World Exclusive! 2012 Lexus LFA Tested(C&D)

[cb4]

Good review.

[ska///235i]

always like top gear

@1:47 - blow torch exhaust

[ArmyBimmerDude]

Originally Posted by ska325xi

or maybe no one will drop $400k on a lexus, so they're just leasing them out ....more affordable for the rich in a bad economy

Or maybe you should stop trying to knock the car and accept that even if YOU can't afford it, there are lots of people in the world that can.

[ArmyBimmerDude]

Originally Posted by darkcloud

Read the Lexus site.

Under pricing and options it says that the LFA is only offered through a 1Pay24 month lease. You will have the option to purchase the LFA at lease maturity.

Esentially Lexus wants to double dip into the buyers wallet. If the leasee doesn't buy the car at lease end they can then jack the price back up on the next buyer due to exclusivity and likely low miles since the lease will prolly be constricted to a 8-10k milage allowance per year if not less.

True, but how many people pay a premium for an exotic with 20k-30k miles on the odometer? In two or three years the next big thing will be out and no one will care about the LF-A, not at $350k.

[josephr25]

Originally Posted by Cdnrockies

Lexus wants these cars to be driven and not just bought up and garaged by some rich oil tycoons in the Middle East. If you don't meet Lexus exact criteria for leasing them it doesn't matter how much money you have....you're not getting one.

Maybe. But when I was at the LA Auto Show last year, and this has probably been brought up elsewhere, the Lexus reps said they did not want people buying these and then selling them for a huge profit right after purchase. They want to make sure people who lease the car are really into it and make sure they drive it like it was intended to.

[DBFIU]

Only reason this car is 'sold out' is because there is always a rich doofus out there who wants the newest sh1t on the market and is willing to pay whatever for it. People who are getting this car are getting it for one thing only, it's the "I have the newest sh1t look at me" mentality. That is all.

[ska///235i]

or maybe you should stop your childish comments and stop being an ass

Originally Posted by ArmyBimmerDude

Or maybe you should stop trying to knock the car and accept that even if YOU can't afford it, there are lots of people in the world that can.

[ArmyBimmerDude]

Originally Posted by DBFIU

Only reason this car is 'sold out' is because there is always a rich doofus out there who wants the newest sh1t on the market and is willing to pay whatever for it. People who are getting this car are getting it for one thing only, it's the "I have the newest sh1t look at me" mentality. That is all.

Brilliant post. They're supposedly only going to make 500 of them at 20 per month, so who else would buy these? It doesn't matter who pays Lexus, as long as they're getting their money, which they will. Easily.

[ArmyBimmerDude]

Originally Posted by ska325xi

or maybe you should stop your childish comments and stop being an ass

Awwww

[Cdnrockies]

Originally Posted by Kampfer

Maybe. But when I was at the LA Auto Show last year, and this has probably been brought up elsewhere, the Lexus reps said they did not want people buying these and then selling them for a huge profit right after purchase. They want to make sure people who lease the car are really into it and make sure they drive it like it was intended to.

You're correct.

That is absolutely a part of the selection criteria.

[Cdnrockies]

Originally Posted by DBFIU

Only reason this car is 'sold out' is because there is always a rich doofus out there who wants the newest sh1t on the market and is willing to pay whatever for it. People who are getting this car are getting it for one thing only, it's the "I have the newest sh1t look at me" mentality. That is all.

Your limited reading comprehension is showing.

Any "rich doofus" can't just go lease one because it's the "newest sh1t" as you so eloquently put it. There was a selection process where you actually had to put a deposit down, fill out a survey and go through an interview just to have Lexus consider you for an LF A. Those that didn't meet Lexus' criteris and weren't chosen received their deposit back and were told sorry.

Part of this could become a brilliant marketing decision on Lexus part. How else do you launch a supercar and get into that buyer demographic? By choosing who gets the LF A, Lexus will infiltrate a buyer demographic in different regions that they couldn't achieve by putting this car on the open market. If that were the case the vast majority of the LF A's would end up in places like Dubai, NY, LA, London, etc. with no other cars available to the rest of the world.

[DBFIU]

Originally Posted by Cdnrockies

Your limited reading comprehension is showing.

Any "rich doofus" can't just go lease one because it's the "newest sh1t" as you so eloquently put it. There was a selection process where you actually had to put a deposit down, fill out a survey and go through an interview just to have Lexus consider you for an LF A. Those that didn't meet Lexus' criteris and weren't chosen received their deposit back and were told sorry.

