rominl

iTrader: (4)

when the 5 series gained so much weight, it was the worst nightmare. when the rc got heavier than the gs, it must have a positive reason.

when m3 had screaming high-rev n/a v8, it was "torque-less". when m4 has a ttv6 and rcf n/a v8, n/a is the best.

same old, same old

situman

Then I don't understand why there was a birthday celebration for it and being featured with the white RC-Fs and various photo shoots lately. Clearly it still resonates within Lexus that this is the leader and we shall not overcome, yet. And perhaps its all this corporate departures and reshuffling that things are changing. Is there a reason the 2.0t in the NX can't produce more power? Of course not. It can easily produce more than the RX but they wont really do that in fear of actually cannibalizing sales. With the RX moving to 300hp, they can reasonably move the 2.0t to about 250hp and have enough differentiation/separation there. All marketing at the end of the day.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

lexus still brings out the 2000gt in japan from time to time. it's good to know that they are still marketing that car.

on a serious note, i agree with gengar. knowing few people in lexus, yes, lfa is a thing in the past already, they have moved on long ago. it doesn't mean they stop doing anything with the car, but the car is not the focus anymore -- since long ago

czar07

They still race the LFA..of course they care about it..

Gojirra99

The LFA has been overcome LONG time ago in hp by competitors' non-halo cars, some even BEFORE the LFA was produced.
So they need to suppress the hp of their other sports models to continually have the LFA as their leader in hp, even when that means making their F models non competitive compared to their rivals, Yes that makes sense .

What good is the LFA as a halo if you have to make non-competitive F cars just so they won't have the same or more hp than the LFA ???????

RNM GS3

Thats surprising to hear that LFA is not more of a focus considering they ***** it out even today on tv, autoshows and marketing etc.

What is the reason for moving on from LFA and are there any plans for a successor?
Please dont tell me it was only Toyoda's pet project and now they have moved on since they satisfied his demand.

gengar

You first say the RC-F is "nothing like the M4, the C63 or RS5" then go on to say "[it's] not like the Germans do it so differently that their way is right and Lexus is wrong". So which is it?

Again, watching Harris' RC-F review, a lot of his criticism is that the RC-F is too much like the Germans in approach and design philosophy, and he was actually hoping they would do something different - hence the mention of the LFA. No surprise that Clarkson focused on the same thing in his review. Neither cared that the LFA had less power and lesser numbers in some areas compared to some of its competitors, as they found the engineering and design approach of the LFA a far more compelling aspect. Harris' RC-F review was pretty much a segue into the article in the OP, as his point is that Lexus hasn't continued (much less capitalized) on the type of engineering and design approach embodied in the LFA. I just don't see how this isn't constructive criticism.

Also, the notion that the RC-F isn't a "stripped-out wanna be race car" is such an absurd strawman that people keep trying to bring up in this thread - and I hope you all stop due to the sheer embarrassment of needing it as a defense for Lexus. The M4, C63, and RS5 aren't either.

Of course they'll still market the LFA. Behind the scenes is the real problem. Everyone who has been involved with Lexus on the LFA or who knows people who have worked on the various LFA or LFA-related teams in Lexus knows that the chatter on this car has gone to virtually zero. There is no more customer outreach or community development, no more internal projects, no more marketing research, etc. It's just silence.

As for the NX 2.0T - c'mon, it makes more power than the Audi 2.0T in everything but the TTS, and it's only 5hp down from the 328i 2.0T, all while earning praise for running more smoothly and efficiently than the BMW powerplant and therefore likely being more reliable. Hard to argue this is for market segmentation when the engine is competitive with other luxury marques.

It's also ironic that you bring up the RX in an argument about marketing segmentation by hp since the 2016 RX will have no hp differentiation between the RX350 and RX450h.


To be fair, there have never been any plans for a successor - this was made clear even way back in 2011 when I met with Haruhiko Tanahashi. The best thing I think we can say about some sort of continuation is that Gazoo is still racing the LFA/Code X, and I hope the combining of the motorsports divisions under the Gazoo name might help in this regard as it'll give the racing efforts more credibility (this is not at all a slam against the original Gazoo which was a phenomenal grassroots-type project - just that it's always been clear that the original Gazoo was a pet project of Akio's).

rominl

iTrader: (4)

if it's been 3 years and you are still trying to live off a halo car, you have serious problem. especially for a company like toyota. lfa is diminishing news. i am NOT dissing the car, i love it. but what the car can bring to the brand is diminishing in terms of branding. imho they have milked quite a lot out of the lfa and have done quite a good job.

their focus has shifted to rc and now the lc since a while ago. as a company, it's always about moving on and trying to build the next best. it doesn't have to be a successor, and like gengar said, there has never been lfa2 in the talk anyway (yet). a good company doesn't sit on a good thing for too long

again i am not taking away from the lfa. just like the 2000gt, 3-4 decades away from now i am sure lfa will still pop up here and there showcasing what lexus has done.

chromedome

Well, Honda could be well placed to focus on the hybrid enthusiast crowd if it ever finishes the NSX. That would be the halo car to a full lineup of Jazz, Civic and Accord hybrids. A CRV hybrid should also be in there.

I think Toyota should do something similar for its next halo car. It's the only car maker with such a wide hybrid lineup and yet there's nothing at the top, other than the old and portly LS600h. Porsche did the reverse with their hybrid 918 Spyder and 919 racer at the top, but their sports car lineup isn't electrified while the Cayenne and Panamera hybrids sell in tiny numbers.

Toys4RJill

Honestly, I have never understood the whole point of the LFA

To me, Lexus should of done a $400k Bentley Rolls Royce super luxo car.

situman

Too many responses to quote. The LFA is still relevant in Lexus' mind as someone stated its still being raced, albeit with upgrade specs supposedly. It's still being featured in videos any chance they get. Let's not mention the LFA in the same breath as the 2000gt. It's a true legendary status that the LFA may or may not reach. Yes its been surpassed by competitors since day one, but the LFA lives in a vacuum that is Lexus. I strongly believe (its only a believe, not a fact) that it will be another 3yrs or so before they finally retire it and you will see a big jump in performance from Lexus vehicles, F vehicles at least.

EZZ

The whole point of the LFA and the F-sport focus in the last 5 years is to get a new demographic of buyers before the current demographic dies out (literally). A $400k Bentley competitor is hardly relevant to the under 45yr old demographic

Honestly...I personally wouldn't have considered a Lexus 5 years ago. Even 5 years ago, Infiniti was a much better comparison to BMW but now, Lexus has viable products that compete in the sporty luxo category. Lexus is learning from the past mistakes of GM which failed to attract new buyers while their core buyers started dying off...

svelt

Exactly. Look how far Lexus has come from its 2009 lineup to that of today's. A vast breath of fresh air. Lexus has come a long way and has carved a good niche for itself. Infiniti (which had far more buzz and appeal to younger buyers and enthusiasts than Lexus) and Acura (an even more precipitous decline) by contrast have either stayed stagnant or regressed.

Even fewer would have bought a $400k Rolls Royce phantom competitor from Lexus. You can't engineer prestige/branding/heritage as opposed to function and performance.

gengar

2009: IS-F
Today: RC-F

That's a "breath of fresh air"?

rominl

iTrader: (4)

high-five....