NoBottleJustThrottle

(** RANT WARNING **)

I'm here to open up the Lexus LFA for discussion.

More often than not I read/hear about all of the LFA's shortcomings. For example, today I came across an article on Jalopnic that claims that the Lexus LFA is "the worst halo car of all time" (if you're interested the article can be found HERE). It was an interesting read, but frankly I'm sick and tired of people not understanding why Lexus built the LFA. All the time I hear arguments like "it's too expensive for what it is", "a Ferrari/Lamborghini is faster", "my GTR will go around a track faster for a fraction of the cost", or in the case of the attached article "...is the worst halo car of all time". The Lexus LFA was never intended to break track records, quarter mile times, to make Lexus/Toyota even more profitable (I believe they actually LOST money on every LFA sold...), or even be a budget super car. The LFA was intended to showcase the performance capabilities of Toyota Motor Corporation. It was, at least in my opinion, an exercise in showing off for Toyota Motor Corp. It was, again in my own opinion, to tell the world that even though their main focus right now is what it is (primarily building comfortable sedans) that they have the ability and the means to create something truly special.

Every inch of the car is a statement to what Toyota can do, and the detail that they care to take with their vehicles. Just a very few of the examples of this found in the LFA include:

1) The V10 motor was specifically built for this car (Toyota didn't have a V10 in their range to base it off of). The V-angle of the V10 is set to 72-degrees (as opposed to a more traditional angle like 90-degree found in the Viper's V10) to fully balance the firing force from the pistons. It's so balanced that it can rev from idle to its 9000rpm redline in 0.6 seconds. So fast that standard analog tachometers could not accurately track the LFA's changes in engine speeds - which leads me to...

2) Because they built such an efficient motor it was out of necessity that a digital tachometer was designed specifically for the LFA. They could have built the motor to be less efficient saving them time and money in its development and then further development of the digital thin-film transistor (TFT) display, but that wouldn't be in line with what this car is all about.

3) Even tiny details like that the paddle shifters are designed in such a way that it takes more effort to pull the up-shift paddle than the down-shift paddle - as it should be. Details!!

4) The carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) center monocoque was designed and manufactured in-house to an aeronautical grade. It's woven by a laser monitored circular loom of which there are only TWO IN THE WORLD! Why? Because they could, and because they wanted it done right.

5) Two octaves of engine sound are channeled into the cabin via twin ducts which connect the firewall with the intake manifold simply to enhance the driving experience and so that your body can literally feel the sound of the engine.

So, to all the LFA haters out there - take a second to really think about what Toyota accomplished through the LFA. Remember that Toyota was merely flexing only some of its muscle to remind manufacturers around the world that if they really wanted to they could embarrass the entire spectrum cars (eco, sport, luxury, super car, etc.). I applaud Toyota (or any manufacturer for that matter) for simply having fun with the lengths of their means. It's exercises like these that will keep the world in awe as manufacturers push what's possible.

Thoughts? Agree/Disagree?

vader1

The Jalopnik article is the journalistic equivalent of internet trolling. It is just meant to stir the pot.

Nothing wrong with the LFA, it is a just so four years ago now though. The world has moved on.

S2Ko0o

The engineering in the LFA was very impressive. On Top Gear Clarkson loved the LFA.

zdave87

Well, it's ugly as hell.

sam_spider

I love the LFA. I'd buy one if I could afford it.

fernando.

If Clarkson likes it, I do too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzysN2SWiBo

TheDonEffect

It isn't the fastest, cheapest, prettiest, efficient, or unusually cool, but it's the best Toyota can do so we're supposed to like it? Just proves Toyota can't make viable performance cars anymore.

Adrenalize

That engine though, incredible.

Mister Jew

I would have to agree. I cannot think of any car he loved that was not pretty awesome...

rockville

It was mental masturbation that was more about how than the result. BS claims like no analog tach was fast enough etc was as much marketing crap as anything. Sorry, Toyota, perhaps you should have asked Stack for an analog tach. If it was built to aircraft blah blah blah and the chassis was so exotic why was it inferior to the aluminum chassis Ferrari used? Does a carbon fiber pen write better than a plastic one?
Oh, the car was ugly to boot. The V10 did however sound great.

I think the article was pretty spot on when it got to the heart of it and compared the car to the R8.