SEMA 2009: Matte Black Lexus LFA Makes North American Debut in Las Vegas

After its world debut just a few weeks ago at the Tokyo Auto Show, today Lexus gave an audience of media and aftermarket tuners the first look on U.S. soil of the its new LFA supercar.

It is undeniably the most expensive Lexus, the company has ever created. The LFA supercar, priced at $375,000 is aimed at raising Lexus from a German imitator to an Italian rival. Aimed at cars like the Ferrari 599, the LFA is powered by a 4.8-liter V10 engine with 560 PS (552hp) and 354 ft-lbs of torque and thanks to a six-speed sequential transmission and a weight of just 3,263 lbs, the LFA can hit 62 mph in 3.7 seconds and tops out a 202 mph!

Lexus says the V10 engine they have created is both smaller and lighter than most V8 engines. It also uses 10 individual electronic throttle bodies for the best possible throttle response. As the the body of the car it uses carbon fiber, which is joined to the car's metal pieces in a special process the Japanese automaker has developed.

As rumored, the car does use a carbon fiber cabin structure (often referred to as a monocoque), which is why the vehicle weighs so little. Until now production vehicles with such a setup were limited to even more expensive vehicles, like the upcoming Aston Martin One-77, which is rumored to cost close to $1.7 million.

Inside, the car has plenty of state-of-the-art technology and even has the user-friendly Remote Touch mouse.

Lexus calls the car, "Ultra-responsive and extremely stable even when taken to the edge," saying that, "the LFA creates a sense of reassurance that opens up a new world of driving emotion, exhilarating the senses to move the driver in more ways than one." We'll have to wait until some serious track tests to see if the car performs like it costs.

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