flipside909

Spotted this past Sunday 3/27/11 at the LA Convention Center was the original prototype LFA. This chameleon LFA debuted its renewed Flat Black paint scheme for the first time at Meguiar's Booth at the Dub Show LA. Although a different venue for Lexus, this was the first time that the LFA was showcased at a car show & concert event. Many prominent names came to the show like Lupe Fiasco, DJ Quik and The Game. Even the Lakers Ron Artest came by right before their game with the Hornets, next door at the Staples Center (who they smoked 102-84). The Dub Show attracts thousands of people all over the Greater Los Angeles Area. I personally was stuck in traffic for 45 mins at the LA Convention Center trying to find parking. Not only was The Dub Show in town, Adultcon (**** convention) was happening at the West Hall. Talk about a parking and traffic nightmare!

Despite the chaos outside, the LFA was a huge hit with the Dub Show attendees. Everyone who walked by quickly busted out their cell phone and digital cameras to take a quick photo op. There were a few times that the LFA was fired up and revved for the crowd. People from across the convention center ran to the Meguiars booth to sample the acoustic wonders of the Yamaha co-engineered marvel. Being that the LFA is still a rare item, there were many that were clueless that Lexus had built a supercar. This Matte Black prototype still remains badgeless (besides the circle L) in the rear so it baffled many that saw the car for the first time.

This car is special as it was the first LFA to come to the USA. This was one of the last LFAs that the late Hiromu Naruse had driven. This is also the same LFA that Akio Toyoda drove for the first time on city streets and in the USA. My personal experience with this particular LFA goes a few years back with those unforgettable hot laps at Homestead-Miami Speedway with Naruse-san and Scott Pruett when the LFA first arrived in America.

For those who are wondering, this LFA now has 14K miles and the interior remains unchanged with the Camel Yellow and Black Leather accents. Not bad for a car that has been driven hard about 99% of its lifetime without any mechanical breakdowns or failures. Try that with a European exotic! Not to forget this was the same LFA that shattered that champagne glass in the recent "Pitch" commercial.

The original Matte Black LFA is back to Black.

Matte Black > Pearl White (Starfire Pearl) > Pearl Gray (Smokey Granite) > Vinyl Wrapped painted Orange > Pearl Gray > Matte Black























More to come...

flipside909

LFA in LA:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SsRmVn4US8


This was featured on the Dub Show LA page:

http://www.dubshowtour.com/index.php...982&Itemid=286

05RollaXRS

Wow! The chameleon is back to square-one. I wonder if the paint coming full circles is a hint that it is about to depart for Japan leaving with the same paint it arrived in???

S2000toIS350

Not quite square 1 as the car previously had white leather seats.

I would like to see if they were able to clean up the current camel leather as that was a total dirt magnet (anyone who went to Infineon can attest to this.

The original white leather was heavily worn when I first experienced the car in January of 2010. You kind of roll into the LFA and the edge of the seats near the door had taken a beating. The Alcantara versions should hold up much better.

flipside909

I've seen both the White and Camel Yellow leather from the point of when they were new and flawless to the end conditions they are in now. As many drivers and butts that have been in and out of that LFA, its inevitable the leather will be worn from blue denim dye, soot and grease. The seats are in okay condition as the car was detailed after it left the paint shop. Any leather interior is a dirt magnet. Its obvious the darker colors obviously hide them better than others. Alcantara should hold up well, but like any seating surface, the material will wear down from wear and tear. Alcantara/Ecsaine was used in the 01-05 IS300 (and now the 2011 ISF) and you can see a color shift (black turns almost purple and the Tan turns lighter).

MR_F1

Pic shows that they did a better job on the flat black this time around. Sinister. I like.

gengar

Alcantara is easier to keep clean, but it actually usually wears faster from wear and tear than leather.

TF109B

Wonder if Lexus will 'refurbish' it for you after a period of time? Any info on that gengar/flip?

flipside909

When the car was still fairly new it looked like this from its first paint job:

Miami-Homestead Event 10/29/09



Obviously after several washes and quick detailer wipedowns...the Matte finish started turning into a semi-gloss. This was its last appearance to the public at the NY Auto Show 3/31/10, before it was repainted to White Pearl for the commercial.

bod1287

iTrader: (2)

skeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet

05RollaXRS

Those pictures are simply phenomenal.

jpvarghese

iTrader: (1)

I never liked the flat-black treatment on these cars, but thanks for sharing!

flipside909

The LFA is subjected to the same 4 yr/50k mile bumper to bumper warranty. Just like any car, wear and tear is going to be a part of ownership of any car. Its unlikely that the production LFAs will see the same abuse of the prototype cars.

Alucard

That is the coolest key ever!

Here's hoping they make a replica key-chain version

flipside909

Here is some video footage I took leaving the DUB Show on Sunday. Theres more coming. Sirus XM bumps pretty good with the factory Mark Levinson sound system!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SsRmVn4US8