Lexus claims multiple justifications for the LFA program. The 2012 LFA will have only 500 cars with production starting in December 2010.

The LFA is an exotic, two-place, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive coupe. The chassis and body are made largely of carbon-fiber composite. Per Lexus’s scales, the car weighs 3263 pounds.

The engine is a 4.8-liter V-10 co-developed with Yamaha. It’s a compact unit that makes 553 horsepower at 8700 rpm and revs to a giddy 9000 rpm. Maximum torque of 354 pound-feet peaks at 6800 rpm, with 90 percent available between 3700 and 9000 revs.

The rear-mounted, six-speed automated manual transaxle incorporates a Torsen limited-slip differential. Control arms comprise the front suspension, with a multilink arrangement at the back. To keep weight down, the suspension pieces and the remote-reservoir monotube KYB dampers are aluminum.

The Brembo carbon-ceramic brake setup consists of discs 15.4 inches in diameter and six-piston monoblock calipers up front, with 14.2-inch discs and four-piston calipers at the back. Forged aluminum 20-inch BBS wheels sit inside bespoke 265/35 front and 305/30 rear Bridgestone Potenza tires. There are four driving modes: automatic, normal, wet, and sport; the driver can also select manual shift speeds. In sport mode, the stability-control system allows for greater amounts of yaw, but the system can be switched off completely.

The interior is restrained but tasteful. Lexus will offer seat coverings in 12 shades of leather or 10 alternate hues of Alcantara, with three color choices for the Alcantara headliner. Luggage space is minimal but the cabin has enough space. The supportive bucket seats have eight-way power adjustments, and the driving position is superb.

The squared-off steering wheel houses a start button and a switch that controls the instrument-panel display. We like that the alloy paddle shifters are fixed to the steering column; the right-hand lever governs upshifts, and the left one is for downshifts.

Exotic features of this engine include titanium valves and connecting rods, individual throttle bodies for each cylinder, carbon- and silicon-coated rocker arms with integrated oil jets, and magnesium alloy cam covers.

The six-speed transmission fires off shifts between 0.2 and 1.0 second depending on the program the driver selects.

The car’s chassis construction changed from aluminum to carbon fiber during development. So the car took so long to emerge. Lexus used carbon fiber to keep weight down, claiming that the body in white is 221 pounds lighter than it would be were it made of aluminum.