LFA Nurburgring Video

The new LFA marks an important moment in both the history of Lexus and the development of the supercar. A true “clean-sheet” design, the LFA was created by a small, passionate and dedicated team of engineers whose achievement has been to push the boundaries of technologies materials and engineering at every stage to produce a car like no other to have carried the Lexus badge.

Constructed using advanced carbon fibre technology, the rear-wheel drive LFA is powered by a bespoke, high-revving 552bhp 4.8-litre naturally aspirated V10 engine, matched to a rear-mounted six-speed sequential automatic transmission, giving 200mph-plus performance.

In the words of Chief Engineer Haruhiko Tanahashi: “The LFA is a thoroughbred supercar, a machine engineered to achieve a single goal – to deliver a supreme driving experience. Over the past decade we have pushed every boundary in pursuit of this goal and I believe we have created the most driver-orientated car we possibly could.”

The formidable performance of the V10 is managed through an equally advanced transmission, a purpose-designed six-speed Automated Sequential Gearbox (ASG) that drives the rear wheels via a limited slip differential. To help achieve the optimum 48:52 front-to-rear weight distribution, it is contained in a transaxle mounted over the rear axle.

The ASG is operated by paddle shifts mounted on the steering column and is engineered for exceptionally fast shifts: an upshift can be effected in just 0.2 seconds.

The system has four driving modes: Auto, Sport, Normal and Wet, activated by a selector dial on the dashboard. Each mode has a specific gearshift programme, and engine and brake control logic systems to let the driver tailor the car’s performance to suit driving conditions.

The Hyper Cars For The Hyper Rich

• 

Well, here we are, 2009 is almost finished and 2010 is almost here. When you have been alive for a short time you keep stopping to think about that, and that the year 2000 was a massive bench mark in time, in technology and in cars.

The most interesting things didn’t happen 9 years ago, it happened 4 years ago. Mainly when the Bugatti Veyron was introduced to the world. It  stopped everyone within a square mile owning the latest super car because they could blow their bonus on it. Super cars are not top of the mechanical food chain anymore, its hypercars. The Veyron gave birth to the million pound toy with more power than anything before and more exclusivity than before. Every other super car maker realised they could do exactly the same with a little consideration and a little hype. So they did. There was Lamborghini with the Reventon, then Pagani told everyone that there cars would cost a million pounds, then Koenigsegg said the same, then added some more to the price, then added some more. Aston Martin has just joined this craze with the One 77, now there is a hand full of cars costing about a 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 pounds., some nearing 2,000,000.

So what does this mean for super cars. Well it’s not all stupid money with prices plucked from the air, take the Nissan GTR, the new Mclaren and the everyday performance you can get from a hot hatch for 20 something grand. But on the other hand you have got the new Toyota Supra which goes by the name of the Lexus LFA costing 336k, looking at the stats it cannot do much more than the GTR, what does this extra money get you? Is it so you can tell everyone that you have a Lexus??? Not much of it makes sense to me, surely the correct way would be to pitch the new Lexus against the R8 or even the 458 Italia. Instead they have gone for the throat and see it as a rival to the Mclaren SLR, and im not sure about that. You see the Lexus looks a bit like a kitted up 1 to 1 scale radio controlled car with a modern interior and the SLR looks like a car that can do almost everything that you want a car to do including 200mph, and it does. Very well. Thats the difference. There is nothing new about the Lexus, maybe they have done it to just benefit the Lexus brand. If it’s purely performance focused then it’s just not crazy enough for this price tag. But it will sell, they say there customers will not be bothered about the cost, they will own every other super car as well. So it appears that super cars are for the super rich,  but hyper cars will be for the hyper rich, and this is a new league.