Original name: レクサスLF-A (1)

Luxury lightning strikes - 200 MPH Lexus

Lexus has unveiled the 500-plus horsepower, 200 mph LF-A sports car concept at the 2005 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The two-seat concept blends the performance of an exotic sports car with the luxury refinements of a Lexus. Designed to express a bold new direction in styling for the Lexus brand, the LF-A concept is committed to achieving superiority in speed, quickness, agility and reliability.

The Lexus LF-A concept features an engine capable of developing more than 500 horsepower from a displacement of less than five litres. With a combination of optimum gearing, weight and aerodynamics, the LF-A concept would produce a top speed in the region of 200 miles per hour.

Inside, the LF-A is designed as a luxury high-speed capsule that blends extravagant comfort with precision operation. Although it is about five inches shorter in length than the Porsche 911 Turbo, its wheelbase is nine inches longer. At 48 inches, it is nearly identical in height to the Ferrari F430. And with a width of 73.2 inches, it splits the difference between the Mercedes-Benz SL55 and the Aston Martin DB9.

While the LF-A makes a major statement in how Lexus would define exotic sports car performance, it was conceived to express the emergence of a new direction in styling for the Lexus brand, globally.

"Over the last two years, a new styling philosophy that we call L-Finesse, has taken shape at Lexus Design," said Wahei Hirai, global head of design.

"What has emerged from this two-year journey is not just a new direction in philosophy. It is a new design language, based on the dynamism and inherent contrast between simplicity and elegance."

The LF-A is a fundamental shift in both style and design for Lexus. The positioning and sizing of major components have been redefined and condensed. By taking an entirely different approach to proportion and packaging, designers have achieved the ultimate weight balance, so vital to high-speed handling and stability.

As a total package, the Lexus LF-A concept is a bold statement and a clear indication of the path that Lexus' global design will follow in the near future.

source: Lexus