The LFA Was Wildly Misunderstood. Until It Wasn’t: Lexus LFA - BTS with DTS - Ep. 7
Вставка
- Опубліковано 8 сер 2021
- Although the value of the Lexus LFA has gone up by six figures in less than 12 months, they didn’t sell well when they were new. So much so that in 2019, seven years after the end of the car’s production, US Lexus dealers sold three leftover brand new LFAs. But things have changed a lot since then. Suddenly everyone is figuring out what sensational cars they are, but it’s taken the passage of a decade or so for that to happen.
Part of the problem is how damn expensive they were when they were new. $375,000. Or, more than a Ferrari 599 or twice as much as a Mercedes SLS AMG or Porsche Turbo S. And four times as much as a Nissan GT-R, all of which offered similar performance. Nowadays, none of these cars costs more than its original MSRP, except the LFA. It costs twice its original MSRP. It was an outlier then, but it’s even more of an outlier now.
In this video, Derek Tam-Scott investigates why this is the case. Not just by taking a brief look into the car’s development, but also by making a lot of noise with the motor. Make sure you listen with your good speakers.
BTS (behind the scenes) with DTS:
Derek Tam-Scott’s spirit age is excess of 75 years old, and nowhere is that clearer than his taste in cars. At age 16, he went to work at one of the United States' foremost vintage car dealers, which cemented his elderly taste. Now with a decade and a half’s experience buying, selling, driving, and brokering classic and exotic cars, he’s experienced many of the world’s most iconic cars. And even liked some of them.
Most of the car enthusiasts of Derek’s generation (and well, let’s be honest, even a generation or two before him) don’t have much experience with the magic of vintage cars prior to the 1980s, and therefore lack the knowledge and exposure to get genuinely excited about them. The goal of BTS is to give an insider’s perspective on why these cars particularly are great...or at least interesting and noteworthy. Derek brings his encyclopedic knowledge and broad experience together to contextualize these cars to give the audience understanding of both why it matters, and what it’s actually like to experience the cars.
ISSIMI is an enthusiast-owned, full-service specialist offering sales, consignment, collection management, service, and consulting to discerning enthusiasts and collectors. Specializing in complex transactions that include international services for exceptional cars, ISSIMI’s San Francisco Bay Area and Europe-based teams of experts pride themselves on transparency and knowledge.
#ISSIMI #LEXUS #LFA
Don't forget to visit: www.issimi.com/
ISSIMI Instagram: / issimiofficial
ISSIMI Facebook: / issimiofficial - Авто та транспорт
![The Porsche Carrera GT is fine. Until it’s not. - Spotlight feat. Jason Cammisa - Ep. 7 [UHD 4K]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/uf3SDCFRDe4/mqdefault.jpg)
![The Porsche Carrera GT is fine. Until it’s not. — Spotlight feat. Jason Cammisa — Ep. 7 [UHD 4K]](/img/tr.png)
BMW: we pump artificial sound into the cabin by speakers for the driving experience
Lexus: We hired Yamaha to create a literal cathedral pipping system to physically pipe the engine sound into the cabin
Which do you think I would choose
But most people cant afford the lexus. Its rising in price as we speak.
@@picanha694 what I find most surprising is not to long ago they couldn’t sell them. Now they are sky rocketing in price.
It’s simple, people are looking for the next McLaren F1, CLK GTR, F40s and so on. The LFA is being bought mainly by investors not really collector.
Others: We play the ps1 engine noises on what I think is a speaker.
Lexus: We hired a world class instrument maker to put a cathedral in your cabin.
@@mathewhumvee Yeah the LFAs are being bought by Ferrari speculators (ahem, "collectors") and not being driven. Case and point the 170-mile one recently making rounds.
@@mathewhumvee Your correct I feel. I do think its investors playing the market. To be fair I think their predictions are kind of right. Its hard to sell a car thats fun in real life but not great on paper, so I can see why people passed on it. But it was Toyota's best car at their peak so I can see how its growing in value.
