The Lexus LFA is one of the world’s most iconic performance cars and if rumours are to be believed, there will be an all-new model due in 2025.

The greatest Japanese performance car of all time is inarguably the LFA.

It has been nearly a decade since LFA production ended, heralding the end of an era for the 4.8-litre naturally-aspirated V10. One of the most characterful petrol engines, ever built.

The LFA was a difficult project for Toyota. Untypical for the Japanese brand.

It had massive deadline overruns, arriving years after its scheduled introduction. There was also the tragedy of Toyota’s chief test driver, dying at the wheel of an LFA special edition prototype, during testing at the Nurburgring.

Despite all the issues, LFA has a resonance far beyond anything else Toyota has ever built. And that’s why Japanese automotive mediahave started discussing if anew LexusLFA is in the pipeline.

According to Japanese industry insiders, the second-generation LFA should arrive by 2025. It will have some similarities with the original LFA and adhere to the realities of a rapidly changing automotive world and regulatory framework.

Engineers are expected to remain committed to the front-engine layout, although the engine will be positioned with a weight bias rearward of the front axle.

Cylinder count and capacity will decrease from the original 4.8-litre V10 to a smaller 4-litre V8. Compensating for the reduction in capacity and cylinder count will be twin-turbochargers and an electric motor.

As with most future-proofed performance cars, the second-generation LFA will be a petrol-hybrid. Lexus has deep experience in hybrids and it is expected that the new LFA will be a PHEV, with a lot more power than the 4.8-litre V10.

Estimates are for a total system output of 700 kW, far exceeding the LFA V10’s 412 kW. To ensure that the hybrid system doesn’t balloon total vehicle mass too much, the second-generation LFA will feature lavish use of carbon-fibre, for its structure.

A composite structure was the issue that stalled the original LFA project by many years, as Toyota engineers attempted to shape and produce carbon-fibre at a scale and complexity that had rarely been attempted in a road car.

Over the last decade and a half, the development in carbon-fibre engineering should ensure that the next LFA is true to the performance-by-lightness principle of Japan’s greatest ever supercar nameplate.

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