2009 Lexus LF-A Car Review

Japan never really gave us elegant supercars. Usually, they were all very functional, very reliable, and very good as a car, but not as a supercar. Supercars have that something that forces people to give up comfort, luxury, space, and sometimes, even image.

That's not all though. Japan's first real attempt at making a supercar that we all know of was the Nissan GT-R. As a car, and as a machine, it's technically sound, and one of the most advanced. However, I wouldn't want to own one. It's too much a technological thing. It's just another car that does the job of getting you from A to B in comfort, and a bit faster than normal. And when you pull up to anywhere you'll get a second glance, well, maybe not you, but your car, and that will be it. It's much like the Playstation 3. It's a riot for a little bit, and then it's just a car. The GT-R did manage to beat the 911 on the Nurburgring, yet Porsche has much more superiority.

There was another attempt at a supercar form Japan, and this time, it's from Toyota - The Lexus LF-A. For the longest time, the LF-A was rumored to be a V10 producing over 500 horsepower. But, other rumors go around that Toyota will fit a V8 from Toyota's F1 racing division. Quite a combination. If they fit it with an engine from Formula1, what kind of a riot will it be?

In Formula1, everything is designed to make you go fast. So, we can expect it to really go. Also, if it's from Formula1, it will most likely love to rev. But, will it be a quiet and comfortable and fast, or loud, uncomfortable, hard, and faster? There haven't been many supercars which managed to be fast and comfortable.

From the looks of it, though, the LF-A might be a comfortable GT car; a cruiser for when all you want is a pleasant drive on the weekend. However, the LF-A was designed to showcase Toyota's Formula 1 racing technology, so it will probably have racing breaks, racing suspension, racing engine, racing everything.

There's nothing racy though, about the interior. On the outside, it's pleasant and elegant. On the inside though, it's even more elegant. It's got a pleasant blend of leather and carbon fiber that gives it a very inviting feel. And it's not like it's going to be a stripped-out lightweight supercar either. From the interior shots, it's going to have aircon, satnav, and there are no six-point harnesses. That means, it won't be a racing car for the road. It'll just be a great car to drive in.

The price tag tells another story. The car looks as if it will cost a million dollars, but they say that it'll be around $100,000! And that's not all that much for a supercar! The question is, because the GT-R already sort of set the bar for a Japanese supercar, will the LF-A just beat that, or will it set a new bar, a new standard by which Japanese supercars are built?