LF-A was entered the SP8 class of the Nürburgring 24-hour race. It was widely known that this model was the LF-A concept car premiered at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan in 2005 and 2007. The purpose of entering this LF-A in the Nürburgring 24-hour race was not for promotion or attracting public attention, but purely for development testing.
Whereas other models entering the race had been modified into full-fledged racing machines, about the only modifications made to the LF-A were the addition of regulation-compliant safety equipment and a reinforced suspension to match slick tires. No weight reduction whatsoever for racing was made and moreover, the LF-A was on the heavy side for a racing machine because of the full set of data-gathering instruments installed (adding 200 kg).
Although the LF-A did well, placing 28th overall in the preliminary round (5th in the SP8 class), it ended 121st out of 150 entries in the finals due to problems such as an oil leak from the oil cooler and damage to a rear hub bolt. Nevertheless, we gained numerous pieces of knowledge that could not have been obtained on a test course. For example, the body that was reinforced to match the slick tires turned out to be extremely effective in providing ease of steering and was incorporated into the later production model.