The much-rumoured replacement to the now-legendary Lexus LFA looks to have a successor locked-in, with insider information from Japan detailing the basis and development of the incoming supercar.
Expected to go into production in 2025, the Lexus LFA successor, or LFA II as it’s being called for now, will reportedly host a hybrid V8, twin with a race car and be cheaper than the V10 supercar of a decade ago.
Japanese magazine Best Car, through its reportage and its digital render, says the LFA successor will be closely related to the Toyota GR GT3 Concept that was revealed in early 2022 at the Tokyo Auto Salon.
While its design is subject to tweaks and changes before its debut, the magazine says one thing it’s been told by sources is that the LFA II will be powered by a hybrid-assisted twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8, an engine Toyota doesn’t currently produce.
Expectations are that the total power output will reach as high as 662kW, with the engine alone making up as much as 530kW of that. It’s also expected to be a front-engined, rear-drive layout.
Rather than a carbon chassis as used in the original LFA, the LFA II is said to be under development with an aluminium chassis and a carbon body, helping to drive down the apparently lower price of the LFA II.
While the original went on sale in Japan at ¥37,500,000, or around AU$403,000, the new version is reportedly set to debut at a much lower ¥20,000,000, or about AU$215,000.
Further information on the model comes from motorsport publication dailysportscar.com, which says it has been told by insiders that the Toyota GR GT3 Concept will be developed as a race car under the Lexus brand as opposed to Gazoo Racing as the concept’s name suggests.
The publication reports that the Lexus motorsport model is yet to be named, but together with the information from Japan via Best Car, a fuller story emerges.
Sources tell dailysportscar.com the race car isn’t likely to debut before 2025, but is being considered for entry to race in the IMSA SportsCar Championship and the upcoming LMGT3 class in the WEC, opening the door for a Le Mans 24 Hours debut for the Lexus brand.
An interesting point to note is that dailysportscar.com says the race car is expected to replace the Lexus RC F GT3, meaning the road version of the car may debut with lower outputs closer in-line with that of the outgoing RC F, making it more fitting for a car near the $200,000 mark.
Of course, all of this leaves up in the air the question of what Lexus was hinting at with its Lexus Electrified Sport concept of 2021, part of a quartet of electric car concepts that showed off what an EV future for the brand could look like.
Is the LFA II one last ICE swansong before an electric sports car swoops in to replace it? Stay tuned.
Keyword: Japan's V8 supercar! 2025 Lexus LFA II to debut with epic hybrid V8, and be cheaper than the first LFA! - report