Jeremy Clarkson "The LFA is so perfect the people who make them cannot make it anymore"
Sadly, because the person who's responsible for the whole project died in a car accident in the LFA driving downhill. For all we know, he has no true successor.
The first time I heard it I wanted one. Though their current sports cars sound nearly as good and are amazing in every way. So many lexus sports cars are so vastly under rated I just don't understand why they sell so poorly. I hope toyota keeps trying to push into super cars. Their higher end sports cars are insane in every way.
@@PCgamer923 the LC500 I'd say is the v8 equivalent and more obtainable
The RC F and LC500 are fantastic cars the LC500 specifically for it's design sound and driving dynamics they can easily do it again it just isn't their main market
That’s not what the quote was but good paraphrase
lexus LFA didn't fail , we failed the LFA 😐
The reason why it’s value keeps climbing--it is the ultimate romanticism of a driver’s machine of an era that is fading away.
Back when the philosophy is "it doesn’t need any assists if it is mechanically excellent".
I can’t help but cry a little every time I see a video like this of the LFA.
I really, really love the way you phrased that.
Pass the tissues!🥺
Imagine a manual lfa though. The Carrera GT is the only thing that trumps this from the same era imo.
Supra and Hiromo Naruse say, youre welcome.
It's a sloppy paddle shift gearbox though.
Whenever I hear that v10 a single tear quietly rolls down my cheek
Touching the heart
How did we not know what we had when we had it?!? The sounds that came out of the cars of the late 90s and 2000s have forever cursed me with knowledge of what I no longer have in numb, antiseptic EVs and cvt econoboxes.
God, I should have joined a hedge fund at 6.
amen, brother!
Naturally aspirated v10 ❤
And then one must endure that clunker of a gear box. DTS was honest in his appraisal. With a DCT, this car would be bumping $2M or $3M today.
People always talk about the engine yet forget the chassis was so well designed it won every racing championship it entered. Its not just an engine in a lazy GT body, it's all so precisely engineered with grace and balance. If I ever win the lottery, this is the second purchase I'm making (after a house lol)
It won't be my second as it goes House, Huayra BC and AMG One, then this car or the 458 Speciale Aperta.
This car is wildly mistaken
It's like a Lexus F12 TDF with better chassis and engine response but a clunky gearbox because 2010s
Hi i wish to know *WHAT EVERY RACING CHAMPIONSHIP* you are talking about that LFA won many times?
@@netmatrix75 samee lol
@@netmatrix75 Yeah, no idea what 'every racing championship' is, lol. But...
"The Lexus LFA was famously developed at the Nürburgring, and it was raced there quite a bit. In fact, it made appearances at the annual Nürburgring 24 hour race every year from 2008 to 2015, at which point it was replaced by the RC F. Even Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda raced the V10 supercar at the track.
The LFA was actually a race car before it even hit production, with the pre-production LF-A participating in the race in 2008 and 2009. In both 2010 and 2012, the LFA took class wins at the track, while for 2014 and 2015, Lexus engineers created a special version called Code-X which had a larger V10. That car won its class in 2014."
In the shortest sentence: The LFA is basically the 2000GT of my lifetime.
And morr
Holy moly, you’re right!!
Putting it that way makes me want one even more.
Nice
I would argue the 2000gt is more nuts contextualized
Does anyone else feel like they wanna shed a few tears when they listen to that beautiful V10 or are you guys normal 🤣
I thought crying over beautiful music was a normal thing 😅😂🤣
I'm a car guy but haven't felt this so far 😂
I had the exact same reaction in one of the first drive by shots, lol
same boat, man.
Thank Yamaha.
I love how DT-S arms himself with a thesaurus to create brilliant commentary then describes the transmission as 'garbage'.
I thought the monologue sounded like a 10th grader’s love letter to the girl who ignores him.
As someone who's driven something with a single clutch transmission (albeit not a car) them being objectively bad and unsmooth is what makes them so much fun to drive. Feeling the vehicle lurch into the next gear is a ton of fun, and ads character. I personally think the lfa having a single clutch instead of a dual clutch is a good thing.
