Edmunds: Lexus LFA first production car dynos at 515 wheel HP SAE


330CIZHP

Chicane Challenger
That looks like almost 585 - 595 HP at the crank almost Carrera GT territory since Porsche Carrera GT dyno around 525 - 530 wheel HP SAE. Again, this is the first production model test ever officially on the highest revving production engine ever.

Very very shock!! From a 4.8 Liter V10. Speechless.

Dyno Tested: 2012 Lexus LFA



We've spent many an hour dyno-testing cars here at MD Automotive in Westminster, CA. High horsepower cars, muscle cars, modified cars, you name it. However, none of them are like this 552-horsepower, 354 lb-ft LFA.

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This car is special, and it clues you in the moment you thumb the steering wheel-mounted 'Engine Start' button. There's a very rapid starter whine vreeee like a race car rather than the usual chunter chunter. Then the engine explodes to life with a whomp before instantly settling into a slightly busy idle, the timbre of which telegraphs that this is no ordinary 9000-rpm V10.
There's practically no inertia -- or so it seems -- to the LFA's 4.8-liter power plant. You touch the throttle, the revs soar instantly. You lift, they die. Instantly. Normal cars aren't like this. Normal cars have soft engine mounts, sluggish tip-in, obvious electronic throttle manipulation, delayed engine braking, lots of suck. Not this one. Again, special.


At 2000 rpm, there's not much going on. This thing would get walked by a Camry down here, and that's only a slight exaggeration.
Good thing there are seven thousand revs remaining with which to do something.
By the time the LFA hits 5000 rpm the hairs on your neck are standing at attention and the short-stroke ten-pot is just hitting its stride. The intake and exhaust notes commingle and cavort, producing a texture that is somehow more than simply an aural phenomenon. It's no longer making a sound, it is orchestrating a mechanical symphony.


The tach needle brushes past seven -- where most engines have long since checked out for the evening -- and the LFA is now reaching its torque peak of 346 lb-ft (as measured at the wheels). Its sound hardens, taking on a shriek.
Two thousand revs left. It's still charging towards the redline with barely-restrained enthusiasm. Still plenty more gravy in the decanter. At 8000 revs you wonder how it is possible that this is a street-legal production car engine.


9000 rpm. The engine has ceased being a mechanical device and is now an organism, absolutely shredding the air around it with its howl. Here it reaches its power peak of 514 horsepower. Bam! The LFA hits the rev limiter like a wall. You have tunnel vision and your jaw is slightly agape. Your brain is the consistency of oatmeal.
This engine is gobsmacking. There are engines with more power, more torque, sure. But there is nothing on the planet like this engine. Its output as measured at the wheels -- which is slighly ahead of expectations -- is secondary to the experience it delivers. Raise a glass and wish it well, dear readers, as the 171 examples of the LFA that will be sold stateside will house the only known examples of this scintillating V10. Shame that something so good is limited to so few.

 
Edmunds also was dyno'ing the GT2 RS there as well. The reason is anybody's guess.


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I foresee a third world war breaking out when a damaged-beyond-repair but with a functioning engine LF-A is ready to be gutted. That engine is a fine piece of machinery. At least Toyota did something right.
 


You know Glendora Mountain Road. It's been the star of other videos and stories on IL in the past. Well, today we aboslutely destroyed it in the LFA. Video after the jump

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There are few cars on earth more rewarding on this road than an LFA. Faster? Yes. Scarier? Certainly. But more rewarding? No.



Here's what Road test editor Mike Monticello had to say about hammering the LFA on one of the world's most challenging driving roads:
"If the rest of this LFA road trip were to go bust for some reason, it wouldn't matter one bit to me. Why? Because we got to run Lexus' supercar up and down Glendora Mountain Road.
Hard.
Great road. Phenomenal car, and finally off the highway and its element. GMR's twisties showed off the LFA's phenomenal turn-in and roadholding, while its shrieking V10 rocketed the front-engine wonder with scary-fast speed. It's utter fun, but everything happens with the speed of a cracking whip. One hundred percent concentration is required at all times. The 4.8-liter V10 isn't big on torque, but it still has plenty of sauce to break the rear tires loose. Terrific fun, and then you remember you're sliding around an extremely rare $375,000 machine.
The front end is a little vague at times and the steering could offer a bit more weight, especially in lower-speed corners where the LFA will push a bit. But in general, this is a fantastic machine with which to tear up a two-lane mountain road. And man, I've never rev-matched revs on downshifts so well in my life. I'm awesome. Oh, wait.
One thing's for sure: That triple-outlet exhaust means you have absolutely no chance of sneaking up on anyone. Ever."
So put that in your fun pipe and smoke it.

2012 Lexus LFA Road Trip: LFA vs. GMR
 

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