Where exactly is the "Autobahn"?

 

All the media reports say a new type of Bridgestone. I read on some forums that they are the new S001, but nothing official.

Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, IL. http://www.autobahncountryclub.net/

 

Thanks gengar.

Is there another Lexus F Sport event there next week???

 

It's a test ride event for those who have received an LFA allocation in the Lexus "Central Area" sales region.

 

The one thing I want to add, after the event, I was driving our 745 home, and it immediately felt like a boat after driving all the cars at the event. The road through the NJ Motor Sports Park was rather long (about 2 miles) with a lot of twisties, and I kind of tried to race through them, and the car rolled so much compared to the Lexii I've just driven, even my friend that was sitting in the passenger seat started laughing. This just tells you how sporty Lexus is getting. Of course its not very fair to compare a huge 7 series to sportier Lexus models with F-sport mods, but even 5 years ago a 7 series would be sportier than anything Lexus offered, besides maybe the first gen IS300 which was sporty, but very very harsh.

I wish they would've let us drive the LS460 Sport, which was on the display, this way I could've compared its ride to the 7 series more directly.

 

Yeah, that would've been sweet. I'm really interested in the LS Sport as a next car and it would've been cool if they let you guys test it's dynamics to the extreme.

 

Really, I didn't know that, very interesting if true. I wonder what would be the point of using the old aluminum chassis' for pre-production models ? Just for display purposes? Surely they could not use those models for reviews or test drives.

 

Agreed, we were puzzled, too. Right after we established that the one on the course was the same matte version we had seen, we called the other models into question. Again, just going by what they stated, they claimed the aluminum versions were more for display/demo purposes.

At this point, I think its safer to assume that any 'new' model we see is a repainted prototype. Given how quickly they change color, its anyones guess which version it is (Al or CF), but I know for certain they are shooting all types of footage for various media-- they were pretty clear about those intentions. These cars, in all variations, sure have their work cut out for them.

 

aww man. Make it happen please.

 

Well for display/demo purposes the makes sense I guess, as long as the aluminum chassis is in no way visible, and the interior still has all the CF pieces.

 

That bit of information about the aluminum chassis cars is intriguing and confusing. I wonder, if what they are giving the magazines are aluminum chassis cars? The performance is still great, but the weight seems to me to be a little high in some tests. Like the car & driver article. Curb weight of 3583lbs? That's 300lbs. more than what Lexus has claimed.

The short take road test is here: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...take_road_test If what you guys are saying is true, the LFA being tested by these magazines might be an Aluminum bodied car with carbon fiber in the interior. Or, as some have pointed out, pre-production. So, taking that into consideration, the Car & Driver article says their LFA hits 60 in 3.7 seconds, without launch-control. Am I alone in thinking that if this is an aluminum bodied car and not a production carbon fibered bodied car, that this is amazing?

A thought; take away 300lbs. from their claimed curb weight to Lexus' claimed curb weight. Add launch control. 3.7 seconds to 60mph could drop to 3.5 seconds, or maybe even lower? Maybe 3.3? C&D believe with launch-control a couple of tenths could be shaved. But I believe with launch-control and with a much lower weight than C&D claim, it could be even faster!?

 

When the LFA was being designed, it was all aluminum.

Only within the last 2 years they changed it to CF. So the other cars are not there for random purposes, they were test mules from like 5 years ago.

 

We can follow up about the 3 vs 6 prototype question at the Autobahn event Tuesday.

I was told the matte black finish took a beating that included a bug strike at 150+ mph.
The bug left a mark in the bumper that could not be buffed out.

My understanding is the event at the Autobahn is intended to introduce the LFA to dealership personnel in the region. I was speaking with local product specialist about stuff and he asked is there anything he can do for me. I replied that most of my time in the car will be farting around in Chicago traffic and I would really like to drive the car at slow speeds to see how it behaves. He said the test drive was not doable at this point because they only have one prototype but they have this event coming up and he would put me in touch with the guy running it. I think they just decided to invite the local folks with an allocation at that point.

The product specialist will take care of the ordering details and orient the owner at delivery. He will have the samples at the Autobahn event so I will try to get a few pics of these. Lexus did not want to train sales staff for a process they would perform exactly one time and would probably foul up. The dealerships will cover the registration stuff.

 

Ok, so what i want to know is, that since you said there is only one prototype, this must mean that must be the only carbon fiber bodied car and not aluminum bodied? Am I wrong is stating this? Maybe you meant in the U.S. but from what i remember they had the matte black LFA (which is now white) and another white LFA way back when it first came to homestead in Miami. Or did that previous white version get shipped to Europe?

I'm getting confused here. Maybe the matte black version, now white, is the only carbon fiber bodied car? If not who knows how many there is. But my bet is that the versions the magazines are testing are aluminum bodied cars.

 

I'm sure he meant that there is only one LFA in the US, which is the matte-black-and-now-SFP unit that has been going around the country.

As far as figuring out the actual number of LFAs in the world, there are at least 2 others currently on display (at the Salon in Tokyo and at Park Lane in London), plus the red and blue ones that we've seen on video in Japan. Keep in mind that during the media event at the Nürburgring in October of last year, there were actually three LFAs present - two matte black units, which they used for the on-course demos, and one WW. Of course that second matte black unit may also have been repainted. There's also the question of the WW unit that was used in the C+D test earlier this year, which C+D said was shipped from Japan (and may be the one that is now back in Japan - does anyone know when the LFA was put on display at the LFA Salon?)

In any case, whether there are 5 or 6 (or more) LFAs out there, I'd imagine all are carbonfiber models. I don't see why there would be any aluminum units currently out and about.