Not everyone realized what a special car the Lexus LFA was the first time around, and if you didn’t here’s a chance to make up for that mistake thanks to the auction market.
A gorgeous 2012 example of one of the century’s greatest sports cars is currently up for auction on Bring a Trailer. This example, while over a decade old at this point, remains in tremendous shape with less than 2,500 miles on the odometer.
Sometimes it takes a while for everyone to catch on to true genius, like with the LFA. In the early aughts, Akio Toyoda, the then-CEO of Lexus’s parent company, Toyota, decided that he wanted to build a vehicle that to compete with the very best coming out of Europe. Toyota had never built anything like this, so there was skepticism that it even could. But then the LFA arrived in 2009 with an understated design and a high-revving V-10. Buyers didn’t realize how well either of those features would age—and were also possibly put off by its un-Toyota-like price tag—so the initial response was muted, with only 500 examples rolling off the line between 2010 and 2012. Now, though, it’s clear who most sports car lovers missed out on.
2012 Lexus LFA
Bring a Trailer
The LFA’s design also may have initially struck some as too buttoned up, but more than a decade later it’s turned out to be one of the vehicle’s biggest virtues. Sure, it may lack some of the flash (and extraneous detail) of a Lamborghini or McLaren, but its sleek shape and clean lines still look fresh a decade-and-a-half after their debut. This example, which is the 468th that was built, looks particularly sharp in Whitest White with black accents and 20-inch Dark Premium wheels. The interior, meanwhile, is covered in black and red leather and comes with a Mark Levinson audio system and matching luggage set.
The LFA’s true beauty, though, may be in the engine bay. There sits a naturally aspirated 4.8-liter DOHC V-10. The mill is mated to a six-speed automated manual transmission that sends power to the rear axle and produces 553 horses, 354 ft lbs of twist, and redlines at 9,500 rpm. Thanks to all that might, the car can rocket from zero to 60 mph in just 3.6 seconds and hit a top speed of 203 mph. This example has only totaled 2,300 miles so it should have little problem reaching either of those numbers.
Inside the LFA
Bring a Trailer
Bring a Trailer’s latest LFA auction runs through May 9. Bidding has already $777,000, which is more than double the original $375,000 sticker price. But don’t be surprised if that number climbs even higher in the days to come.
Click here for more photos of the 2012 Lexus LFA.
Bring a Trailer
