In an interesting bid to foil exotic car speculators who drive up the prices of limited-availability models, Lexus will reportedly lease – not sell – its forthcoming LFA supercar when it hits the market in January of 2011. As Automotive News reports, Lexus will only offer two-year leases of its 552-horsepower supercar at a fixed price (which has not yet been disclosed). At the conclusion of the two year period, leaseholders will get the opportunity to purchase the vehicle outright, at which point the title would be handed over. As Lexus' vice president of sales and dealer development Brian Smith tells it, his company wants "people out driving the car and not just parking it in a museum or selling it at an inflated price."
As part of the gearing-up process to sell this markedly different kind of vehicle, Lexus will also reportedly train 15 LFA specialists that will be located at the company's four regional outposts, and the Japanese automaker will also pay for dealers to receive the special tools and training that will service the vehicles.
Despite being a lease, all cars will still be individually tailored to the customer and built-to-order beginning in December of 2010.
This is certainly an interesting and potentially very clever end-around on the speculator's market. If it works, look for other exotic car companies like Ferrari and Lamborghini to follow suit.
[Autoblog]
