Toyota Motors has been the target of a barrage of criticism over major recalls due to serious safety risks, yet this has not deterred those considering adding a Lexus LF-A to their fleet, nor has a price that’s likely to be in the ballpark of $400,000 (equivalent of 37.5 million yen). The LF-A, which debuted in production form at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show, is Lexus’ challenge to the ever more popular GTR for Japanese supercar supremacy -  though one would expect a difference in performance would reflect the more than $300,000 difference in price. With plans to produce only 500 vehicles, made to order at a rate of 20 per month, Lexus has stated that formal expressions of interests have already exceeded the number of allotted vehicles. Even if your name is high on the list of those interested who can afford to shell out close to half a million bucks on a Lexus, there’s still no guarantee that you’ll find yourself behind the wheel of this one. Because of such high demand, Lexus has decided that those on the list who can most enhance the profile of this limited edition will be handpicked to get one. By “get one”, if you live in North America, I mean to say “rent one”. The 150 LF-As allocated to make the journey from Japan to the States and Canada will only be available for lease, with the option to purchase after two years.

The Lexus LF-A is scheduled to go to production in December 2010 and deliveries should follow soon after in early 2011.