbon fiber body is attached a pretty neat suspension setup, with Double wishbone in the front and multi-link in the rear, keeping the car planted on your trackday - or setting as an art display in your garage.

Now, it’s time to move on to the interior - and I promise, we’ll get to the engine in a minute. Upon sitting in the bucket seats, you’ll find a lot of carbon fiber, leather, and Alcantara. If you are lucky enough to drive one, you will be holding on to a carbon fiber steering wheel. Behind it, there is a digital speedometer - which is digital, because a normal, analog one couldn’t keep up with how fast the engine revs from idle to redline.

Speaking of the engine, it’s time we get to this work of art. The LFA is powered by a 4.8-liter (293 ci) V10 - a V10, which is smaller than a V8, lighter than a V6, and churns out 553 hp (560 ps), with a fuel cut-off set at a mind-blowing 9,500 rpm.

The insane redline and power output come courtesy of forged aluminum pistons, forged titanium connecting rods, and titanium valves. Feeding air into it is a dual-stage variable intake manifold and an individual throttle body for each of the ten cylinders. This car is capable of up to two G’s in the corner, and that wouldn’t be so good for the engine if it didn’t have a dry-sump lubrication system to keep things running smoothly.

While we’re on the topic of the LFA’s 1LR-GUE engine, we should take a look at what makes it sound so divine. The entire engine package itself was co-engineered with Yamaha. The engine was treated just like an instrument, with special pipes directing the heavenly noise into the cabin. Contributing to the V10 orchestra is a dual-stage titanium muffler and a surge tank under the hood, for all of that induction noise goodness - and it’s all analog, pure, raw engine acoustics.

So, why did the LFA fail? By the time the LFA hit the streets, more than a decade of development passed. In that amount of time, a lot of flagship fast cars were released, like the GTR, the Murcielago, or the ‘Vette ZR1, stealing the spotlight from the LFA. And so much time passed that Lexus couldn’t go back to update some things that were obsolete, like the single-clutch six-speed transmission.

Even with only 500 of them made, they sat in dealerships for quite a while. To add fuel to the fire, the car wasn’t marketed that well - if you weren’t a car nerd, you probably didn't even hear about it. And, to top things off, it was really, really expensive. This particular LFA we are talking about today had a sticker price of 381,800 dollars - which is a hell of a lot more than the GTR that could outperform it.

But the LFA changed the way Lexus built their cars, just like the LS before it. And nowadays, people have started to appreciate it, so much in fact, that this particular one is currently sitting at 675,000 dollars at auction in Blaine, Washington. It only has 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) on the odo. It comes with a clean Carfax and a clean Arizona title, as well as a plaque, numbering it 173 out of the 500 units built.