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UPDATE: There are 5 unsold Lexus LFAs left in the U.S.

UPDATE (April 9, 2019): This year has been a solid year for LFA sales with three more finding homes. Interestingly, all three were sold during the month of January. By our count, that leaves five of the supercars left unsold.UPDATE (January 3, 2019): The countdown of Lexus LFA sales continues. In the time since our last update, Lexus sold another of the supercars. That means we're down to 8 LFAs unsold in the U.S. Check out the whole story on unsold LFAs below. We'll also continue to monitor LFA sales to see if/when all are sold.UPDATE (April 5, 2018): Since we first ran this post, Lexus has actually sold 3 more LFAs, meaning that there should be 9 more remaining for sale in the U.S. Read on to learn more about how there are still a few new ones on the market. While we were digging through automaker sales figures for July, we found a few odd sales of discontinued cars, but the strangest by far was the inclusion of the Lexus LFA in Toyota's numbers. Apparently, a dealer sold one in July, and even more amazingly, six were sold last year. This is remarkable because production ended for the LFA way back in 2012, and there weren't many examples to begin with. So we reached out to Toyota for more info, and we have good news, sort of, if you missed out on buying a new one when the car was, well, really new. According to a Toyota representative, there are currently 12 9 8 5 LFAs around the country that are officially classified as dealer inventory. We also asked about overseas cars, but apparently those numbers weren't available. Still, 5 technically new LFAs is a shocking number. The representative also gave us a detailed explanation from Lexus International on how this might have happened. Basically, for the U.S. market, Lexus said the company intended to only take purchase orders on LFAs from customers to avoid price gouging and speculation. However, in 2010, orders started to drop off, and to make sure cars weren't sitting at the factory, the company allowed existing LFA holders to order a second car, and also allowed dealers and executives to order cars for themselves or for selling at dealerships, and some of the dealer-ordered cars still come up from time-to-time as new sales. So the cool news is that you might be able to still buy a new LFA if you really want to. But that's a big might.

The Lexus Sriracha IS is the hottest Lexus ever

For this year's Los Angeles auto show, Lexus created its hottest IS ever: the Sriracha IS. And the company did so by putting Sriracha sauce in everything! It's in the paint, the steering wheel, and even in the trunk! Check out the video if you don't believe us. Ok, so Lexus didn't really put Sriracha in everything. In reality, the company partnered with Huy Fong Foods to produce this one-off car, and turned to West Coast Customs to execute it. It features a custom paint job designed to emulate the look of Sriracha sauce, and green accents on the grille, mirrors, brake calipers, and exhaust tips are a call back to the food company's sauce bottles. View 13 Photos Inside, West Coast Customs created some clever and surprisingly subtle changes. The climate controls only show increasing heat levels, and the seat heater buttons are bright red with little flames above the seat icons. The drive selector trades sport mode for "Sriracha" mode. The seats get red and green inserts along with logos stitched into the seat backs. Other parts of the interior have green contrast stitching, too. The steering wheel is a particularly unique piece. West Coast Customs found a liquid that looks similar to sriracha, put it a resin container and shaped it to fit the steering wheel, so now it looks like there's sriracha in the steering wheel. It also has a warning sticker for "hot handling." And lest you think there isn't any real Sriracha anywhere in the car, you'll find 43 bottles of the stuff in the trunk, and the key fob dispenses some as well. As for how Lexus tops this, perhaps they could make a habanero or ghost pepper car. Or maybe they could show us a real IS F successor. We think another V8 Lexus would come across as pretty hot. Related Video:

2013 Lexus IS F

Sometimes fortune really smiles on even shiftless car-reviewing Dutchmen like myself, I must admit. I had come into Austin, TX the week before I was supposed to meet up with the good people at Lexus, who had graciously invited me to drive the 2014 IS. I flew in early because Austin is a pretty good place to eat, as well as being a place that my wife doesn't live. Let me say that a nicer way... while my stunningly attractive wife pretty much represents all things good and light in this world, she does occasionally shoot me a sideways glance when I dig in for my fifth Tacodeli breakfast taco. Thankfully, I leave most of my good sense and information about the effects of high-calorie diets on lifespan at home with Molly when I come to Texas, so I can better focus my laser-like attention on car reviews and TexMex. You guys are worth it.
Aside from all the tacos, I was also lucky to be visiting town the weekend before South By Southwest really kicked off in earnest, because it was that Sunday that my good old buddy John, and my new old buddy Pat, were headed up to the Circuit of the Americas to see the first ever SCCA Majors event there. It was lucky that I had planned to be out at CotA, which is east of Austin, because that made it very slightly easier for a very nice woman named Marcia to bring me a 2013 Lexus IS F from Houston, roughly 150 miles away.
Marcia brought me the IS F to replace another press car, which was having mechanical troubles; I didn't ask for the fire-breathing IS but when it was offered up I figured I couldn't do much better as a warm up for the 2014 IS program I was about to go on. See, lucky right?