Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic

Posted on 24 October 2009 by Scott Hayes

For a Ferrari and Lamborghini challenging supercar with a hefty US$375 000 price tag, one would expect that Lexus and its parent company, Toyota, would at least avoid offering any sort of “Fast and Furious” style paint options – or the ability to customise the vehicle’s interior with weird colour combos on the all-new 412 kW V10-powered LF-A sports car. Well, think again.

As you can see for yourselves, by fooling around with the just launched LF-A online configurator, you can ‘rice-up’ the Japanese supercar in variety of eccentric exterior colors including ‘Passionate Pink’ and ‘Lavender’ that can be combined with coloured calipers and three different shades for the alloy wheels.

And that’s not all. Lexus also offers the ability to customize the LF-A’s interior by choosing diverse colours for the seats, the steering wheel, the carpet, the headliner, the door panels and lower part of the dashboard, just to mention a few.

Unfortunately for some, bobble heads, racing stripes and underbody neon lights are not available at this time.

Posted on 21 October 2009 by Scott Hayes

Lexus have given the press a first look at its exciting LFA model at the Tokyo Motor Show. The LF-A was officially launched to the news that only 500 examples of the two-seat coupe will be sold when production commences next year.

The pinnacle of Lexus’ ‘F’ range of premium sports cars (that includes models such as the IS-F), LF-A combines a high-output 4,8-litre V10, matched to meticulous aerodynamic and chassis design characteristics. The LF-A’s body consists of CFRB (Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic) making it 100 kg lighter than a comparable aluminium body.

A low centre of gravity has been achieved via the use of a dry sump lubrication system, while weight distribution is bettered by locating peripheral engine components – such as the oil and water pumps – behind the engine. Optimal placement of the transmission and fuel tank have also helped centralise weight distribution to a more optimal range to give LF-A a 48:52 front-to-rear weight distribution ratio. The driver’s seat is positioned near the LF-A’s centre of gravity for improved communication.

Lexus expect a price tag of US$375 000 (approx.) when customer selection begins in the second-quarter of 2010. Sales will be limited to 500 examples with pre-sales expressions of interest accepted from today.