Lexus wraps up LFA production
BY RON HAMMERTON | 18th Dec 2012
Six of the $750,000 V10 two-door sports coupes have made it to Australia, with two being registered locally just last month.
Lexus announced today the limited production run came to an end when the final and 500th car came off the Toyota City production line in Japan on Friday, two years after production started in late 2010.
Although Lexus Australia said it planned to import 10 of the stunning two-seaters to this country, a check of official VFACTS figures shows only six have been registered to date.
One of those, from Queensland, was famously wrapped in a chrome-finish film for an auto show in Sydney in July this year.
Toyota’s luxury car branch hand-built just 20 LFAs a month for global consumption, crafting the monocoque body out of high-tech carbon fibre-reinforced plastic and fitting it with a mid-ship-mounted 4.8-litre V10 producing 412kW of power at 8700rpm and 480Nm of torque at 6800rpm.
A special edition Nurburgring Package built for circuit racing this year added an extra 7kW of power and a faster shifting six-speed automated gearbox.
This version is claimed to have lapped the Nurburgring in 7:14 minutes on street tyres – one of the fastest laps by a production car around the legendary German circuit.
The LFA is said to be able to cover the 0-100km/h sprint in just 3.7 seconds and hit 325km/h.
Lexus said the final production LFA will undergo quality inspection and road testing before being delivered to its owner.
“Future Lexus vehicles will reflect the technological skills gained during the development and production of the LFA – particularly the manufacturing know-how for carbon fibre-reinforced plastic parts – as well as the car design philosophy for exhilarating and stimulating driving performance,” the company said in its media release.
