Lexus LFA Concept: The Electric Heir to a Legend
Before us is the Lexus LFA concept, and it is fundamentally different from the iconic model with the naturally aspirated V10 that made it famous before. Many expected it to be simply a version of the new Toyota GR GT under the Lexus brand, but the LFA concept turned out to be something completely different. It is electric.
The concept, presented alongside the turbocharged V8 Toyota in Japan, was first shown a few months ago as the Lexus Sport Concept. Now it has transformed into the LFA concept and received an electric powertrain. According to Lexus, the name “LFA” “is not limited to vehicles with internal combustion engines,” but instead symbolizes a car that “embodies technologies that engineers of their time must preserve and pass on to the next generation.”
Technical Basis from Toyota and a Mysterious Drivetrain
Unlike Toyota, which revealed a whole host of details about its new flagship sports car, Lexus remained very reserved regarding many important aspects of the LFA concept. The company did not provide any details about the electric powertrain that drives it. However, no matter how special or powerful it is, it certainly will not be able to replicate the roar of the Toyota engine.
Interestingly, the LFA concept is based on the same fully aluminum platform as the Toyota GR GT and GR GT3. This likely means that Lexus had the opportunity to use the same V8 as the parent company but declined to do so.
Design and Future of the Model
While the choice of powertrain may seem strange, especially given the low demand for high-performance electric vehicles, it cannot be denied that the LFA concept looks beautiful—a word hardly applicable to Toyota. The interior is also radically different from Toyota’s, although this is not surprising since the LFA is still a concept.
What awaits the LFA concept in the future? It is known that it will give life to a production model, and the renaming from Sport Concept to LFA Concept indicates that it will indeed be sold as the second-generation Lexus LFA. Exactly when it will appear on the roads remains unclear for now.
Lexus Sport Concept
Lexus’s decision to make the successor to the iconic LFA electric is a bold step that reflects general trends in the automotive industry, but also raises questions about preserving the “soul” of the original. The original LFA was famous not only for its technical characteristics but also for the unique sound and character of its naturally aspirated V10. The new electric version, regardless of its dynamics, is forced to seek new ways to emotionally engage the driver, likely focusing on handling, design, and advanced technologies. This is a transition from mechanical purity to digital complexity, which may define not only the future of the LFA model but also Lexus’s approach to sports cars in the era of electromobility.