![Man Builds Mustang Out Of Lamborghini, World Goes "Huh?"](http://cache-03.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/12/2010/02/126x100_stangallardo_1_01.jpg "Man Builds Mustang Out Of Lamborghini, World Goes "Huh?"")
Nov 23, 2009 12:30 PM
9,323
Enter your username and password.
Detroit, 7:42 AM
Wed Feb 10
28 posts in the last 24 hours
Autoweek is reporting Toyota will lease, not sell the Lexus LFA. Not really. You'll still be able to walk into a dealer with 3,750 unmarked $100 bills and walk out with one of 500 Toyota supercars.
What Lexus USA is trying to do is to prevent speculators from driving the price of the already super-expensive supercar into the stratosphere. The LFA is supposed to be the flagship of a new focus on competing with other automakers on performance and exclusivity as well as quality. Giving Lexus that shine means controlling the customer experience to the last possible degree and that means insuring we don't see the LFA up for sale on eBay.
So what Lexus USA is doing is creating a special lease arrangement in which the company will retain the LFA's title for two years before turning it over to the owner. That's not a traditional lease model involving deposits and finance arrangements, it's just being called a "lease" because "customers will arrive at a private deal with the company about how much they're going to pay and when (always totaling the identical total price), then the company will turn over the title after two years" takes up too much space.
So yes, you can still walk into an American Lexus dealer with a whale penis leather briefcase full of ill-gotten gains and walk out with an LFA, you just won't get the title in the mail for two years. That restriction only applies in the US. Well-healed European Toyota enthusiasts will be receiving their titles immediately.
Production of the 552 HP supercar commences next December, with each being built to order. Make sure you check out our review of the 2011 Lexus LFA.
Send an email to Wes Siler, the author of this post, at wes@jalopnik.com.
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
Start a new discussion