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lexus has issued the following press release:
500th and last lfa leaving the plant
- last lfa produced on december 14, 2012
- learning from lfa engineering and production influencing new lexus products
- in-house production of carbon fibre reinforced plastic (cfrp) components for know-how gain to be used in future products
brussels, belgium - on december 14, a white lfa nürburgring package, the last of the 500 planned lfa supercars, left tmc’s dedicated production facility at the motomachi plant, aichi prefecture.
this marks the end of a key chapter for lexus, one in which people's perceptions and understanding of the brand have been challenged, and perhaps changed forever.
the learning and passion gained from engineering and producing a world-class supercar can already be seen in the products recently launched by lexus - across the whole range, not just those carrying the f sport badge.
in that sense, the spirit of the lfa will live on; it will be fondly remembered for being the car that marked the start of significant change for the lexus brand.
the development of the supercar started from a blank sheet of paper. cfrp was used for a significant percentage of the vehicle’s components, taking benefit of the material’s exceptional strength, rigidity and light weight to achieve a breakthrough in supercar manufacturing. cfrp production took place in-house in order to gain valuable know-how to be used in future products.
‘i’ve lived and breathed supercars for the past decade. – remembers haruhiko tanahashi, the lfa’s chief engineer. – specifically one supercar. the lfa. very few people have the opportunity we had: to create a world-class supercar from a blank sheet of paper.’
production at lfa works started exactly two years ago, on december 15, 2010, and included a team of around 170 hand-picked takumi workers involved in parts manufacturing, vehicle assembly and painting. the high performance lfa was produced at the rate of just one unit per day.