@@quarthmeat1884 the single clutch gearbox should have 3 pedals and a lever. Period. Automated single clutch gearboxes shouldn't even exist. They sit in a useless middle ground. Less fun and involved than a real manual. Less fast and smooth than a dual clutch. It literally brings nothing to the experience, besides negatives.
@@michaelallen2501 the only benefit is not having to think in traffic and just letting it do it's thing. Which a dual clutch can also do so again, not really a plus beyond cost cutting.
@@Just_Space_Dave you're not wrong. And the parallels between a normal person loving and actually owning this car are fairly remarkable as well
"...the tragedy of the takeover of turbos..."
Nothing else to say...Great video sir!
It was an expensive Lexus which offered (at the time) less that it's competition. Image plays an important role when buying a 6 digit car. Nothing to do with no turbos. Lamborghini has been doing just fine all this time.
@@daanishgupta Lamborghini is also less than it's competition with its N/A engines but they still sell good. Why do you think?
Some people care about the sound and there wouldn't be any sound with turbos.
@@karacop78 That's not the point and if you have ever heard any JDM, Audi or Lancia, I doubt you would say turbos don't sound good. Lexus is not associated with supercars. Buying a 6 figure car which wasn't up to date when it was launched and from a brand which isn't known to make Supercars isn't exactly enticing to people.
You cannot say that there are enthusiasts who would buy it because 6 figure sales are not made by selling it to enthusiasts, it's made by selling it to people who can afford it.
@@daanishgupta No one gets that. This video was the most I have ever seen about a LFA. The car didn't stack up performance wise and that plays a pretty big factor when your talking this sorta price tag. It wasn't misunderstood. It was way overpriced.
@@daanishgupta Some (wealthy) people pay for the experience, not the performance numbers.
Audi had nothing to do with supercars too, but R8 is a supercar, isn't it? And no, any turbocharged engine does not sound anything like any high revving N/A engine. Turbos rev lower and both intake and exhaust air pulses (the sound) are blocked by turbos and intercoolers. Not to mention the much lower compression ratio. It's physics, there's nothing you can do.
This car isn't a product. It's a piece of art.
I have followed this car since it was released. I was in love with it since then to now. My friends would rag on me for liking it over any other car. Oh how the times have changed. I still get literal chills every time it screams. What I wouldn't do to get to drive in one
It was unfortunate that this car didn’t get its chance when it was launched but thankfully it did earn its recognition eventually. However, looking back on its story, it’s like the rise of a forgotten masterpiece, while the world moved on. The fact that we still talk about this car is its legacy. The world had to come back to the LFA; that is how seminal the car was. Just took us a while to realise it.
Don't worry. The legacy of the LFA is in the sales and tech that Lexus and Toyota now enjoy. The knock-on effect of the LFA is enormous.
@@ganesaponraja7963 agreed.
Ahead of its time..
It looks fresh now
It was extremely overpriced it wasn’t worth the price at all
@@zn-n 😂r u serious? this car costs even more now. All the other car this was compared to back then are depreciating in value.
What makes me sad, is that most of these cars will only ever see the inside of a garage. I've been lucky enough to see one up close and in person. Just sad that these are collectors items now.
This video is a 10... An actual 10. The LFA is a god damn masterpiece. I've admired it ever since Jeremy Clarkson's Top Gear review all those years ago. It is something truly special
I have to say : the writting, the quality of the filming, the music choices and everything were on point, brilliant work. I'm falling in love with this car a bit more everytime I hear and see one.
"it sounds like a wild animal that's sad about something" - some journalist, probably
“Clarrrrrrkson”
Wounded*
...
"The LFA is so good that the people who made it don't know how to make it again"
“Sometimes my genius, it’s almost frightening…..”
truly a work of art and it shows what toyota/lexus can do when they want to push limits
Toyota > *
This video really hit me emotionally.. The LFA has always been my absolute dreamcar but this video reminded me why. In a time where numbers seem to be king this car represents the dream of a driver. A puristic piece of art, meant to be driven. Not made to make money or to impress your neighbour, but to hit just yourself right into the emotions. And without driving it, this just happened to me. Wow. Thank you very much for this magical experience.
