The guys across at motor-authority have found out that Toyota’s Motorsport division (TMG) will unveil the Lexus LS 650 prototype at the Essen Motor Show on the 1st of December.
We Spotted this car at the Nurburgring’s industry pool last year and has not been spied since, the car was surprisingly not camouflaged but perhaps a lot of changes to the car have been made, including aggressive wheel arches and the addition of carbon splitters.
As you can see from the photos it has got bonnet vents and huge brakes along with a rear spoiler.
Powering this Lexus will be a twin-turbocharged 5.0 liter V8 engine that will output more than 650 HP. Continue reading »
Its good to see what happens when a Pilot visits his Local Lexus dealership in Colorado, he got chatting with Lexus LFA Owner Kent Stevinson from Stevinson Automotive in Denver Colorado.
They decide to have a race against his Eclipse 500 jet down the 4,800 ft. runway of Vance Brand Municipal Airport in Longmont, Colorado and back, and a Friendly charitable donation bet to the winners charity.
The Lexus LFA is powered by a 4.8 litre V10 which is naturally aspirated which can dash 0-62mph in an impressive 3.7 seconds, Compared to the 425mph Eclipse 500 Jet.
This industry test week at the Nurburgring has certainly has a supercar feel to it, with the Mercedes SLS Black Edition and the Audi R8 GT spied turning laps at the “Green Hell.” That supercar trend continues today as Lexus engineers have just begun testing what looks to be an even MORE track-focused version of the LFA!
Initially, this manufacturer-plated test car looked a lot like the LF-A Nurburgring Edition, but a closer look reveals the changes. Its actually the third version of the AD-Special Edition models that was started with the AD-A in blue and then followed by the green AD-B. This one is called AD-X and the color settings reminds of the classic Porsche 911 Carrera RS. With the other AD-prototypes to be said to be one-offs we suspect that this one will sadly also be a one-off. But we can always hope. Continue reading »
Here is a great little video of Gazoo Racing steep learning curve at the infamous 24h race on the Nürburgring in Germany, the story began in 2008 where the racing prototype finished in 121st place due to some extended time in the pits where it managed 100 laps compared to the 148 by the winning GT3 RSR.
A year later the two LF-A racecars were powered by a 4.8-liter (4805cc) V10 engine’s entered again the ADAC 24H, Armin Hahne, Andre Lotterer, and Hiromu Naruse achieved sub-9min laps and a best time of 8:50.458, which was the fastest time in the SP8 class.
The number 15 car suffered fire and had to retire 90mins before the finish of the endurance race, the number 14 car finished the race and was ranked 4th in its class and 87th overall. Continue reading »
This video shows the life story of the critically acclaimed LFA which took its toll with the tragic loss of Chief Test Driver Hiromu Naruse.
Ironically is death was at the hands of the Nurburgring Edition LFA.
Also shown is the short lived lap record 7:14 which was a tribute to the personally witnessed testing strategy at the Nurburgring.
powered by a sophisticated new high-revving 4.8-liter V10 engine that generates 552 hp (412kW/560DIN hp) and 354 lb-ft (480Nm) of torque for adrenaline-fuelled 202 mph (325km/h) performance. This specially-developed powerplant is hooked up to a unique six-speed Automated Sequential Gearbox (ASG) with paddle shifters for ultimate driver control. Linked by a rigid torque tube for excellent drivetrain integrity, the ASG is located in a transaxle layout over the rear axle for an optimal 48:52 front-to-rear weight distribution.
The wide body DTM Styled Saloon is actually named the TMG (Toyota Motorsport GmbH) Edition and looks to have been built by the Toyota motorsports division.
The specs are vague enough not showing how many cylinders or engine details but they seem inline with the LFA V10.
Thanks to a leaked spec sheet the TMG Edition engine has a displacement of 4.968cc and revs to 9000 rpm same as the LFA.
The Engine Displacement is higher but so is the weight of this car so it all adds up.
I suppose we will have to wait until the Tokyo Motorshow but until then enjoy the exclusive Spy Photos of it in test on the Nordschleife.
LFA test driver and professional racer Akira Iida recorded a lap time of 7:14.64 in a fully road-legal car, running on standard specification Bridgestone Potenza RE070 tyres.
The result, posted on 31 August during a performance test, demonstrates Lexus’s success in honing its two-seater supercar for track-focused handling, by introducing a range of aerodynamic features and fine-tuning the car’s suspension.
Commenting on the result, Iida said: “We are delighted with this achievement. Our on-going development of the LFA and our recent outings at the Nürburgring 24 Hour race have enabled us to continue to tune the vehicle. The result with the LFA Nürburgring Package shows the car’s ultimate performance and agility. This is a first activity of its type for Lexus and the constant effort of the team has brought this fantastic result.”
The Nürburgring Package will be fitted to 50 of the 500 LFA that are being built, with customer deliveries from next year. It includes a carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) front spoiler and fixed rear wing, track-tuned suspension and custom wheels. Compared to the standard LFA, output from the 4.8-litre V10 engine has been increased from 552 to 562bhp, maintaining the car’s 3.7-second nought to 62mph acceleration time.
Haruhiko Tanahashi, LFA Chief Engineer, said: “The LFA Nürburgring Package is the culmination of our extensive testing programme and we have appreciated the opportunities to use the Nürburgring Nordschleife to strengthen and develop the LFA into the vehicle it is today. The development team’s obsession, Iida-san’s concentration and good course conditions all led to our achieving this record.
