LF-A: Lexus' two-passenger, high-performance sports car will be unveiled at the same time as the Japan Formula One race moves to Toyota's home, Fuji Speedway, in the fall of 2007. It is likely that a big 500-hp V-8 will be the powerplant, as a V-8 has weight and packaging advantages over the all-but-dead V-10 program. It would arrive in the United States in spring 2008.

The LF-A sports-car concept was originally shown at the 2005 NAIAS to express a bold new direction in styling for the Lexus brand. The goals for the new LF-A are no different than they were with the original concept: To build a supercar with world-class performance that is uniquely Lexus.

As with all new Lexus vehicles, the styling of the LF-A is rooted in a design direction called L-finesse. The concept of L-finesse was used to shape and detail the original LF-A, and it was used to reshape, redetail and redefine this latest version. Lexus has further refined the styling of the new LF-A to enhance its exotic nature with a greater use of curved surfaces and interesting details.

The running gear of the LF-A is just as it was with the original, powered by a high-revving 500-plus horsepower V10 engine. Its front mid-engine placement, along with a rear-mounted transaxle and rear-mounted radiators, allows for excellent weight distribution. The horsepower, superior aerodynamics, and revised styling makes a top speed of 200 mph not only possible but probable.

An "F" logo, indicating the vehicle's status as a part of the new "F" marque, is located on each front fender.

"The first LF-A was a pure concept, but one that we went so far as to conduct engineering analysis on," said Carter. "This latest concept is much closer to a vehicle that we would bring to market, and one in which we will be gauging consumer interest."