Lexus LFA Monthly Lease Set at $12,398 for 24 Months, With All Payments Due Up Front

With all the time, energy and resources used in building the Lexus LFA supercar, it seems the Japanese automaker might not be all that interested in anyone driving the vehicle as they've made it prohibitively difficult to get into. It's not the cost that might keep people away ($375,000 being a rather reasonable price for a full carbon chassis exotic with a high-revving V10), but rather the complex process Lexus has devised by which potential “owners” have to jump through hoops to get into an LFA. And lets not forget, that 24 months later, the car goes back to Lexus – because it's just a lease after all.

So what's an LFA cost to lease each month? How about a staggering $12,398.44. And if you thought the whole idea behind a lease was to make a car more affordable, forget it. Lexus wants all that cash up front – a total of $237,562.56. But it's not that simple. First Lexus has to actually choose you, after which you will be notified and then drop off a $10,000 deposit while Lexus checks your credit. then Lexus wants an additional $50,000 lump sum deposit.

Once the car has been built specifically for you (which is likely to take a while) candidates will have to then undergo a second credit check before handing over the $237,562.56, bringing the total to $297,562.56.

Now if there is some good news in here, it's that Lexus will actually sell the LFA to leases at the end of the 24 months, for the residual value of $93,750.

What's the purpose off all this nonsense? Well, Lexus devised this plan to weed out speculators who might try and buy an LFA in order to resell it at a higher value. Unfortunately for Lexus, they might have weeded out quite a few folks who really want the car but just don't have the desire to participate in a lengthy series of payment, credit check, payment, credit check, payment, payment. And on top of all this, when you add the total lease price to the residual value, the number is actually $391,312.56 – or roughly $16,000 more than the MSRP. Plus Lexus will actually make you pay a $700 acquisition fee and then there's those pesky taxes.

Is it worth it to own the first Lexus supercar? That's still up in the air. The LFA has all the potential to be a world-class exotic, with its V10 engine and carbon fiber monocoque chassis, but can the notoriously dull Lexus brand build a full-fledged exotic?

More: Lexus LFA Monthly Lease Set at $12,398 for 24 Months, With All Payments Due Up Front on AutoGuide.com