LFA No. 488

Although Lexus had acquired an enviable reputation for producing high quality, four-door saloon cars, by the late 1990s Akio Toyoda, then CEO of Lexus's parent company Toyota, was seeking to enhance the company's rather staid image by entering the all-important supercar market. After an extensive nine-year design and development phase, the resulting Lexus LFA was finally revealed at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show; its long awaited and highly impressive technical specification instantly rendering it one of the stars of the show.

The LFA featured an intricate carbon fiber monocoque structure to which aluminum front and rear subframes were attached; the front suspension being via conventional double wishbones and the rear via a multi-link arrangement. All four corners were equipped with race-developed, remote-reservoir KYB dampers, each reputedly costing $9,500, whereas Brembo six-piston front and four- pot rear monobloc calipers worked in conjunction with carbon ceramic discs and an advanced brake-by-wire system to address the car's considerable braking requirements.

However, at the heart of the LFA was a technical tour de force: the brilliant 1LR-GUE engine. Employing numerous lessons learned from Toyota's newly redundant V10 Formula 1 engine program, Lexus developed a 4.8-liter, 40-valve V10 in conjunction with Yamaha; the resulting unit producing some 552 horsepower at 8,700 rpm and a similarly impressive maximum torque figure of 354 lb-ft at 6,800 rpm.

Constructed from a combination of aluminum, magnesium and titanium alloys, the “GUE” was a masterpiece of packaging, boasting smaller external dimensions than a V8 unit of comparable output, yet weighing no more than most conventional V6 engines. Featuring ultra-lightweight internal components, including impossibly expensive forged titanium connecting rods, the unit generated minimal inertia; its resulting throttle response more akin to many high specification racing engines than a road going powerplant.

Unusually for a road car, the LFA featured dry-sump lubrication which enabled the engine to be fitted with a shallower sump and was therefore located lower in the chassis. Its oil cooler was located in the “valley” of its 72-degree V angle, while a harmonically managed titanium exhaust system ensured that the resulting scream, particularly as the engine approached its 9,000 rpm limit, was entirely unlike any other supercar exhaust note.

Of the 500 LFAs constructed, just 64 were configured with the $70,000 ultimate-specification Nürburgring option package; the designation both a reference to the hat-trick of class wins by the LFA in the fabled Nürburgring 24 Hours between 2008 and 2010, and the circuit which had proved instrumental in the car's development. Although Nürburgring Package cars boasted a modest power increase to 563 horsepower and a reduction in gearshift times of their six-speed, semi-automatic transmission, the real focus of the package was reduced weight, optimized suspension set up and greater aerodynamic efficiency.

Some 200 pounds were saved relative to the standard car, while numerous carbon fiber aerodynamic devices, such as a fixed, as opposed to retractable, rear wing, a front splitter and front-mounted turning vanes were fitted to improve handling. The resulting performance was predictably spectacular, with its top speed of 201 mph and a zero to 60 mph time of just 3.7 seconds being instrumental in the LFA lapping the mythical Nürburgring in just 7:14.64, in August 2011; a figure which remained unbeaten for almost three years until it was usurped by the mighty Porsche 918 Spyder.

This 2012 Lexus LFA is one is one of only 25 U.S. market examples that boasts the coveted $70,000 Nürburgring package. Interestingly, the original window sticker lists an additional $70,500 for its Nürburgring Serial Plate number 488 creating an impressive MSRP with over $141,000 in options. This LFA is finished in Whitest White, one of only a handful of USA market Nürburgring Editions delivered in this color. Its exterior appearance is enhanced with BBS Forged Graphite wheels that enclose Red-finished brake calipers. The cockpit boasts an elegant two-tone arrangement consisting of white trim contrasted with Red seats, headliner, carpets, and steering wheel grips.

According to its clean CARFAX Vehicle History Report, this exceptionally rare LFA was delivered new to Lexus of Riverside in California, and was sold in January 2013 to its first owner. The LFA was next acquired in August 2017 and moved to Ohio, before eventually entering the care of the Arizona-based seller in February 2019.

Over the past seven years, this example has remained in collector-grade care and is offered today with a mere 72 miles from new, 23 of which were recorded on a pre-delivery test drive according to a letter from Toyota's Motomachi Quality Control Division. It is appointed with its original delivery items including owner's books in their leather pouch, LFA vehicle delivery certificate, first aid kit, LFA branded car cover bag, three keys, and original window sticker preserved in a photo frame. In addition, this example is furnished with a detailed history file under current ownership containing several invoices from Lexus of Chandler in Arizona.

The Lexus LFA is already revered as one of the defining Japanese supercars of the modern era, the howl of its exhaust note alone echoing through the halls of automotive excellence. However, the LFA reaches its ultimate expression with the coveted Nürburgring Package; instantly identifiable by its purposeful aerodynamic enhancements and developed with direct input from the world's most demanding circuit. Preserved in virtually factory-new condition with a mere 72 miles at cataloging, this extraordinary example is among the finest extant and will definitively elevate any world-class collection.