2012 Lexus LFA

It’s not too often that we get excited about getting behind the wheel of a Lexus. Nothing against the brand, but car enthusiasts know that with few exceptions, Lexus is not synonymous with driving thrills. Well, one big exception is the Lexus LFA, their 200 mile-per-hour supercar. Few other recent exotics have gotten so much hype. And were we every hyper to try it out for ourselves.

What began in 2008, with the Lexus IS-F, as an attempt to tilt the Lexus brand towards more high performance, has culminated in this car, the 2012 Lexus LFA.  Indeed, driving any supercar is an adrenalin rush. But, when it’s a brands first supercar, well that just jacks up the juices even higher. 

The LFA certainly looks the part, having little in common with the ES or RX sitting in your neighbor’s driveway save for a circled L on the front end. With its rounded nose and gaping lower grille, that front end does bear some resemblance to a Nissan 370Z, but from there back things take on a more exotic look. 

But not too exotic, as smooth and clean are more the themes than outright aggression. Yes, there are the usual air intakes, scoops, and grilles scattered about, but the low-lying LFA keeps things a bit more tasteful than most megabuck rides. 

The tall rear features three exhaust outlets dead and center, as part of a carbon-fiber lower diffuser. There’s lots of venting and a huge deployable rear wing. Two-piece carbon ceramic discs take care of braking duties and sit behind big 20-inch forged wheels with wide 265 rubber in front, wider 305 in rear. 

Our time to drive came at Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s outer road course, and on track we quickly found a capable chassis ready for just about anything we could throw at it. Suspension consists of an all-aluminum double wishbone front and rear multi-link with the same alloy monotube dampers you’ll find on Lexus race cars. That suspension is bolted to a Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic monocoque chassis helping weight to come in under 3,500 pounds. 

The constant rate electric power steering is super-quick and precise and we beat on the brakes for an entire tank of gas and never saw any signs of fading. The LFA feels fairly docile until it doesn’t and the rear end steps out on you, but that’s largely due to the onslaught of power coming from the big front-mounted V10 that lies underneath that carbon-fiber hood. 

At 552-horsepower, but only 354 pound feet of torque, this 4.8-liter likes to be revved. But still, corner exits do call for smooth input as power does come on in a hurry. At full song, this screaming V10 sounds wild and unruly, two words we’ve never used in conjunction with Lexus before. Transmission is a 6-speed Automated Sequential Gearbox, and it’s simply not as good as the Porsche’s PDK or Ferraris F1 Sequential manuals, as there is a definite lag in shift time. However, the column-mounted shifters do feel and work great.  As an adrenalin rush 0 to 60 run in only 3.6 seconds would indicate, with Launch Control giving the lucky driver full control.

There’s only room for two in the LFA’s very non-Lexus-like interior, and trunk space is minimal underneath the rear glass hatch. And, those looking for the usual Lexus wood trim will find lots of carbon-fiber and suede leather instead. Cool sliding Thin Film Transistor gauges offer all the usual info as well as track specific data and are easy to read at track speeds. It is a little disappointing to see the same nav. screen and mouse-like controller that your neighbor has in her RX, but the trick aluminum pedals and carbon-fiber steering wheel, with start button, more than make up for it. 

Government Fuel Economy Ratings for the LFA are a totally supercar-like 11-City and 16-Highway, with a low combined score of 12 miles-per-gallon of Premium. But, those aren’t the really scary numbers. The 2012 Lexus LFA’s starting price left us breathless at $376,500.

Needless to say, that price will keep all but the super rich away from this super car. But, that’s okay as there are just 500 copies of the 2012 Lexus LF-A to go around. It will be interesting to see how quickly they get snatched up, as most exotics carry more than just performance or prestige; they carry history and tradition, as well. But, they all had to start somewhere and the LFA is certainly a thrilling reboot for the Lexus brand.