Review: 2011 Lexus LFA

Lexus has finally built a super car dubbed the LFA which is scheduled to begin production in December 2010 through December 2012. The Lexus LFA will be hand built by a team of production engineers and specialists that will only produce 20 units a month in the Toyota Motomatchi plant in Aichi, Japan for Lexus. The 2011 Lexus LFA from the outside appears to be a cross between a Skyline GTR and a Lamborghini Murcielago. If the Lexus LFA was a 1965 427 Cobra roadster then it would have 2 more cylinders, fuel injection, carbon fiber, and be a whole heck of a lot faster. The Lexus LFA is a super car in all aspects of its development and component ideology. Let's take the Lexus LFA's 1LR-GUE engine for example; this is a fuel hungry 4.8 liter 72 degree V10 that is dual over head cam with variable valve timing and 40 valves. With only 293 cubic inches the LFA's engine is an amazing piece of art with a 88mm bore and 79mm stroke; this bore and stroke combination makes for one nasty high revving motor, with a fuel cut that only kicks in at 9500 rpm. The Lexus LFA's engine is stuffed with all the goodies, the light weight titanium rods make for less rotational weight while the 12.0:1 forged high compression aluminum pistons make for a big bang in the combustion chamber. Keeping everything light weight in the Lexus LFA is a must for a high revving engine. Titanium valves with titanium valve spring retainers are used to prevent valve float at those astronomical rpm's; in addition to light weight components a complete dry sump oiling system has been put in place in the Lexus LFA to keep the crank from parasitic power losses due to sloshing through a few quarts of oil. With all these remarkable features the Lexus LFA engine produces an exhilarating 552 horsepower at 8700 rpm. So, you may be wondering with all this power and a lightweight all aluminum and carbon fiber chassis (that only weighs 3263 pounds), what kind of performance can you expect from the Lexus LFA? You will be please with the results, 0 to 60 is achieved in 3.6 seconds and the LFA has a top speed of 203mph.

The extremely high top speed of the Lexus LFA is in no doubt due to its power, but more importantly it's unique transmission. The Lexus LFA utilizes a dual clutch six speed sequential automatic which has amazing gear spreads to allow it such high speeds that take advantage of the engines high rpm threshold. For example: You can travel 51mph in first gear, 135mph in fourth gear, and an amazing 202mph limited only by rpm in sixth gear. The sophisticated transaxle in the Lexus LFA also provides launch control capabilities for the quickest starts possible. In addition to a unique transmission the Lexus LFA also has a very different stability control system named the VDIM which instead of having individual systems that work together it incorporates all three of them into one. The VDIM controls ABS (anti-lock braking system), Trac (traction control), and VSC (vehicle stability control) which keeps the race inspired suspension in check.

So, how are we rolling and stopping in our Lexus LFA? Rolling is done by 20 inch forged aluminum wheels wrapped in 265 in the front and 305 in the rear, Bridgestone new generation Potenza's which will make for extremely good grip and wet driving characteristics. The Lexus LFA will stop, and in a hurry. The LFA uses 15.4 inch and 14.2 inch carbon ceramic performance brake rotors in the front and rear, it also utilizes six piston and four piston Brembo calipers. So, how much is a Lexus LFA going to cost you? About $400,000 and hopefully you've been on the waiting list since early in 2009.