Mr. Bean’s Lexus LFA is to be sold
Lexus instead Mini! In the TV series of the same name, Mr. Bean drove a yellow Mini, in real life, actor Rowan Atkinson is an avowed car fan with an impressive collection. A very special vehicle from his collection is currently for sale!
Atkinson’s collection includes or has included numerous dream cars – and some real exotics. Among them, for example, a Mercedes 500 E, which he sold in 1994 but missed so much that he bought it back in 2017. The Brit also has a soft spot for cars from his homeland. Whether Bentley Continental GT, Land Rover Defender, Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead or Aston Martin V8 Zagato, Atkinson likes British vehicles. Exotic cars like a Honda NSX or a Lancia Thema 8.32 prove that he is a true connoisseur.
Rowan Atkinson drove McLaren F1
But his most famous car is undoubtedly his former McLaren F1. Atkinson bought the F1 (chassis number 061) developed by Gordon Murray as a new car and drove the car regularly, making it one of the highest-mileage F1s today. During his many years with the F1, Atkinson was involved in several accidents, but had the car repaired/rebuilt each time.
Despite the high mileage and accident history, Atkinson sold the F1 in 2015 for around eight million British pounds – today the F1 is probably worth about twice that.
A car by Atkinson that is rather unknown is the Lexus LFA. The LFA was in 2010 Lexus‘ Attempt to play in the league of super sports cars. The ambitious plan was only partially successful, but this was probably not due to the car, but simply to Lexus’s lack of image.
An absolute rarity: only 500 Lexus LFAs were built. The last example left Aichi Prefecture on December 14, 2012.
Image: https://www.theoctanecollection.com/
New price of 375,000 euros
The LFA was, after all, a lavishly designed car that used only the best and most expensive materials. This meant that Lexus said it made a loss on each of the 500 units built – despite a base new price of 375,000 euros.
The V10 was designed by Yamaha
The market has now recognized that the LFA is a technical masterpiece. Starting with the unique-sounding V10 with 4.8 liters of displacement and 560 hp, which was developed by Yamaha and is still considered one of the best naturally aspirated engines in the world. You could write a whole book about the V10 alone, the engine is so complex. A famous anecdote is that the engine responds and revs so spontaneously that Lexus could not install an analog tachometer because it simply couldn’t keep up.
But even beyond the engine, the best was just good enough for the LFA. From the chassis developed specifically for the small series, to the body parts made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic, to the standard carbon ceramic brakes, no expense was spared. Thanks to the transaxle design, an ideal weight distribution of 48/52 was also achieved.
A masterpiece: To this day, the V10 developed by Yamaha and rotating at up to 9000 rpm is considered one of the best naturally aspirated engines of all time.
Image: https://www.theoctanecollection.com/
After the first study in 2005, it took another five years before Lexus presented the production car, limited to 500 units, at the Tokyo Auto Show 2010. In spring 2011, the Japanese followed up with the “Nürburgring Edition”. The special model, built only 50 times, came with optimized aerodynamics, new wheels and a weight saving of five kilos. The additional cost was 70,000 euros.
Nowadays, the Nürburgring Edition special models are particularly sought after. It must be said that the LFA was and still is a car for real petrolheads and technology fanatics from the very beginning.
But in recent years, collectors also seem to finally see the LFA for what it is: a highly emotional super sports car that will almost certainly never be produced again by a brand like Lexus.
The LFA is an exotic
In Germany, the LFA was also an exotic among exotics, which is impressively demonstrated by the registration figures. In 2011, three LFAs were newly registered in this country, and in 2012, there were four.
Exactly that many examples are currently on offer – and they are not for bargain hunters: The cheapest LFA costs 875,000 euros, more than double the original new price. The most expensive LFA is even available for an incredible 1.6 million euros.
Not a car for everyone: The Lexus LFA was a car for connoisseurs from the start. Its value has now more than doubled.
Image: https://www.theoctanecollection.com/
Rowan Atkinson’s LFA is not quite as expensive, and is sold by the renowned British sports car dealer “The Octane Collection” This is one of 198 right-hand drive LFAs originally delivered in Japan, meaning Atkinson is not the original owner.
The configuration of this LFA is very interesting. The car is white, which is true for most LFAs. However, the color of this example is not the classic “Whitest White”, but “Pearl White” – a very rare color for the LFA.
Not for the faint of heart: The blue/red interior takes some getting used to, but is definitely special.
Image: https://www.theoctanecollection.com/
The interior is a colorful affair, as the first owner opted for a striking blue/red combination. The seats, center console and parts of the dashboard are largely lined with blue Alcantara. The seat backs, carpets and roof liner are in contrasting red – an extremely wild combination.
This is how much the LFA will cost
It was not until 2022 that the LFA came to Rowan Atkinson in Great Britain, who had the car completely covered with a stone chip protection film. But neither Atkinson, who is actually known for driving his cars regularly, nor the first owner have driven the LFA much. The twelve-year-old car with only 6040 kilometers (3753 miles) is being sold for the equivalent of almost exactly one million euros (839,995 British pounds). A high, but by no means unrealistic price for one of the most fascinating super sports cars of modern times.
