The World Had Better Be
Lexus LF-A Prototype
You're somewhere near the top of fourth gear and doing 130, maybe 135mph with the tachometer just starting to flash red for the next gear change when you decide to brake for the corner. The carbon-ceramic brakes kill the speed so viciously you're left hanging in your harness and can hear the huge 265-section front Bridgestones squealing in protest. No time for pity; you pull twice at the left shift-paddle and the six-speed sequential 'box drops back to second with a quick, sharp jolt and the revs of the vast V10 slung out in front of you flick up instantly to meet the new cog. With just an eighth-turn of the flat-bottomed carbon-fiber and leather wheel you slice into the corner with an immediacy, composure and accuracy utterly at odds with your car's front-engine layout, and you're hard on the gas again, enjoying the deep, deafening metallic howl being piped straight back into the cabin...
This is not your father-in-law's Lexus. Until the arrival of the V8-powered IS-F last year we thought we knew what Lexus stood for, but if that car confused the brand's carefully nurtured image, this new one just blows it all away. Once, Lexus was all about obsessive-compulsive build-quality and silken refinement. Then it added hybrid tech, motivated as much by the desire to take the noise and vibration of an engine out of the picture altogether, you suspect, as by any environmental concern. And Lexus has always been refreshingly resistant to the trend for ruining a road car's refinement by making it spuriously 'sporty'.
And then along comes the LF-A. Okay, it didn't just arrive out of the blue. Toyota has been working on it since 2000, just after it decided to enter Formula 1, and it has shown us a bunch of LF-A concepts, starting nearly five years ago at the '05 Detroit show; other cars have been launched and replaced in that time.
But the final production specification will still shock anyone who thought they knew what Lexus stood for. The LF-A is a proper supercar, with a front mid-mounted, 4.8-liter, 72-degree, naturally-aspirated V10 engine making 560hp at 8700rpm. The power goes via a torque tube to a six-speed sequential transaxle with seven shift-speed settings; Lexus, incredibly, says a twin-clutch gearbox would have been too refined. The whole lot is mounted in a carbon-fiber monocoque chassis, clad mainly in carbon panels. Weighing just 1480kgs the LF-A will crack 60mph in 3.7sec and has a v-max of 205mph; these figures on a par with super-exotic supercar rivals like the Ferrari 599 and the Lamborghini Murcielago.
But the Lexus has one figure that exceeds all its likely rivals: its price. With a price of close to half a million including taxes, it is likely that Lexus won't recoup anywhere near what it has spent developing the LF-A; only 500 will be made, with production starting in 2011. Profit isn't the point, of course; this car exists to showcase its maker's technical abilities and stretch its engineers. But the PR benefit could backfire if we expect twice the excitement of a Ferrari for twice the money.
It certainly doesn't look twice the car; the front mid-engined configuration, chosen for its optimal stability and weight distribution means the LF-A was never going to look as outrageous as a European mid-engined super-exotic. It still looks great though, but more like a modern Supra or a more elegant GT-R. Favorite details are the gorgeous, sculpted wing mirrors and air intakes over the rear arches, designed to work together both aesthetically and aerodynamically.