The Lexus LFA Is an Engineering Marvel, and Not Just Its Engine

There is a story behind every supercar. Some of them are interesting. While the tractor dispute between Ferrari and Lamborghini is rehearsed to this day, the stories of more recent supercars can be just as intriguing. A prime example is the Lexus LFA. The tale of this car, often labeled a failure, has a lot of twists and turns.

How a supercar is born is often both very complicated and extremely simple. The LFA is no different. The idea originated with a small group: Toyota engineer Harohiko Tanahashi, test driver and engineer Hiromu Naruse, and Akio Toyoda. You know, the grandson of the guy who started Toyota. This trio had the vision and the clout to greenlight a project as ambitious as developing a supercar, despite a lot of pushback.

Their plan to build a supercar ballooned into a moonshot project with only three rules: No shared parts, no committees, and no compromises. This doesn't sound that extreme until you factor in the capabilities of Toyota, a global business with powerful engineers and partners. Toyota used the LFA to dip its toe in the waters of many fascinating technologies. For example, the carbon-fiber chassis tub was produced in-house. So were the fiberglass body panels, which are impregnated with glass microballoons which make the panels less dense and 13 percent lighter.

And that's all before even bringing up the most famous feature: The Yamaha-developed, 4.8-liter 1LR-GUE V-10. It's a mouthful to say, but a delightful earful to hear. The sound of an LFA is as close to the wail of a Formula 1 car as any production car is likely to get. The 552-hp engine is compact and powerful, allowing the engineers to place the powerplant below the top of the tires. The crankshaft is below the axle centerline, thanks to the dry-sump oiling system.

The LFA is a lot more than it appears, and history needed a slight reset that arrives thanks to Jason Cammisa and his Revelations series. Give the video a watch below, and gain a better understanding of just how absurd the world gets when a company like Toyota decides a halo car should truly be a halo car. The LFA is also one of the few times the halo actually shared its glow with vehicles further down the lineup; this car helped create Gazoo Racing and other efforts that still shape the cars and customers Toyota creates and attracts.