Word has it on the street that the Lexus LFA successor could debut later this fall sporting a new gas-electric hybrid V-8 with as much as 900 horsepower. According to a Japanese auto publication and information featured in its physical December 2024 issue, the new LFA successor may be on the horizon for a reveal in the third quarter of this year.
Lexus has been rumored to be working on a new halo car to replace its iconic and outrageous LFA. Our esteemed colleagues and their spy photographer at HotCars also caught a test mule running about in Europe on multiple occasions, further corroborating the rumors of a new Lexus flagship performance car. While not much is known, speculation suggests the new model could come in both gas-electric and all-electric forms as automakers today are embracing “multi-energy” approaches to their product strategies. Other bits suggest the new model could also get a new “LF-R” name and badge.
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The LFA itself rewrote the books on the brand’s identity as a luxury automaker. It proved the company, along with its top engineers at Toyota, could produce an astonishing supercar worthy of performing with some of the other greats from Europe. In addition to incredible handling and performance technology, one of the LFA’s biggest signatures is its Formula One racecar-like exhaust and engine note from its racing-derived V-10 and its 9,000-9,500 RPM redline and fuel cut-off.
Sadly, the new LFA successor won’t inherit that engine. But instead, rumors say a gas-electric hybridized 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-8 will take its place. With a supposed total output of around 900 horsepower, BestCar says the output will be divided by the V-8 punching out 720 of those horses, while the electric motor will supply the remaining 180.
In comparison, the old 4.8-liter even-firing “1LR-GUE” V-10 produced 553 hp and 354 pound-feet of torque. Co-developed and engineered with Yamaha, the company helped engineer the engine’s valve train and even its iconic soundtrack, with the goal of making it sound like “the roar of an angel.”
Other details in BestCar’s report, which calls this new LFA successor the “GR Super Sport,” also suggest the use of an aluminum chassis with a carbon fiber body, as well as engineering and development by Toyota’s in-house tuning firm, Gazoo Racing. GR is also the same division that’s given us the current GR Supra, GR Corolla, and GR Yaris. It’s also the team working on Toyota’s new lineup of next-gen sports cars.
Gazoo Racing is also said to be developing the LF-A successor in tandem with a new GT3-spec race car, suggesting the road-going model will probably be a homologation special. Other supposed specs include a length of around 181.1 inches (compared to the LFA’s 177.4 inches), a width of 76.7 inches (LFA’s 74.6), and 47.2 inches in height (LFA’s 48.0). That said, it sounds like the new model will be longer, wider, and lower.
Like the LFA, its successor will utilize a rear-mounted transaxle for better weight distribution. The LFA featured a very specially-engineered Aisin six-speed automated manual. BestCar’s report didn’t feature any details about the new model’s transmission type, but they did say the new super could cost as much as 30 million yen, which when converted to U.S. dollars, comes out to around $200,566.94.