My heart goes out to this car. I almost always shed a tear whenever I see a review on this car. Its the passion behind it that gets me
How good did DT-S feel when he mentioned that the LFA prototype was the "LF-*hyphen*-A"?
🤣
Wait... does that also mean DT-S is a prototype of DTS😂?
@@aaronbryan5095 he's a Cadillac man
I knew I wasn’t the only one who caught that
It's DT-hyphen-S
man, the LFA has one of the greatest sounding v10 engine of all time. It carries more sensational energy than current F1 cars do.
You have no idea what you are taking about. Current f1 engines sound amazing in person
@@nozopoke1782 no they do not
@@Jeff_Klein yes they do
@@nozopoke1782 you can’t even hear them coming. Pretty muted.
@@Jeff_Klein not sure what race you went to but the ones I’ve gone too are pretty loud. I also attended the v8 era so I have a good point of comparison
I just cry whenever I see a LFA, before I die I want to experience this masterpiece. Thankyou for this video it just intoxicated me❤️
We all know the old saying, "Never judge a book by it's cover."
But for the Lexus LFA, the moral of the story had mostly been, sadly, "Never judge a car by it's badge."
Seriously, I remember people back in the day saying with such heated passion that "It's just a Toyota" and that "You could buy a Lambo or Ferrari for the same price or even less." If only those people really knew what experienced LFA drivers know about it... 😔
The best part of the video is DT hyphen S saying LF hyphen A.
Omg that opening scene! Like true in life! We don’t appreciate things when they’re right in front of us…. We often miss them when they’re no longer there…. Same goes with people, friendships, relationships, and like the Lexus LFA!
Also numbers don’t matter when driving a car! How it makes you feel should matter more!!! The LFA is an incredible machine! A truly V10 art piece!
LFA : revs
UA-cam CC : [music]
After watching a long form, "Making of the LFA", documentary, and learning of the passion and fight against the bean counters to get the LFA into production, I was blown away with the emotional genesis of this amazing automobile. That passion's voice is the song of the LFA's V10 masterpiece of an engine. Great video describing finding the perfect road to let the car do what it does best....seduce.
There will never be a better sounding road car.
Carrera GT
It sounds amazing, but I still prefer the Carrera GT.
I think it's been dethroned by the aston martin valkyrie
Gt350r: Hold my beer.
F1, Valkyrie, T.50 and the next one with the same engine probably… etc etc
This is not a review!! This automotive poetry at its finest😍. A love letter to an automotive legend, from an era bygone. You deserve 2 million more subscribers and 10 million more reviews. ❤👍
These were way cooler back when no one wanted them.
I love how the auto subtitles read "Music" when this engine is roaring.
LFA Nurburgring looks great with its aero package. The LFA sound would be the last Lexus to scream like this.
I love how poetic these videos feel.
I dont watch whole care video anymore that much, but this one captivated me from beginning to end.
I love the story of the LFA
I love the quality of the LFA
I love the perfection of the LFA
It’s an incredible machine.
This video was incredible. The sound, the videography, the writing. And the car. Omg.
Well done.
This legendary car doesn't even have many good videos on YT, I was waiting for this, thanks ISSIMI!
Check out the Savage Geese feature if you haven't already, amazing vid...
@@TheGhostofgatsby 100% will always recommend
@@TheGhostofgatsby 100% Mark's video of the LFA was amazing as well!
@@TheGhostofgatsby thanks, I'll check it out
Check out Throttle House's video that just dropped. Very good.
This video is a love poem to the LFA. Keep appreciating,
Your love,
Petrol Heads
This was so genuinely watchable, and as an avid BMW geek, I love me some F division Lexus. I just wish they made more manual cars. is300, is350, GS etc. all beautiful cars but no stick hurts my soul.
I live for these pieces Derek (and team), thank you..
The era of great cars with beautiful sounds is gone gentlemen, this is the last of the species sadly.
Valkyrie?
