TF109B

Yeah, I remember hearing up to 5 or more seconds from wet lap to dry lap. Remember this was a WET lap, not a damp or somewhat moist track, there was water spray from the tires, it was WET. And 3 seconds faster than the Gallardo, which has ~550HP and weighs less than the LFA, PLUS has AWD. Any word on the Top Gear test from septembers issue?

05RollaXRS

I went and checked bookstores and currently the August edition is on the newstand. They are a month behind.

The September 2010 edition just got released in Europe and it has the "Greatest 5 supercars of the year showdown" in it.

I agree with the LFA dry lap that LFA ran extremely well.

If everything goes as planned, I might have the AutoZeitung SLS AMG vs LFA comparo scans in the next couple of days.

gengar

Video of the Pearl Yellow LFA in Monterey:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enFslj8nHgQ&fmt=22

Since it's at the event, I'd imagine we'll get a lot more pics/videos soon.

05RollaXRS

Looks amazing. I think red and yellow are the two best colors I have seen on LFA.

Just wanted to ask, did Lexus ever tell you how much changes you can expect in your production LFA? I mean have they decided they will be sticking with 6 gears or there is a chance they will put a 7th gear and shorten the ratios (or a numerical higher final drive) for much stronger acceleration without compromising on the 205 mph top speed??

I applaud Lexus' decision to go with single-clutch since the experience is much more exhilarating than the automatic-like feel of dual-clutch and the shift speeds are not very different.

gengar

The basic gist of statements from Lexus reps as far back as March was that the car has been finished, so expect only minor changes and adjustments from here on out. I highly doubt we'll see any change to the transmission. They have always left open the possibility of adding launch control.

Of course, this is all information that's just been relayed to me by area reps, so no idea what the higher-ups or those actually involved in LFA engineering have been up to.

05RollaXRS

Thanks a lot.

Launch control will definitely be a must since all supercars have it these days it is quite important to get the car off the line quick.

TF109B

Launch Control is a must if they want perfect launches to 'hang' with the drag lovers. AKA domestic 1/4 mile fanboys. That yellow looks really good in motion, every LFA does. I don't think it's the best looking yellow but it's unique. I like a deeper yellow, that yellow doesn't look as deep as I'd like it. The yellow done by Ferrari is quite nice, and the NSX that was sweet.

TRDFantasy

I highly doubt any major changes will be made to the transmission. Toyota doesn't work like that. I am sure however that tweaks and refinements will be made to the transmission along with other parts of the car.

Also, over 100,000 views on this thread .

LexusMan77

I wonder if a bump in horsepower would be out of the question for production. Probably not since the Nurburgring edition already/only got a ten horsepower increase.

05RollaXRS

I thiink the power is fine. What I have been reading in some reviews (European) that LFA's transmission ratios are not matched very well to the engine. The gearing is a bit too tall, which is not doing the actual acceleration justice. The powerband is a mile long starting from low revs going all the way up to 9500 rpm. The straight line acceleration is lagging behind the 458 Italia only because of Italia's much shorter gearing.

That is why I was asking about the possibility of Lexus sliding a 7th gear and shortening up the ratios and I am sure 11.0 - 11.2 seconds 1/4 mile would easily be achieveable.


Updates:

- I had no luck getting AutoZeitung SLS vs LFA comparison. The magazine has been removed from news stands in Europe and no one scanned the article.

- TopGear magazine September edition contains the "Greatest 5 supercars" showdown, which hopefully will hit news stands in the next few weeks here in North America. I can only get July and August editions right now. Having said that, I found out the 997.2 GT3 RS ran a lap time of 1:21.6 and SLS AMG is also right around there.

- SportAuto super test will be out next week in Europe. I am going full force to get some people in Europe to scan the super test. Hopefully it will work this time.

GFerg

Lexus LFA at Monterey

LexFather

The fit and finish look amazing.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

"sliding in a 7th gear" is a lot more work than you imagine, seriously, i don't think it's some changes lexus can make at this point. minor changes, no doubt, but let's be real, any major changes after they have started selling the car, that's pretty unlikely

glad to see the car makes it to monterey, i had a feeling that the yellow car was made to go to there. it's good idea, they need to give the car more exposure to exotic owners to sell more

TF109B

Actually they can modify a few things because it hasn't even begun production. I guess this is why they have these pre-production units and mules driving around (just seen pics of one on motortrend's forums). My guess is they are finalizing things to do with the engine and ecu? Perhaps testing longevity of these components to see how they stand up to being driven around daily. Good job by Lexus/Toyota, unlike the new 458 which seems to be a fire-starter!

rominl

iTrader: (4)

of course they can tweak things like ecu and tuning, and i fully expect them to do that. but changing the tranny from 6 speed to 7 speed? come on