LFA [Official] Lexus LF-A Supercar (Production Version)

[Levi68]

72° is the right angle for a V10 engine, but it can only be achieved by building a new engine based on nothing else. Compared to BMW M and Quattro which are 90°, this one is an authentic V10 engine. The other two are not bad, but build with V8 in mind. I can't wait to see the next Gallardo engine.

 

[330CIZHP]

72° is the right angle for a V10 engine, but it can only be achieved by building a new engine based on nothing else. Compared to BMW M and Quattro which are 90°, this one is an authentic V10 engine. The other two are not bad, but build with V8 in mind. I can't wait to see the next Gallardo engine.

Yeah, you are right. 72 degrees is considered ideal, but only exclusive V10 engines particularly F1 racing car engines when they used to have V10 engines.

 

[Levi68]

Better Hurry; Lexus LFA Supercar Sold Out – Almost
“Down to single digits.”
by Joseph Szczesny on Jun.15, 2012

Looking for an appropriate last minute Father’s Day present for your dad the hedge fund manager?
Better move fast if the $375,000 Lexus LFA is high on your list. Even if the price tag doesn’t put it out of your reach, you may soon be out of luck, according to an official with Toyota’s luxury subsidiary.
After two years, it seems Lexus has just about run out of the 500 carbon-fiber supercars it built and isn’t planning to produce any more.

“The supply is down to single digits,” said Tim Morrison, Lexus vice president of sales, and most of those are actually tied up by dealers.
Following the presentation of the decidedly more mundane Lexus ES, Morrison said LFA sales were considered a success since it created a huge, positive halo for the brand.

Lexus promoted the LFA as not only just another supercar but one that featured some significant technological breakthroughs. Notable was the extensive use of carbon fiber — in this case, the light, strong but extremely expensive material was woven using a technique borrowed from the fabric industry. (Lexus parent Toyota original started out as a textile manufacturer.) The car’s 552 horsepower V-10 was developed with the assistance of Yamaha and features titanium valves and connecting rods, the better to push it to a 9,000 RPM redline. With advanced aerodynamics including an active rear spoiler, the LFA is capable of 0 to 60 times of 3.6 seconds with a Ferrari-challenging top speed of 202 mph.

Not that many LFAs made it to the States, fewer than 200 shipped here — with most of those going to customers in high-profile regions such as California and Florida. Only about two-dozen were actually sold in the Midwest through Lexus’ Chicago Region, Lexus officials said.
The LFA was a pet project of Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda, himself a serious racing and high performance fan, but the company has not made any kind of commitment to build a next-generation model that would maintain the Lexus presence in the supercar segment.
“There are no plans for a replacement,” a spokesman said.

Paul A. Eisenstein contributed to this report.

 

[330CIZHP]

They should hopefully be working on a new LFA, hopefully. LFA in near-stock trim has done exceptionally well in racing ranking near the top and in order for them to continue, they need to fulfill the homologation requirements.

 

[Levi68]

If not a new LFA, at least, and it could also be the best thing, a 911/Cayman rival, like the coming Mercedes SLC AMG, McLaren P13 and possible Maserati GranSport.

 

[330CIZHP]

Dodge Viper SRT-10 chief engineer and SRT chief interview:

Lexus LFA used as a benchmark for testing of the Dodge Viper SRT-10

Ruedisueli: Well, sure. But remember that the Viper will never be a Corvette. We don’t ever want it to be. Our customers are very anxious about this becoming a Corvette. The Viper is more raucous. Of course, we looked at the ZR1 because it’s so capable. We tested some Porsche 911s and the Lexus LFA to make sure we were in the performance ballpark.

 

[Levi68]

Can't wait to see how it will perform against the other supercars. I'm still quite surprised the benchmark was not the Aventador or the F12. The Viper has most torque, without FI, thanks to very large displacement, but it is also the lowest revving engine, with red line at 6.400 RPM. It is the complete oposite of the LFA which has a rather small displacement, low torque and high revs.

 

[330CIZHP]

I think it is quite clear, they were talking overall track performance and dynamic handling characteristics. Not just straight line.

Can't wait to see how it will perform against the other supercars. I'm still quite surprised the benchmark was not the Aventador or the F12. The Viper has most torque, without FI, thanks to very large displacement, but it is also the lowest revving engine, with red line at 6.400 RPM. It is the complete oposite of the LFA which has a rather small displacement, low torque and high revs.

 

[Levi68]

Is the Lexus LFA more durable than a Ferrari ?

Lexus's top technical guy, Paul Williamsen, tells us a story about the LFA supercar. One time, while his team was driving it around in the US, they ran into a group of Ferrari owners. The latter were surprised when they found out that the LFA unit that Williamsen and his crew were driving had already accumulated 25,000 miles (40,000km).

And so the Ferrari guys asked Williamsen: "So, how many engines has this car used through all that mileage?"

