Lexus LFA Returns as $500K Electric Supercar, Ditching Iconic V10 for Silent Speed

The Lexus LFA is back, but don’t expect that spine-tingling V10 wail. We’ve been tracking Toyota’s halo car development for months, and today’s reveal confirms what many enthusiasts feared: the successor to one of the most celebrated supercars ever made is going fully electric.

Lexus unveiled the LFA Concept on December 5, 2025 at Woven City, Japan, alongside Toyota’s hybrid V8-powered GR GT and the race-bred GR GT3. All three vehicles share the same aluminum architecture, but their powertrains couldn’t be more different. While the GR GT gets a 641-horsepower twin-turbo V8 with hybrid assist, the LFA goes full battery-electric.

“LFA is not bound to vehicles powered by internal combustion engines,” Lexus stated in its official press release. “It is a model name that symbolizes a vehicle that embodies the technologies engineers of its time should preserve and pass on to the next generation.”

Lexus LFA Concept vs Toyota GR GT: Key Specifications

What We Know About the Electric LFA

Lexus is staying tight-lipped on powertrain specifics, but we can piece together the puzzle. The LFA Concept shares its 107.3-inch wheelbase and aluminum body frame with the GR GT, which uses four megacastings at each corner to support the suspension.

The design philosophy centers on three pillars: low center of gravity, low weight with high rigidity, and aerodynamic performance. The cockpit features a yoke-style steering wheel tuned for no hand-over-hand motions, suggesting a steer-by-wire system with variable ratios.

Inside, the driver faces a wraparound digital instrument cluster with triple screens. Controls include a rotary gear selector on the right steering column stalk and paddle-like buttons for “F-mode” and “Custom” settings. Lexus calls this approach “Discover Immersion,” an experience designed to draw the driver into the world of driving.

Production versions won’t reach Lexus dealers for a couple of years, with the GR GT arriving first in late 2026. Pricing is expected to land around $500,000, matching the GR GT’s projected price point.

The Original LFA: A Legend Worth Remembering

To understand why this reveal stings for purists, you need to understand what the original LFA represented. Built from 2010 to 2012, just 500 units rolled off the line at Toyota’s Motomachi plant.

The heart of the machine was a 4.8-liter V10 developed with Yamaha that revved to 9,000 rpm and produced 553 horsepower. The engine spun up so quickly that Lexus had to use a digital tachometer because analog needles couldn’t keep pace. That howling V10 became the LFA’s signature, a sound that automotive journalists described as mechanical perfection.

Originally priced at $375,000, the LFA was expensive even by supercar standards. Today, clean examples trade hands for $600,000 to $800,000, with the limited Nurburgring Package commanding over $1 million. A flood-damaged LFA with 14,000 miles sold for $676,000 on Bring a Trailer last month.

The original LFA proved that Toyota and Lexus could build a world-class supercar. Now they’re betting they can do it again, but with electrons instead of explosions.

Toyota’s “Shikinen Sengu” Philosophy

Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda, who personally championed both the original LFA and this new project under his “Master Driver Morizo” persona, invoked a Japanese tradition called “Shikinen Sengu” to explain the reasoning.

The term refers to a ritual where Shinto shrines are periodically rebuilt to pass sacred construction techniques to the next generation. Toyota is applying this philosophy to car-making, using the GR GT and LFA programs to transfer knowledge from veteran engineers to younger teams.

During the presentation, Toyoda admitted he was “humiliated” when critics in the late 1990s and early 2000s questioned Toyota’s ability to make interesting cars like the Mk4 Supra. That criticism, he said, drove the development of this three-car family: the GR GT, GR GT3, and LFA Concept.

EVXL’s Take

Let’s cut through the corporate philosophy and look at what Toyota is actually doing here. On one hand, they just opened a $14 billion battery plant in North Carolina focused on hybrids, invested $912 million more in U.S. hybrid production, and slashed their EV production targets while competitors fled the electric market.

On the other hand, they just unveiled a halo electric supercar that signals serious BEV ambitions at the highest performance level.

The timing is fascinating. Toyota has been promising solid-state batteries for 2027-2028 with claims of 621+ mile range and 40-year lifespans. The LFA’s production timeline aligns perfectly with this. Could Lexus be positioning the LFA as the showcase vehicle for Toyota’s breakthrough battery technology?

If so, it’s a high-stakes gamble. Toyota has missed solid-state battery targets before, promising them first for 2020, then 2023, then 2026, now 2027-2028. Meanwhile, Chinese automakers like Chery claim 808-mile solid-state range with 2027 production targets of their own.

The electric supercar segment remains treacherous territory. Porsche just posted a $1.1 billion quarterly loss largely due to its backfiring EV strategy. Lamborghini is holding off on an EV supercar until 2028, admitting “the time would not be right” for one now. Even Lotus, which unveiled its Theory 1 electric supercar concept, has been careful about committing to production timelines.

Yet here’s Toyota, the company most skeptical of rapid EV adoption, revealing an electric LFA while simultaneously offering a V8 hybrid alternative on the exact same platform. It’s the ultimate hedge: if EV buyers materialize, they have the LFA. If they don’t, the GR GT is right there.

The real question isn’t whether Toyota can build an electric supercar. They clearly can. The question is whether anyone will pay half a million dollars for a silent LFA when the original’s screaming V10 defined the entire ownership experience.

No amount of simulated gearshifts or artificial sounds will replicate what made the original LFA special. Toyota is betting that the next generation of supercar buyers will value instant torque and cutting-edge technology over auditory drama. That’s a bet worth watching.

What do you think about Lexus reviving the LFA as an electric supercar? Is Toyota making the right call, or should the V10 legend have stayed untouched? Share your thoughts in the comments below.