Lexus LFA GTE: What Could Have Been and Never Was

The Lexus LFA GTE is one of those sad stories that ends with a brilliant model left in the drawer of abandonment. We are talking about a racing model based on the renowned Lexus LFA, one of the finest collector’s pieces to come out of the Japanese factory.

Several causes point to the “demise” of this project, the most notable being the high cost of developing and maintaining this racing machine, originally intended to take part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

According to our colleagues at Autoblog, TMG (Toyota Motorsport GmbH) began preparing an Lexus LFA a couple of years ago with the intention of entering it in endurance competitions. To do so, they turned the Lexus LFA into a very complete machine, rebuilding it entirely, from the chassis to the bodywork.

In the exterior department, the LFA GTE received a generous dose of carbon fibre, a large rear wing and tyres suited to the demands of endurance racing. The interior was also completely renewed, adapted to FIA regulations with a high-strength roll cage and a multitude of controls focused, obviously, on the driver.

The Lexus LFA GTE never saw the light of day due to the priority Toyota gave to the faster, more advanced and more expensive LMP1 category. For this reason, the LFA GTE will go down in history as one of those experimental racers that “could have been but never were“.

Via | es.autoblog.com