The largest carmaker in the world is reaffirming its position at the top of the helm – Toyota is showing the world that it can lead the way not only at the eco end of the spectrum, with the Prius, but at the manic supercar end as well, with the astounding new Lexus LFA.

The LFA is an out-and-out supercar in the traditional sense – with a monster 10 cylinder motor that produces a not insignificant 550 horsepower. And just because it’s devoid of a lithium-ion battery pack doesn’t mean it has one foot in the past – the engine is actually quite compact and efficient under the circumstances. It also has an extremely high specific output (115 horsepower per litre), a compression ratio of 12:1, and a 9000rpm redline. In addition, the structure of the LFA makes ample use of carbon fibre, which Toyota, quite extraordinarily, weaves in-house.

With that said, and bearing in mind that Toyota has been developing the LFA for some time, you can’t help but question the timing of the launch for a car as single-minded, and expensive (at USD $375,000 or Rs. 1.7 crores), as this. Yes, the global recovery does seem to be finally underway, and Toyota forecasts a return to profitability for itself after consistently reporting record losses in the recent past. But the economic climate still doesn’t appear to support internal combustion driven excess.

Nevertheless, Akio Toyoda, grandson of company founder, Kiichiro Toyoda, and newly appointed President, has undoubtedly been a proponent of the LFA – as he was himself seen piloting a racing version of the car at the legendary Nurburgring 24 hour race earlier this year. I’m not sure if his father, Shoichiro Toyoda, approves however. He feels that Toyota is being made to pay dearly for becoming too dependent on cars that grew too large and excessive.

Another man who undoubtedly disagrees with the route that Toyota’s taken with the LFA is Honda CEO, Takanobu Ito. Now, you wouldn’t expect the CEO of your harshest rival to sing your praises, but Ito’s been unusually vocal in his criticism of the LFA, even going to the extent of calling it vulgar. And this is a man who was instrumental in developing Honda’s own supercar, the NSX, in the late 80s. Of course, you have to keep in mind that this is at a time when Honda is reviewing its entire line up with the aim of building less expensive and more fuel efficient cars. In fact, they’ve recently put the successor to the NSX on hold. Plus, Ito’s probably none too pleased about the fact that Honda’s latest hybrid, the Insight, isn’t doing too well in comparison with the all-new Prius. So much so that Honda, like Nissan, seems to be committed to the pure EV route for the future – especially since their hydrogen fuel-cell project, with the Clarity FCX, didn’t exactly live up to its high hopes, as the hydrogen infrastructure didn’t get off the ground in any of its test markets. Come to think of it, it sounds like Ito has reason to be a little miffed.

All said and done, I, for one, am delighted to see a car like the LFA see the light of day – especially when it comes from a company like Toyota. For people that still have petrol in their veins, it’s just nice to know that all cars aren’t suddenly going to become white-goods overnight, and the trusty (and exciting) internal combustion engine still has some life in it yet. Don’t get me wrong, this is no way meant to undermine or reverse the green movement – to do that would be suicide.

The point is that the LFA is a technical showcase, and it’ll be produced in such small numbers that its overall environmental impact will be nonexistent – and certainly won’t offset any of the good work done by the Prius.

With the Prius, and now the LFA, Toyota is showing the world that you can do both – save the planet, and have a little fun while doing so. Thank God!