The Beginning and the End of the Lexus LFA – Together at Last

LFA3and499_lead

The Lexus LFA we all know and love has been out of production for a few months now. Just 500 examples were made, all of which are now roaming free on the world’s roadways, minus a few being kept in a museum. Those 500 Lexus LFAs are very special cars, because to this day there are few other vehicles that turn heads like the LFA does. Its extravagant bodywork draws eyes from anywhere and its unmistakable 552 horsepower V10 roar is good enough to taunt enthusiasts from miles away. Development famously took nearly 10 years because Toyota refused to allow anything less than perfection to make it to production, and many would argue that they’ve gotten exactly what they wanted out of it.

Many of the world’s super cars will be remembered for the numbers – like top speed, power, or price – but the LFA will be remembered as a driver’s car that was loved by its owners for being just that, which is what brings us to these two LFAs you see here.

These two are particularly special, because one of them is the first customer-owned LFA in the world (left) and the other is the last customer-owned LFA in the world (right). And as you can see from the photos, they’re both together out in public for the enthusiasts at Atlanta’s Caffeine and Octane car meet to salivate over (but not on). That’s because they’re both owned by the same person. Why? Because he just loves them that much.

lfa003and499_back

That proud owner is a gentleman in the Atlanta area that our pal Blake Z. Rong got to interview as he was picking up his second LFA. He genuinely loves the Lexus LFA, which was evident in February of 2011 when he took his first, serial number 003, out to Atlanta’s Caffeine and Octane car meet just a matter of hours after it had arrived from Japan. Serial number 001 and 002 were kept by Toyota, which is why 003 is regarded as the first customer-owned LFA in the world. At the time, it had less than 50 miles on the odometer and you could still smell the plastic used to cover up the upholstery. It takes a true car guy to drive a $400,000-ish super car to an enthusiast gathering in a crowded parking lot before anywhere else.

lfa3and499interior

Fast-forward to last Sunday: LFA number 003 made another appearance at Caffeine and Octane, but this time it was joined by his second car, LFA number 499. Since LFA #500 was sent to a museum, this is the last-customer owned LFA in the world. Both cars were easily the center of attention for the entire show. No matter how many lime green Lamborghinis or 10-second GTOs rolled in, these two drew the biggest crowd. The owner stayed by his babies the entire time, answering questions, opening hoods, and occasionally firing it up for a few quick throttle blips. He gave us all total access to these two amazing cars that most would hide under car covers, and for that, we thank him.

lfa3and499driving

I did, however, notice a “For Sale” sign next to LFA 003. There are likely plenty of buyers lined up already for their shot at owning a piece of Toyota history, so this may be the last time that we ever see these two significant LFAs together like this.

To sum all this up: the Lexus LFA was a truly incredible era for Toyota as a whole, and one of the coolest exotic car owners on earth owns the beginning and the end of that incredible era, at least for now. Sure beats having them both collect dust in a basement.

Images © Hooniverse/Greg Kachadurian | The full Flickr gallery can be found here

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The maximum upload file size: 64 MB. You can upload: image, audio, video. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop files here

12 responses to “The Beginning and the End of the Lexus LFA – Together at Last”

  1. dukeisduke Avatar
    dukeisduke

    Are they two different colors? They look different.

    1. GregKachadurian Avatar
      GregKachadurian

      Yes. 003 is a light silver while 499 is a darker gray with a carbon fiber roof.

  2. MVEilenstein Avatar
    MVEilenstein

    Ironically, I saw one of these just last weekend, and yes it was in a museum. I don't think I got any pictures of it, though.

  3. vetteman61@gamil.com Avatar
    vetteman61@gamil.com

    If I were going to pay that much money for a car it had better not look like a riced-out 350Z and an Audi had a love child.

    1. Tim Odell Avatar
      Tim Odell

      I might've phrased it differently…but I pretty much agree with you.

  4. streetpedaler Avatar
    streetpedaler

    for sale? Why do I remember something about how Lexus would only allow you to lease an LFA? Did they change their minds on that one?

    1. GregKachadurian Avatar
      GregKachadurian

      You're right, and they did. They had leased a majority of them so owners couldn't immediately resell them for a profit, but they eventually changed that to allow outright purchases, strings attached of course.

  5. SSurfer321 Avatar
    SSurfer321

    But that panel gap at the hood!?
    /trolling

    1. GregKachadurian Avatar
      GregKachadurian

      Funny you mention that, because that gap was the first thing my friend noticed when he walked up to it.

    2. BlackIce_GTS Avatar
      BlackIce_GTS

      It's a blankity blank for the blank blank, it' blanks blank by blanking blanks.
      Yeah, I have no idea. Does anyone?
      There was just a hand scrawled note on the blueprints, roughly translated:
      Do a really bad job fitting this. People will assume there's a reason. GM will flip out. LOL.
      -Toyoda

  6. Felis_Concolor Avatar
    Felis_Concolor

    The added tweaks on the rear of 499 has me guessing that's a 'Ring version. I guess he didn't open the hood for a confirmation shot of the oil filter covers.