That's a question that makes sense, considering the fact that the ultra-expensive supercoupe's 4.8-liter V10 engine revs to 8,700rpm to produce a maximum output of 552hp. These numbers ought to be harsh to the powertrain components, right?

"Just one," answered Paul.

"One?" the Ferrari guys asked, obviously impressed. "And how many times have you replaced the transmission?"

"Never," Paul replied. "This car has used the same stock engine and transmission through 25,000 miles."

Needless to say, the Ferrari owners couldn't imagine their own exotic cars being driven that far without going through some engine or transmission replacement.

 

[Levi68]

It is only now I noticed some LFA have a normal rear end, other have some sort of wings above the healights.
With

Without

IMHO it looks cleaner without.

 

[Soup]

It is only now I noticed some LFA have a normal rear end, other have some sort of wings above the healights.
With

Without

IMHO it looks cleaner without.

It's a retractable wing

 

[Levi68]

Oh, I meant taillights.

 

[martinbo]

Levi's not talking about the large retractable rear spoiler. He's talking about the little "winglets" over the rear tail-lights.

 

[Soup]

oh! those are optional if I'm not wrong

 

[Soup]

Lexus LFA 2012 Goodwood competition winners announced

The winners of the Lexus Goodwood Festival of Speed competition are: Kaye Chapman, David Mitchell, Punit Patel and Steven Norfield. Congratulations!

The winners will be treated to a very memorable run up the famous Hillclimb in the passenger seat of the LFA supercar. The Goodwood show car is one of only 500 LFAs made in the world, and it’s the only one in the UK! The four lucky winners will also receive VIP treatment throughout the day.

Powered by a ferocious V10 engine and made using lightweight carbon-fibre construction, it roars from 0-62mph in just 3.7 seconds and is one of the fastest and most exclusive road cars on the planet. To find out more about the Lexus LFA visit the car chapter on the Lexus website.

We’d like to extend our thanks to all those who took the time to enter the competition.
Here is a teaser of what they can expect…this video was taken at last year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed and features our competition winner, Johannes Rogert, taking his seat in the LFA Nurburgring for a one-in-a-lifetime ride.

 

[330CIZHP]

IMHO it looks cleaner without.

I also like it without those winglets. They look like an after thought and don't flow well with the rest of the design. There might be minimal difference in the downforce they add, which easily gets outweighed by the benefit of the clean look without them.

 

[Guibo]

More of the UK car at a supercar event on the Dunsfold track.

Black Nurburgring Edition. Charlie Parker impersonation starts at 0:50.


Dale Lomas's site, Bridgetogantry.com, reports on an exlusive club membership at the Nordschleife.
"Last year Lindner and Richter, the dynamic duo behind NAG, revealed another scheme to make Nürburg into a Monaco-wannabe. The über-exclusive Carbon Club Card (read the german blurb on a PDF here) is a €6900 season pass with a couple of interesting additions, including 'exclusive access' to the Nürburgring Nordschleife and GP circuits.
This week business in the village has been slow. The Nordschleife was shut for public sessions on Monday and Tuesday. And when the gates did finally open on Wednesday it was only from 1830 to 1915. Same story tonight (Thursday), technically it's one hour of opening, but the gates opened at 1830 and were due to shut at 1915.

The track was open for one hour for one Carbon Club member. He spent half of it eating a cheeseburger.

These reduced opening times are so that Carbon Club members can get some exclusive track time for their €6900. The plan was the NAG would sell 'only' 150 of these exclusive passes, raising a cool €1,035,000.
In reality I would be very surprised if NAG have sold anywhere near that number, and in fact I spoke to an inside source who claims some were handed out to certain motorsports heroes and celebs for free, to gather momentum. Whether or not that's true, for the few people who did spend the money, there's a contract to be kept and NAG have to fulfill it. The PDF you can read above talks about 20 such exclusive entries, and a monthly 2-hour session on the GP track too.
So last night and tonight 200+ regular customers crowded into one overflowing car park, as the single Carbon Club member who showed up spent half of the exclusive time eating a tasty burger. When he did finish, he stuck a couple of laps in (driving the white LFA above) and parked up again. Tonight he was joined by a lucky driver in a white Lambo who also did a couple of laps. While hundreds of 'commoners' looked on enviously.
I don't blame the members who paid their €6900, if you've got that kind of money, it's a no-brainer. But for a company that right now desperately needs the support of its fans, I think it's a big, fat, fail."

Looks to be Manfred Sattler (first owner in Germany), whose car is often seen around the Nurburgring and Sachsenring. No garage queen, that's for sure.

 

[Levi68]

Unlike many other cars, the LFA sounds good at any RPM.

 

[330CIZHP]

That black Nurburgring edition belongs to UAE tuner E.Kanoo. He also owns a standard white Lexus LFA and a Nurburgring edition (and lots of other exotic and sports cars).

 

[Soup]

Goodwood Festival of Speed