Accelerate Mpls

Lexus finally took the wraps off the new LF-A super car this week at the Tokyo Motor show.  This car has been in development since approximately 2000 and the amount of man hours put into this project is staggering.  Most of the leaks, when it comes to specifications, were spot on if not close.  The car will be rear wheel drive with an all in house developed V10 engine sitting up front.  That V10 is a 4.8- Liters making 562 hp and 354 lb-ft will rocket the car 0-60 in 3.7 seconds.  Lexus says the top speed is 202 mph which is super car territory and tops that of many competitors.  Weighing in at 3,263 lbs, it is rumored that weight distribution is 48/52 front-to-rear which would explain why Lexus is boasting about the driving dynamics.  Another tidbit of awesomeness on this cake is the redline is a staggering 9000 rpm!  That helps explain the F1 sound coming from the LF-A flying around the Nurburgring all these years.  The inside is luxurious for a sports car and it has a trick gauge cluster.  The whole speedometer is digital.  When you hit redline the whole background turns red.

Last night on #carchat we had a open discussion about this car and it seems many people do not like it.  Keep in mind we are not the customer Lexus is going after with this vehicle.  Most of us are not rich and could not afford the $375,000 price tag associated with ownership.  The majority said it was ugly and that for the money they would rather buy other cars.  Many mentioned cars such as the Chevrolet Corvette Zr1 or the Nissan GT-R for the price and performance.  Fact is those aren’t exclusive cars when compared to this car, though they are both halo cars for each brand and in that regard they are similar to the LF-A.  I was definitely in the minority and thought it was a good looking car and truly love the sound of the V10 at full tilt from the videos leaked.  I feel the LF-A is definitely not a screaming value then again with only 500 units being made this will be a exclusive car.  The fact remains that while the price puts this car deep in super territory where the elite compete such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin and others, what separates this car from those.  The separation comes with what Toyota/Lexus does best, reliability.  Super cars are not known for being super reliable.  This could be a new way to compete.  Without question Lexus/Toyota will be taking a loss on each car after all the years of development.  Then again can you put a price on a halo car that truly puts your brand in the spotlight with a super car even for a moment?  Lexus has not had a sports car nor a halo car to speak of.  Toyota just announced recently they want to be building fun cars again that stir the soul of the driver.  While that is not what they are currently known for this car might put a pulse to that statement.

Check this video by Lexus/Toyota listen to that engine.

Lexus has been teasing us with the LF-A concept for years in the auto show circuit. One year it was even a convertible version. It is finally time for the car to come to fruition. On October 21 Lexus will announce details on the production intent LF-A. Rurmors say that the production name end up as the LF-L though LF-A could still stick. Recently the car has been sighted testing on the Nurburgring in what is believed to be final production trim. The cars in the below pictures are barely wearing camouflage. Many rumors have been pegged the price anywhere from $200,000 to $400,000. This will be the first super car from Lexus and the competition is stiff. Sitting in the class with Lamborghini’s, Ferrari’s, Aston Martin’s, among others, means this car better deliver especially after this much time in development. Other rumors have mentioned the chassis which might be made of carbon fiber which would keep the weight hopefully under 3,500 pounds. It has been recently confirmed that it will be powered by a all new in house developed V10 pushing around 550 hp to the rear wheels. The transmission will probably be similar to the one in Nissan’s GT-R, a dual clutch automatic. The benefit of such a transmission is it can shift faster than a human could. That said it takes out some of the engagement of driving a sports car in this writers opinion. Recently a video was taken of the car leaving a gas station in Germany outside the Nurburgring. When the driver pulled out of the gas station he wasted no time in dipping into the the power and taking off. The crackle of the V10 is seriously reminiscent of a F1 car. See the video below. More details to come after the 21st until then I leave you with this video crank up your speakers because this is the first you’ll truly hear the crackle of Toyota/Lexus’s first super car V10!