Gambit

http://autocar.co.uk/news_article.asp?na_id=213118

This is the Lexus LF-A, a supercar that looks certain to reach production in 2007 with over 500bhp, a 200mph top speed and a sub-£80,000 price tag. It will be the first high-performance Toyota since the Supra was axed in ’96.

The LF-A is a Porsche 911-sized front-engine, rear-drive supercar with a naturally aspirated engine derived from Toyota’s F1 project. Prototypes are currently believed to be running a compact V10, inspired by the current 3.0-litre unit that powers Toyota’s TF105 F1 car.

Uncertainty about F1 rule changes means Toyota will not yet specify what the production engine would be, as it wants the LF-A to have the same number of cylinders as the F1 car, but except a sub-5.0-litre unit with over 500bhp.

The gearbox is likely to be a seven-speed sequential unit with paddle-shift controls, while the chassis and body will be a high-tech mix of aluminium and carbonfibre. In the quest for perfect 50:50 weight distribution, the car’s twin radiators are packaged in the rear wheelarches.

According to sources, the LF-A is unlikely to be built in volumes of much more than 1000 a month.

The LF-A project has been underway at parent company Toyota since 2000, with several prototypes racking up miles at Toyota’s Higashi-Fuji test facility, and at the company’s vast Arizona proving ground where 200mph-plus speeds have already been recorded on a six-mile banked oval circuit.

Project chief engineer Haruhiko Tanahashi told Autocar: ‘It’s a Lexus, so it has to be the best and that means being the fastest, safest, and also the most emotional. And by fastest, I don’t just mean top speed at Arizona, but around the Nürburgring track in Germany.’

This sets up an intriguing battle at the ’Ring in 2007. That’s also the year Nissan launches its brand-new Skyline GT-R – a model whose own mark in history has been made through mastery of the historic circuit.

BlueEyes

No
It's all rumours at this point though. I doubt the LF-A will carry the Supra name.

Gambit

That quote's from an old article, personally I don't think toyota even knows if they're making a new supra

BlueEyes

I dunno, I got it from a Nov 3/04 article. I suppose old is relative though, cars take a few years from design to production. So they could have said that a couple years ago and it could still have truth.

That article doesn't seem to think that the LF-A is the new toyota supra either.

Gambit

I've heard things before about lexus making a supercar, so it seems like this will end up as a lexus if anything, maybe a toned down version for a supra though

BlueEyes

It says in the article that it is a lexus.
One thing is for sure, it's going to be one sweet *** car!
It might get toned down for the supra. Supra buyers would certainly love that, but the people who dropped a 100K for the LF-A would probably be pretty pissed off about it, ala 911 vs boxster. Screw them though, I would style one of these things!

KC_Prelude

It would be sweet if they took that chassis or a cheaper version of it and dropped a turbo 6 or compact v8 in there and called it a supra. Kinda like that new chrysler v8 (firestorm?) thats built on the viper chassis. Just dreaming.

neofreak

iTrader: (1)

Toyota and emotion? Thats an oxymoron.

BlueEyes

Certainly of late it is!
The Mr2 and Supra were nice though, don't forget they were available elsewhere after they stopped selling them here.

Homeka45

Mechanicals sound great but it looks too much like a celica for me, not that I could afford it anyway.

Speed-ER doc

This thread was better.

https://www.rx8club.com/general-automotive-49/lexus-lf-49755/

BlueEyes

WOOOO, that's my thread :D

Omicron

I would have considered a Supra when I was in the market if Toyota had them on the market. It'll be interesting to see if they come out with a new version.

Gambit

The point of this thread was more the article than the car

magixpuma

Unfortunetly no real trannsmision just sequential.

bNguyen

I read in Auto Week and on Edmunds I believe, said that the LF-A will be the new platform for the new IS

Gambit

The LF-C from last year's NY auto show is "supposedly" a clue to the new IS

MadRonin

Maybe you're mistaking a SMG with the auto-manual you find in most mid to high end automatics. The SMG is just as real as the 6 speed in the 8. The difference is there is no clutch. The car handles that for you. You still have to shift and it's as fast if not faster than a regular manual. Think Formula One.

I'm hoping that a future version of the 8 or even the 7 will have a SMG as an option.

Ike

In street cars they still tend to be slower around a track than their manual counterparts though. They shift faster, but the control just isn't quite there.