So Lexus dropped the LF-A... Go Nissan

[Rain]

Well, Toyota have joined up with Subaru and are producing a rwd 2 door its been rumored.

[supraman]

Originally Posted by Mega

The Supra is DEAD!

Come here and say that!

[bonzelite]

but what is really the actual reasoning behind canceling the LF-A? so much went into raising it's profile with all of the Nurburgring "leaks" and spy shots. It seemed to hold such promise.

What is the real reason? It's an awful lot of R&D and advertising and exposure to just pull the plug like that. I don't get it. Was it just money?

I thought the foray onto the Nur24 hrs was just a test. They finished poorly sort of on purpose, yes? To test the car? One go at the Nur in competition can't possibly signal the end before it had a chance to begin.

Any thoughts?

[borat52]

Maybe its because of the current economic climate, when/if recession hits anyone making supercars will have to tough it out for a few years like the late 80's early 90's. The xj220 fell victim to this, as did all supercar makers back then and I suspect that Toyota have rationalised that the car would not be brought to market for another 12-24 months and at that time we may well be in a very bad financial mess. Better to cut your losses now than throw good money after bad.

Also how many would pay $200k+ for a LFA when you can get the GTR for under $90k for the same performance?

[skyline69_uk]

The money side and a world downturn are the big reasons Toyota bailed out but I also feel that the success of the GT-R for the money has made other much more expensive new JDM cars look like bad value for money unless they are much faster than it.

The Euro makes and USA makes are still selling on badge and brand loyalty (especially the USA who are very strong on buying USA cars). A new car with no heritage and the wrong badge at THAT money would find it difficult to sell at all so the LF-A was iffy from the start IMHO.

The new NSX I think will sell this time around if not too expensive as it now has heritage and a great rep from the old model as will a new RX-7 but the Lexus was starting from new, although a cheaper car in the sub £80k range would sell well with the Lexus badge especially in Europe/USA - a bit like an Audi R8.

[CJay]

Its a sad day if the LF-A is dead (Good to push the boundaries and have some competition) and as for the Supra is dead comment earlier ...lol I aint no money bags but my UK Supra was amongst if not the Best car ive ever owned its up there with my EVO1X

CJ

[tokyogtr]

i'm sure the global economy has a lot to do with it. global credit crunch is causing problems for everyone.

in fact, those of you that have secured or are thinking of securing large car loans for your gt-r's but don't have confirmation yet, beware... your deposit could be at risk. i'm not being a doomsayer but things are going to get a lot worse.

nissan will get their money either way but the dealers who took the deposits and can't get the cash from the customers will fold. i'm sure there were so many speculative orders out there.

[bonzelite]

I agree. The global depression and police state has affected Toyota's choices. Leases for cars are about ready to be erased, too.

[andreasgtr]

What a shame. I really thought the glorious japanese group would come and show the rest of the world a new breed of iconic supercars.
The names GT-R, Supra, RX7 and NSX were one era of japanese supercars and I would've loved them to return together. Lets hope for a new Supra

[borat52]

I wouldn't hold your breath for a supra replacement. It would need to be <$100k to be price competitive and be a match in performance for the GTR. Given the LFA just beat the GTR around the ring I severly doubt Toyota has the will to invest the R&D and time needed to make a supra replacement.

[Swiss Frank]

I wish the mid-90's Supra continued to evolve as the 911 always has.

The LFA supercar was a joke. I have no place in my life for a car that can't be used almost every day, and yet for that special trip when two seats is enough... you get to sit back under a closed roof and press the "drives itself" button. Just from the photos I saw, I can't imagine even parking it in any of the cities I've lived in the last 10 years (Zurich, London, Tokyo).

In contrast, for years, whether I was going out for groceries or a potted fig tree or even ran across a barn ladder I wanted in an antique shop, run into sis + bro-in-law walking around and decide to go out for dinner, the Supra made the trip enjoyable and special.

Now, 330HP isn't enough for today, and the thing had a touch too much cowl shake and turbo lag. But 15 years more evolution would take care of alot of that.

[CJay]

Its a shame but ..........Toyota have got what they want ....Thats being Number One Car producer in the World .........at the cost of making Great cars like the MR2 / Celica & SUPRA they now only make boring economy / fuel efficient cars


Rgds CJ

[tonigmr2]

They have been off the boil on the sports car thing for a long time now, which is a shame.
T

[mifn21]

Can't blame them though, they're there to make money

[rasonline]

Global economic downturn would have had something to do with it. Also interesting is that they have a v10 in there at at time when manufacturers are virtually eliminating those engines. In another 5 years you probably won't see any v10s at all, and maybe a handful of v8 engines, as everything moves to forced induction (up to 6 cylinder) and hybrids coming into the mix.

Even Porsche are going the electric car road.