Derek, absolutely amazing video. Thank you for making this content. Honestly, the same as the F1 video, your words, shots and edit let all the emotions through to us. Thank you for making us feel this close to the LFA!
Any chance we get a raw video of it firing up and some flybys and inside shots?
Thank you!
Great content , can’t believe how time flies by… it’s been a decade already this car has stopped production… what a awesome car… the sound of the V10 is magical.
Best supercar of the new millennium hands down. ❤️ Why didn't Jason review this?
Isn't he Hagerty only now?
The show is called "BTS with DTS"
thats Behind the Scene with Derek Tam hyphon Scott
there's no Jason in this show
Why can't it be this guy instead? He's done a damn good job and has his way with words. There are lots of great automotive journalists in the world, it doesn't have to be about Jason all the time.
Ok guys i get it, i feel like with Jason it would have been more fun/entertaining. That's all.
@@carlogigante5239 it doesn't have to be either or
I think it goes without saying that this car is incredibly special, but the WRITING in this video truly drew me in compared to the dozens of other videos of seen on this masterfully crafted machine. Bravo!!
Goosebumps! Thank you SO much for no background music or talking over the glorious sound of that engine! Kudos!
14:30 the person laughing just says it all. Even the sound the starter motor of this car makes is something truly special.
My first BTS with DTS video. Poetic writing. Thanks for this!
What you said about the car being "bored" at low speeds it remembers me to a sports motorcycle, you drive one and it is asking you constantly to rev the hell out of it.
Awesome video, Hyphen. Great footage, great background on the car, eloquent commentary.
The thing I like about this video is your delivery, I barely can make it through most car videos but between the car and your content was a job well done.
The true gem of this video is the description, which appears to have been composed by Jason Cammisa.
He is at hagerty now.
People don't appreciate good things until it's too late. That's why we don't deserve good things.
You did a fantastic job on this video! Kudos to the overall effort and resulting quality.
Thank you for sharing your experience with us. Sitting back in my home theater room with the sound turned up and listening to that V10 sing is spine tingling.
Simply breath taking - the video does the car justice, well done to all those involved
I think one of the reasons for the LFA's rising value is limited production. For comparison, Ferrari produced about 7 times as many 599 GTB. The similarly limited production 599 GTO is now also worth more than twice its MSRP when new.
This is the actual reason. Limited number, these videos are just hyping it up. Ok, we get it, it's great, but the price will go up just as it will with other limited number supercars
Simply excellent review. The editing, the content, the imagery....excellent. I could watch both the car and driver in many different settings.
Well said and beautifully done! Outstanding cinematography. What a great tribute to an automotive icon! Thank you.
This video is a masterpiece, exactly like the LFA
Bro, I literally almost cried a few times watching this video. Rarely do you meet enthusiasts who get it...and better yet display that when reviewing perfection such as this machine.
Love it that in any LFA video I see, when the engine is in full swing, google's auto captioning just states (music).
The camera work, it's absolutely amazing. The best I've ever seen.
Wow, this is a beautiful video. The cinematography, the script, the subject 🤌
This is great stuff. Thanks Mr. Hyphen!
Your content is some of the best anywhere. Thank you for producing content that makes the viewer feel like they are experiencing the car. Just excellent.
he didn't snuff dude ; my heart goes to your confidence at that play another overly fouled on
Sad that we will probably never have something even close to this beast
Gordon Murray T50
@re e nope if they ever do it'll be electric
@@tomfurstyfield or hydrogen
Your right, they knew gas was going bye bye so they wanted to end with a bang. 10 of them
F12? 812? Hell manual 599 gtb with the gto kinematics. LFA it's a great car but it's second page in the list of greats.
I would have bought this back then & even now if I had the money, am sure many of us would have. Its one of my dream cars despite the slow gearbox.
I remember they had a unique carbon fibre weaving machine for this car. I had the video of that a decade ago. I believe they used the Toyota F1 area.
And amazing video guys. Keep it up.
18 minute video that flew by in seconds. What a film, what a review and what a car.
