Lexus has ended production of its LF-A supercar. The all-carbon machine, with its ultrafast-revving V10 engine, was originally designed as a technical exercise for Lexus engineers, just to allow them to stretch their skills.
Eventually, the demand for the car was such that 500 full-production versions were built, although the much-anticipated convertible version never materialised.
While production is now done and dusted, Lexus claims that the experience gained in building the LF-A, and especially making it out of high-strength, lightweight carbon fibre, will trickle through to the rest of the Lexus range, and indeed through to more mainstream Toyotas in the future. It may be some time, however, before we see a fully carbon-fibre Yaris, given that the costs of production remain a major constraint in the use of the lightweight material.
As one supercar exits the building, another enters. Ferrari has begun to reveal the first faint images of its Enzo replacement, so far called the F150.
It appears that there’s both an F1-style nose cone and a double-bubble roof bulge to try and allow for a little extra head room.
Power will come from a development of the F12 Berlinetta’s 730bhp V12, with added grunt coming from an electric hybrid KERS-style set-up that will allow for bursts of extra grunt up to a reported 850bhp.