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By Roger, September 3, 2012 8:10 am

It was a little more than four years ago that Lexus announced it would campaign an LFA in the Nürburgring 24-hour race. From 2008 with a black prototype that no one would talk about, the Gazoo Racing LFA has raced every year since and suffered breakdowns, fires, more mechanical issues and high-speed encounters with guardrails.

There were enough literal hard knocks that this year, of the team's drivers said that that they were still rookies. Even so, the five-year "novices" took SP8-Class honors ahead of two Aston Martins and an Audi A8, getting some silverware to go along with that scintillating exhaust note.

The team put together a video recap of its years on the 'Ring, and it's definitely worth a watch. You'll find it posted below.

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By Roger, April 15, 2012 11:56 am

Related Gallery2012 Lexus LFA: Review

Many countries have produced supercars with price tags that dip into the six figures, but that rare breed of exotic that fetches upwards of a quarter million is all but completely exclusive to Europe: Ferrari, Lamborghini and Pagani out of Italy, Bugatti from France, McLaren and higher-end Aston Martin models of Britain, top-of-the-line Porsche offerings from Germany, Koenigsegg of Sweden and so on. That's what makes the Lexus LFA so exceptional. It extends beyond the Acura NSX and the Nissan GT-R that previously defined the top end of Japanese supercars and joins its European rivals at the very top of the market. But that, we're reading, is only the beginning.

According to a shadowy anonymous source cornered by AutoGuide, Toyota is already working on a successor to the LFA, and their mole says the car will be even more exotic, more powerful and more expensive. Just what that entails when the LFA is already limited to 500 examples, packs a 552-horsepower 4.8-liter V10 and costs $375,000 has us conjuring up images of an animé take on the Bugatti Veyron. AG suggests the car could nudge the million-dollar mark with production limited to just 100 examples.

Could it be a production version of the LF-LC concept? It's probably too early to tell. In fact, we're going to go ahead and take this entire rumor with a few shakers-worth of salt and advise you to consider doing the same

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/04/11/toyota-working-on-even-more-exotic-followup-to-lexus-lfa/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

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By Roger, December 4, 2011 6:23 pm

This past Sunday was hectic to say the least. Most of the day's schedule was going to be taken up by the 86 drive that Toyota had organized, but what about the Gazoo Racing Festival that was being held at Fuji Speedway at the same time? Surely I couldn't just show up there and ignore all the goodness that was on display. My plan of attack called for a very early start in order to cram as many shots in as I could possibly manage before the 86 press presentation and test drive commenced. So armed with my cameras I covered the whole pits and paddock in a fraction of the time I usually take at events like these. 

So apologies if the pictures look a little rushed…

…but you will hopefully find a good selection of cars to kind of give you an idea of the utter scale of this gathering.

Even by 7:30 am the track was full of people, ready to get a glimpse of their favorite Super GT and Formula Nippon race cars not to mention being present at the world unveil of the Toyota 86, as you can see in the opening shot.

And talking of the 86 here is a development car sitting in the pits. This car has seen its fair share of the Nordschleife!

No matter how many of these race LFAs I see I can't get over…

…how much presence they ooze!

Curious looking thing right? This is the second version of the GRMN Sports Hybrid Concept. I drove the first version of this car last year and it was very much a work in progress. Now it not only gets a much cleaner and modern body but an upgraded drivetrain and hybrid system. Could this potentially be the next generation MRS/MR2? I wonder.

The MC/RT-16 GT300 Super GT racer being pushed out of the pits. I hear that with the new GT regulations (similar to FIA GT3) the car will be unable to enter next year.

What a surprise! The new STI S206 Impreza sedan along side the STI Impreza tS that raced at the Nurbugring 24h this year. This S206 was also fitted with the optional NBR Challenge package which adds 19-inch STI wheels, a carbon roof and a carbon rear wing. The car isn't due to go on sale until May next year but I herd that more than half of the 300 planned cars are already sold! Yes it's a Japan-only model as usual! 

Super GT perfection.

Zent GT500 SC430.

Seeing racing versions of the 2000GT is always a true pleasure. Look at those lines! 

The 1970 Toyota 7. 650 Kg, 600 HP. Enough said!

JGTC Supras bring back a lot of memories back form the heyday.

It's very cool to be able to hear these beasts in action or even being warmed up in the pits.

But not as much as hearing Nakajima's F1 car!

Each prod of the throttle released smooth blue flames from the ridiculously short exhausts…well headers really, as there are no exhausts!

And one for rally enthusiasts out there.

Toyota as ever invited a few D1 drivers to come along and show off their skills, guys like Saito, Orido and Tokita.

Unlike some Japanese manufacturers, Toyota really emphasizes how it really backs the tuning industry. 

There were tons of VIP and performance tuned cars on display on the paddock…

…as tuners and parts manufacturers were invited to show off their latest demo cars. 

Sessions Aristo. Very nice.

Pick your LFA!

Looks menacing in black.

Before all the historic cars took off for some parade laps around the track I managed to grab some shots of what has to be…

…one of the most mouthwatering lineups anyone could imagine.  

