Lexus LFA’s legendary V10 won’t make its way into EV successor
The howling Yamaha-developed V10 engine in the Lexus LFA was its hallmark, but the brand isn’t wanting to lean too hard on that for its follow up.
The Lexus LFA has gone down as one of the defining supercars of the early 21st century, thanks partly to its V10 engine which stood out like a sore thumb from the rest of the wider Toyota lineup.
Late last year, Lexus revealed the LFA Concept, previewing a second-generation iteration of the famous nameplate, running on the same chassis as the twin-turbo V8 Toyota GR GT… but without its engine.
Instead, the new LFA Concept is an EV, leaning further into its easy-listening customer base by making it a silent electric supercar.
However, it may not be totally silent when it reaches production, with the LFA program’s general manager, Yukihiro Yukita, telling the UK’s Autocar that a production model will make some kind of noise, though not necessarily that of the V10.
“What I get from the market is that a BEV is fake because we imitate the sound [of an internal combustion engine] – but that's not something we want to do,” Yukita said.
The executive added Lexus wants its LFA drivers to “feel like they are driving with an engine”, saying that a downside to EVs is that “we lose the sound or the vibration, which gives a big impact to the five senses of the driver.”
Jordan Mulach
While acknowledging the popularity of synthesised engine noises in performance EVs from Hyundai and a growing number of brands, Yukita said: “We're not just wanting to replicate the sound of the engine: we want to redesign the sound itself.”
According to concept designer Shogo Kasamatsu, the LFA is aimed at challenging how people feel about performance EVs, saying: “Many people don't believe that battery [power] is exciting right now. This is a huge challenge.”
No details about a potential production version of the LFA Concept have even been leaked at this point, though it is one of many concepts hitting the hill at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend.