Wow, your knowledge, delivery and style is perfect. I don't often watch UA-cam videos to the end but you guys deserve it when you put that much work into sound, voice, location and video. I have a 1:24 scale LFA from Tamiya that I am going to build when it arrives. I am going to use your images (as they are amazing) to re-create this model. I have one question for you though. Initially I thought this was a metallic black car, but with the hints of brown in the images I wasn't sure. Is the colour Brownstone?
Great video! DT-S command of the English language makes Leno's review of the LFA seem like the Regular Guy Movie reviews.
Beautifully written, my friend.
Aw thank you. This means a ton…or even a tonne coming from you.
This is a beautifully made video. Please keep up the good work and also if viable do the LC500.
Very well put together video. Bravo
This vehicle was a true labour of love and it shows.
Beautiful story telling.
I always knew the LFA would be a classic. Even a Toyota exec said, "All Toyota sports cars become famous after their production ends." The LFA is no exception and rightfully so.
Where you in Santa Barbara during the filming?
The relentless pursuit of perfection. I feel it in my 2002 LS 430 with 300k miles on it still to this day.
Thanks for posting this. Really liked it.
Damn, we love these dont we. I never fast forward when it's a LFA vid 🤣
thank you for making this. its not just a cool video celebrating the LFA but a world class one at that.
The amount of effort that was put in to tell this cars story right
Jeremy Clarkson, at first said he did not understood the LFA. That was until he drove it himself and still to this day he maintains that it is the best car he has ever driven. In a Top Gear episode he wondered why Lexus couldn't make something similar to the LFA, which he concluded by saying - "Maybe they couldn't (make the LFA again). Maybe the LFA is so good not even the people who made it, know how to make it again".
And that is certainly true there will never be another car similar to the LFA because, the chief test driver and engineer who made the LFA the experience that it is, passed away in 2010.
I find myself revisiting this every couple months especially at the end of a long day. Your story transports me there and poetically captures our collective longing and lust for a different time.
Heard you guys talk about this car on the podcast. Never knew what it was or looked like. And while the looks are not my thing THAT sound is heavenly! My God! Excellent video as always. Thank you.
You didn’t know what an LFA is? Lols
Best sounding engine ever.
If only it came in a manual
It is a manual. but only to the computer :P
Single clucht is like manual transmission
Normally I am very pro-do-it-yourself, but on this car? No. A sharp-shifting automated manual (i.e. single- or dual-clutch automatics) is a perfect fit for it.
@@vomErsten 100% Agree
@@NegativoZ06 smg transmissions are horrible
together with F40 and Donkervoort one off my all time favorites , such a beautiful car with perfect sound ... a dying breed
wow. what i was blown away by was the production quality of this video. absolutely mesmerising. in a time where car journalists are flourishing
this stands head a shoulders above the rest .
good job team
LFA and CGT 2 of the best sounding road cars going.
Zonda F and the podium is complete.
The entirety of the film I had chills down my spine. LFA is gonna be mine someday for sure. They are getting really expensive and I admit I come from a very humble family but someday one day she’s gonna be mine.
Derek, your videos are not only rich with information, but they are stunningly beautiful. Bravo to you and team!
Amazing review - thank you so much. What road or at least area was this?
I see. I click. I like.
When a car can bring tears to your eyes, you know the designers hit every mark. Even though the prices are heading stratospheric, taking them further out of reach for me, I agree completely with the valuation.
Need DTS to be on camera for this and be presenting infront of the lens. That would give this more emotion.
Those shots of the drive-bys with the car echoing in the distance, that V10 shrieking like a banshee from afar... absolutely MENTAL.
Yeeeees! Hyphen u r the best!
I never misunderstood it but it was to expensive for me
Because only 500 were made. And toyota lost money with every single one. But like Jeremy Clarkson said, you will never understand the value of an LFA until you drive one. That's why they just continue to appreciate
@@abualzuaree dude I could never afford one😅
@@dragospahontu none of us can haha
I love the vocabs used in this video- well put words and sentences together to express the experience with the Lexus LFA!
Excellent Video - beautifully shot with poetic writing