I really did loose count but there were probably more than forty 2000GTs, all privately owned and driven to the event. 

Matching number plate.

Prior to the 86's unveiling Toyota was obviously trying to show off its sports car heritage. Behind the 2000GTs were the Supras…

…and then the Hachirokus…

…not forgetting the Sport 800s or "Toyohachis."

All these cars drove off in convoy…

…slowly driving along the access roads ready to…

…enter the pits.

A few 800s waiting to head out on track.

How cool is the widebody GRMN iQ Racing! 

Great stance…

…but I preferred this red example. Which would you choose this, or the Aston Martin Cygnet?

After the Toyota 86 press briefing and presentation all the media was asked to move onto the main straight where Akio Toyoda was going to drive up in the new car.

This is the first glimpse of the 86 everyone got.

Here is Toyoda-san shaking hands with the chief engineer of the 86 project Tetsuya Tada.

The media couldn't keep away!

So that's pretty much how the TGRF unfolded. There was plenty of on track action but I was on the other side of the grounds shooting and driving the 86 so I could report back to you all what a great car it is!

http://speedhunters.com/archive/2011/11/29/event-gt-gt-gazoo-racing-festival-2011.aspx

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By Roger, November 1, 2011 2:36 pm

It's not often that a mainstream automaker sets its sights on building a world-class supercar, but a few standout examples come to mind: cars like the Acura NSX, the Ford GT, the Dodge Viper, and the Lexus LFA.

Of course, none of these projects simply materialized overnight. Each took years of development, fine-tuning, tweaking and, in the case of the LFA, going back to the drawing board. Toyota spent years on the car's development and put some of its best personnel on the job. Lexus has now documented the LFA's development in a ten-minute video.

Follow the jump to watch it in full and see how the LFA went from idea to aluminum concept car to carbon fiber reality, through its rigorous development at the Nürburgring, the tragic loss of Hiromu Naruse and the victorious Nordschleife lap time.

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By Roger, September 9, 2011 11:20 am

The Interwebs were recently aflutter with rumors that Lexus had set a new Nürburgring production car record with its LFA supercar. The Japanese automaker has stepped forward to lend credence those rumors… by producing an official video of the record-breaking 7:14.64 run. That figure represents a mighty quick 20.6-kilometer jaunt, besting efforts put forth by a Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, Nissan GT-R and even a Porsche 911 GT2 RS.

Lexus used an even more limited-edition version of its already limited LFA known as the Nürburgring Edition. Only 50 examples are to be built, which represents 1/10th of total planned LFA production. The differences on this limited, limited-edition car can be found in the added aero bits, track-tuned suspension, custom wheels and an extra 11 horsepower. That extra oomph brings total power up to 563 horses, compared to the "standard" car's 552.

That power boost is clearly enough to push the LFA around the track more quickly than any production car has gone before. However, the inquisitive minds at The Truth About Cars bring up a good point with regards to "production car" records set on the 'Ring. Lexus only built 500 examples of the LFA, and just 50 of those are Nürburgring Edition cars. Should we consider that small production run enough for the car to qualify? If so, why can't we consider the times produced by a pair of Radical entries and a Gumpert Apollo Sport as part of the production class? If we do, then the LFA's time would actually fall to fourth. None of the aforementioned vehicles are mass-market units, but they are sold in the States, if in very limited numbers.

Still, we don't want to take anything away from Lexus on a truly amazing blast around this famed German circuit. Click past the jump to watch the video ride-along for yourself.

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/09/07/lexus-confirms-lfa-nurburgring-record-with-new-footage/#continued

Related GalleryLexus LFA Nurburgring package

 

 

 

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By Roger, January 17, 2011 3:27 pm

While prototype units of the Lexus LF-A have been in production for over a year, the first units destined for retail customers began rolling off the line at the company’s facility in Toyota City, Japan.

With 15,000 parts assembled largely by hand, an LF-A requires 170 people to be produced. Every step of the assembly process is logged, with a 3,500 page journal assigned to each car at the end of the assembly process. Of that, roughly 300 pages are dedicated to the manufacturing process. The journal is kept for posterity and will be used for reference should the car’s owner make an inquiry. Every step of purchasing an LF-A, from the build process to the ownership experience is sure to be superlative – just like it’s $375,000 price tag. We’d settle for an hour behind the wheel.

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2011/01/lexus-lf-a-production-begins.html

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By Roger, September 6, 2010 9:13 am

The lucky folks at Nihon Car had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to drive one of the Lexus LFAs used in this year’s Nürburgring 24h race around the Fuji Speedway in Japan:

With much of the interior stripped away to save weight, the sound in the cabin has been amplified to almost pure aural speed — absolute music to my ears.

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By Roger, August 11, 2010 10:39 am

Lexus: First of all, now that we know that the 2011 IS will have body changes, are there any big design updates coming for other 2011 models?

HUMPHRIES: At this point I can say only that there will also be a change in the front-end design of the GS, most likely arriving in 2012. Both the IS and future GS updates are dramatic changes—they’re much more distinctive, much more unique. In our minds, these aren't complete black to white sort of changes, but they are an evolution.