New Cars Sport Sport

Normally, the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition wouldn't be something that you'd read about or see on Carscoop, but being that Lexus is involved in the 2011 issue, we....couldn't leave you in the dark about the LFA's presence in the photo shoot with Dutch supermodel Rianne Ten Haken.

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Owning a supercar like the Lexus LFA is not always a walk in the park. With 552HP on tap, it has enough oomph to get you in serious trouble and, given the $375,000 price tag and limited run of just 500 units, it would be a shame to wrap this beast around a tree. So, it’s definitely good news that Lexus will offer a driver development program for LFA owners that will run from March 8 to 15, at the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California.

Racing professionals will provide expert guidance during the one-day program, which includes theoretical and track lapping sessions, performance limit exercises and technical demonstrations.

“This program offers a unique opportunity to experience the 552 horsepower Lexus LFA supercar in its natural environment,” said Mark Templin, group vice president and general manager, Lexus Division. “Lapping Infineon and tips from the professional drivers will certainly enhance the overall LFA ownership experience.”

First presented as a concept model at the 2005 Detroit Auto Show, the production version LFA was finally shown in October 2009 at the Tokyo Motor Show. Still, it took another year until it went into production, with the first units being delivered in the U.S. last month. The entire batch of 500 units is expected to be delivered by 2012 and, according to Lexus, there are still a limited number of LFAs available for purchase.

In the videos below, you can see the reactions of one of the first owners to take delivery of the LFA (allegedly in Costa Rica), upon getting behind the wheel.

By Csaba Daradics

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In another sign that luxury automakers in the U.S. are raising the stakes -or so to speak- with their latest commercials, following Audi's recent A8 ad, Lexus has released a new TV spot as part of an advertising campaign to demonstrate how far the company goes to achieve perfection.

This particular broadcast ad is titled “Chain” and it shows a crane slowly lifting the front end of a LS, which is attached to four more Lexus models (RX, GS, ES and IS) using nothing more than cables and stretch bars. At the end of the spot, a $375,000 LFA comes into the shot and parks directly below the chain of vehicles weighing a total 21,000 pounds.

The key point here is that the commercial is real and that no special effects were used for its creation as Lexus proves in the 'Behind the Scenes" video.

“It isn’t enough to just say that we pursue perfection, we want to demonstrate the great lengths we go to in our pursuit,” states Dave Nordstrom, vice president of marketing for Lexus.

“The new broadcast spot allows us to focus on the foundation of our vehicles, the chassis, and show its almost unbelievable strength. In fact, we feared that it would be so unbelievable, we invited a physicist and structural engineer to witness the shoot, to prove that it did, in fact, occur without the use of special effects or computer generated-imagery.”

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