When I say a glimpse, I mean precisely that!

Recently, a handful of Canadian auto journalists, including yours truly, were invited to downtown Toronto to discover what all the hoopla is behind the company’s new Super-Car. Yes, you heard that right, Lexus, famous for its super-luxurious, if somewhat stately automobiles, has gone completely wild and produced a little competition for the Ferrari and Lamborghinis of this world.

Now I know what you’re thinking... Surely you jest! This must be an early April Fools joke, but no, this is, what can only be described as a Japanese Super-Car, and a rather special one at that.

Now you’re probably thinking, why? Well that’s a very good question, and the only answer I can come up with is, simply, to prove that they could do it.

First shown as a concept vehicle at the Detroit Auto show in 2005, the LFA went into production early this year and numbers will be limited to 500 units worldwide, and only ten of those will be coming to Canada. In fact, if you’re fortunate enough to see one of these babies on the streets of Toronto, then you’ll have just met the only person in town lucky enough to own one!

When I say “Lucky”, there’s a very good reason behind that wording. This vehicle is so highly sought after that you don’t simply pull out your platinum American Express and order one. Oh no, exclusivity comes at a much higher price. In this case, you put your name on a list, and then you hope and pray that yours is one of the lucky ones pulled from the hat. In fact, there are some with their names on a secondary list simply hoping that one of the lucky ones changes his/her mind. It’s that exclusive!

Now perhaps you understand why we humble journalists only received a glimpse of the vehicle. After all, if you had the keys in your pocket to a car this rare, would you let a bunch of crazy journalists jump behind the wheel of it?

However, we were treated to a sound demonstration of the LFA, and what a sound it makes, especially when inside a building!

The 552hp V10 engine which is mounted up front, and capable of propelling the LFA to 325kph, and 0-100kph in 3.6 seconds, was developed with a little help from Yamaha, and the only way I can describe the sound is “Motorcycle meets F1 race car”. Much of this is due to the fact that it’s one of the highest revving motors in production today. Another interesting part of this collaboration is that the Yamaha Music division had a hand in all this too! Certain parts on the engine were specifically designed with their help to transmit just the right sounds into the passenger compartment. Now is that cool or what?

This vehicle is a Super-Car in every sense of the word. In fact, if you read down through the spec sheet, you’ll realize just how super it is. To give you an idea, never in my life have I seen so much carbon-fibre on a road-going automobile!

Of course, there’s always a catch with a vehicle like this, at least there is for me, and that’s the $350,000 U.S. needed to purchase an LFA. What’s even more depressing, is that even if I win Friday nights 649 jackpot, I still couldn’t get my hands on one because they’re all sold out here in Canada.

I should have taken more notice of my teachers and done slightly better at school. Now I guess, I’m simply going to have to get used to the fact that my time with the LFA has come and gone. Unless of course, that one lucky Toronto owner is reading this...Oh go on please, come and take me for a ride in your new car!