TF109B

Yeah, the guy on that forum does say 0-300, he doesn't mention back to 0. There's something wrong with this LFA then if this much is true in his #'s. That's all I can say. There is no way 560HP and much less weight ~400lbs less than the GTR equals out to these times. It has to be something wrong with the car they tested which is why i said in my first post that it's not looking good for the LFA in this test either. Of course these are still pre-production models. Maybe Lexus has an explanation for it in the issue. Not sure. Maybe the guy is lying about the times. I call B.S. if there's nothing wrong with the car.

DeTomaso

If those times for the LFA are correct the question is how Lexus got to the 202 mph top speed...if it already takes 50 seconds to get to 187 they would need a very long runway to ever get to that. I honestly don't understand why Lexus didn't pay more attention to the acceleration performances of the LFA, knowing that is what most people use to compare, especially given the price. Besides, remember they were once aiming for 218 mph?

The only hope for the LFA is that it does way better in terms of track performance (Nordschleife, TG track and Hockenheim) if not even a fan like me will think it is a failure. Providing sub-par performance figures for 400k will do more damage to the brand than if they didn't build it in the first place.

TF109B

I call BS on this test for two reasons. 1- the SLS is faster in this test than the LFA, but it was proven that the LFA brakes better and accelerates just as fast in the Auto Zeitung test. 2- it's the same weight (about) as the 458 with only 10 less HP and it seems that car does their test in 30 some odd seconds but the LFA takes 20 seconds longer? That's BS. Either they were sandbagging purposefully, this car has a serious lack of power or the #'s just aren't right.

05RollaXRS

So found out the laptimes.

LFA ran basically the same as 458 Italia, ZR-1, Nissan GTR with the same driver Horst Von Saurma

Nürburgring Nordschleife (20,6km): 7.38
Hockenheim - Short Track (2,6km): 1.11,0

rominl

iTrader: (4)

pretty interesting article. but i guess at the very moment, at lest in the US, toyota can't find enough people they want

DeTomaso

Apparently the LFA lapped the Nordschleife in 7.38, same time as 458 Italia and GTR . Not bad, but certainly not outstanding given all the testing and finetuning on that particular track. The Hockenheim time is even slower than the GTR and an R8 v10 (!) and quite of a letdown, again given it's price and technology. Lexus better make things right with the Nürburgring edition.
As a fan i expected better performance.

MR_F1

I am bitterly disappointed.

05RollaXRS

Apparently, LFA has an exceptional cornering speed. It accelerates very well up to 125 - 150 mph. The 125 mph they got was still almost 1 full second faster than say a GTR, but LFA hits a major slump in acceleration once it passes 160 mph and it needs to get up to almost 175 - 180 mph on the back straights. LFA needed to be very fast over 160 mph for those back straights, but apparently, it falls on its face.

It could be argued that LFA is not justifying its cost, R&D and also the time Lexus spent tuning the car around Nurburgring since it performs no better than cars like GTR, which is over 1/3rd its cost.

On the other hand, it could also be argued that LFA was the first real supercar Lexus made and it performs as well as the best Ferrari has to offer and much better than what it truly competes with, which is the Ferrari 599 GTB.

Both are different perspectives.

LexFather

Never heard of that Canadian website and Aaron Broverman, the writer, is months late on the hate the way the LFA is sold bandwagon. May I suggest a fresh large cup of shut the hell up.

I don't think I've ever seen such an incredible car get blasted so much in my life.

05RollaXRS

x 2

Canada received a measly 10 LFA and they were all sold out by May.

05RollaXRS

Something is truly not making sense regarding the 0 - 300 km/h

I found out the M6 actually accelerates to 300 KM/H in 44 seconds. A car that LFA easily gains almost 1.5 seconds already by the time it hits 125 mph with 50 more horsepower and atleast 400 pounds lighter weight. Also, Car magazine tested LFA and SLS AMG on the highway and apparently, LFA pulls away easily past 140 mph.

Over here, it just does not seem to be adding up. Very confusing.

DeTomaso

The Autocar test already revealed a problem with the transmission from 0-62, now it seems that at high speed there is a major problem too. I think Lexus should reconsider the spreading of the gears for more top performance. As things are now the car will not even hit 187 mph on a 3 mile runway.
The aerodynamics seem to be messed up too, with too much lift on front and a drag factor (0.39) that is substantially different from what is claimed (0.31). That also plays a role at high speeds. One positive note though: even with the top speed troubles it got a 7:38 Nordschleife laptime. I haven't seen a detailed breakdown of the Sport Auto test yet but i can already guess the LFA did quite bad on the Döttinger Höhe, which is the track's long straight. It should reach about 185 mph top there, and it presumably didn't get anywhere near that. That means it must have done very well in the corners.

The trouble is Lexus did pay lots of attention to quality and details but forgot to focus on acceleration and top performance, which most people use to compare supercars. I am sure that with a little more tuning of the engine and transmission Lexus could have had something truly spectacular. The brakes are excellent, the handling top and grip impressive but the drivetrain lets it down. Now we got a car that is well made and luxurious, but that struggles to keep up with competitors half the price.

I hope they can fix a few things with the production version and Nürburgring Edition and that Launch control and new tyres substantially boost its performance.

Mister Two

Very, very disappointing results from SportAuto. I guess the only hope that's left for the LFA is for Lexus themselves to release an official footage of their best, 3rd-party-witnessed Nordschleife lap, which hopefully is as good as some of the earlier unofficial claims (7:24/7:23/7:19???). Horst von Saurma may be a 'Ring master but only Lexus has drivers who can bring the most out of the LFA. Are you listening, Lexus? If you don't prove it yourself, nobody will do it for you!!!

GFerg

Well that's disappointing. Initial reviews have been good, but it has not faired so well in comparison tests at all. Technological beast, but doesn't mean much when it can't do much better than lesser cars. oh well.

encore888

As the Motor Trend LFA vs. GT-R comparo pointed out (which the LFA largely won, judged 'dynamically superior' on almost all counts), the LFA requires a certain driving technique to exact the best performance. Be it the 0-60 time and otherwise, they had to time their 'launches' and adapt to the transmission style in order to put out the best numbers.

Either by design or as a prototype, the LFA seems to require more intimate knowledge of its construction and technology to achieve top results than some other supercars. As such, comparison testers who drive the LFA without much background or experience will not be able to get the best numbers.

As is the case in recent years, Lexus will do its own thing, and reviewers and spectators who expect them to play the same game will be surprised at odd-out responses. Absolutely they should release some competitive numbers and times, and they should have a better handle on the way their press fleet is used for comparos, especially as how it pertains to the fanbase, but I'm afraid they do their own thing, and leave supporters sometimes twisting in the wind.

Moreover, the way the car press works these days, they will have to bend over backward before giving a high ranking to a Lexus in a comparo. Not that the Lexus is that bad, nor necessarily that good, but being secretive with their thought processes and ideas versus well-established methods of rivals has its effect.