Photo Credit: CarandDriver.com

The 2012 Lexus LFA is an exotic, two-place, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive coupe costing roughly $350,000. The chassis and body are made largely of carbon-fiber composite, just like those of an Enzo or a Mercedes SLR McLaren. Per Lexus’s scales, the car weighs 3263 pounds—less than a Corvette ZR1. The engine is a 4.8-liter V-10 codeveloped with Yamaha. It’s a compact unit that makes 553 horsepower at 8700 rpm and revs to a giddy 9000 rpm. Maximum torque of 354 pound-feet peaks at 6800 rpm, with 90 percent available between 3700 and 9000 revs.

The interior is restrained but tasteful. The car we drove had a mixture of supple leather, carbon fiber, Alcantara, and “satin metal” adorning the cockpit. Lexus will offer seat coverings in 12 shades of leather or 10 alternate hues of Alcantara, with three color choices for the Alcantara headliner. “Roomy” describes the cabin, although luggage space is minimal.The most remarkable interior features are seatbelt airbags—which inflate in a crash to spread the impact’s forces over a broader section of the body than a traditional belt—and the instrument display, which is as cool as liquid nitrogen. Alter the vehicle settings, and the large central tachometer, which also incorporates a digital speedometer and a gear indicator, changes appearance.

Photo Credit: CarandDriver.com

The Lexus LFA is the most exciting car to come out of Japan since the GT-R, as it should be for the money Lexus is charging. But it’s more involving than the Nissan and a much more special experience. In many ways, its closest natural rival is the Ferrari 599GTB, although the Lexus is more visceral and exciting and better balanced and more nimble. At the same time, the LFA is easy to drive at everyday speeds, quiet at cruise, and refined, just like a Lexus should be. Whether people can equate the brand with a hugely expensive, hugely competent sports car will be interesting to say the least.