Part of this could become a brilliant marketing decision on Lexus part. How else do you launch a supercar and get into that buyer demographic? By choosing who gets the LF A, Lexus will infiltrate a buyer demographic in different regions that they couldn't achieve by putting this car on the open market. If that were the case the vast majority of the LF A's would end up in places like Dubai, NY, LA, London, etc. with no other cars available to the rest of the world.

You said so yourself, there is a survey and interview process for selling this car. Which means the car is about "exclusivity" moreso than someone buying the car for its intended purpose, performance.

Lexus wants the LFA to pull up to rich restraunts and night clubs so it can be shown off. Did you happen to read that too? Good job. You made my point.

EDIT: It really is a publicity stunt rather all out performance (facts dont lie, it only goes 11.8 in the quarter mile, wowzers!?). Im sure the car is fast, faster than anything I will own, but for the money there is much MUCH faster. And that is the point, the markup is about exclusivity and an attempt to gain public awareness. Which is something I wouldnt want to pay 350k for.

[blue2fire]

Originally Posted by majin ssj eric

Kinda odd that Lexus can be so picky with a car that "nobody wants"....

Some people find this attractive. The other day, i heard of an iphone app that displayed the picture of a diamond and cost $1,000. The only reason it exists was to just display that picture and tell others of the exclusivity.

That is actually a minus. The cars wont even go to people who appreciate the (rather wet) engineering but to socialites who are in all the right places. Anyway, the way Lexus is going (ES's killing police officers and 3 of their family/ LX's nearly rolling over during CR testing and being withdrawn from sale), this brand building exercise is worthless to stem the flow of goodwill out of it anyway.

[MediaArtist]

This car has pretty underwhelming performance. A GTR would outperform this car on most track conditions, wet to dry.

[blue2fire]

LOL.

This is ridiculous, some people just cannot accept that this car does not perform / isn't advanced in many aspects. All they have to say is "You cannot afford it". Seriously, can you afford it?

It is a Lexus, not some Lamborghini or Ferrari. From the same company that builds substandard cars. On a scale of how people perceive it, this probably is worse than the Audi R8 because the brand just cannot support its pretentiousness.

[blue2fire]

Originally Posted by BMW E90

Well that's what I heard. It's supposed to be an exotic car that won't be super expensive to maintain. It's supposed to be a car that people can drive without having to worry about keeping the mileage down. Whether that is true remains unknown. I mean I was surprised to because at $400k a pop, why would you buy a Lexus over a Lambo, Ferrari or Aston Martin? The answer has got to be reliability and the ability to maintain it right?

You really do have a huge point. But no one really knows if this is right. Everything in this car is supposedly bespoke and making it more reliable than the competition is not really possible if you are using the same (or in many cases in the LF-A like the gearbox) worse technology.

Even a Carrera GT supposedly needs a service only once every 10,000 miles (according to Jay Leno in a Video). Ferrari 430's also get it in a year or 7,000mi, just like a normal car. So, unless there is evidence rather than salesman talk from Lexus. Hard to believe this.

[Cdnrockies]

Originally Posted by blue2fire

LOL.

This is ridiculous, some people just cannot accept that this car does not perform / isn't advanced in many aspects. All they have to say is "You cannot afford it". Seriously, can you afford it?

It is a Lexus, not some Lamborghini or Ferrari. From the same company that builds substandard cars. On a scale of how people perceive it, this probably is worse than the Audi R8 because the brand just cannot support its pretentiousness.

The statement that the LF A "isn't advanced in many aspects" clearly shows that you know nothing about this vehicle. Lexus owns one of only 2 carbon fiber looms in the world....that they acquired just to build this car. Maybe actually do a little research before making asinine comments.

The performance numbers are decent but not earth shattering. But guess what....not everyone is buying supercars for straight line speed. How does it not perform? Have you checked out the times it put down at Nurburgring? Top gear put down the fastest wet lap ever. It's 7:24 time puts it in the same range as the Enzo and Zonda...and ahead of the Koenegsigg's, Mclaren SLR, and Murcielago. That kind of performance is terrible.

[Robert]

^^ Exactly, LFA isn't the car one buys to argue over numbers and metrics unless price tag is one of them. It really is a proof of concept car to serve as the halo car for Lexus and Toyota. The car demonstrates futuristic capabilities in automotive manufacturing that aren't used in mainstream vehicles yet. As any new technology its benefits may not be fully utilize yet, may explain why are the numbers are not out of the world.

Same goes for any of the FXX Ferraris. Why would anyone pay such a premium on a car and can't even take the car home. A souped up, stripped down GTR can probably run the same straight line performance of few ticks behind. But we are all comfortable with Ferrari because one they are the industry leader and second their marketing army is most likely significantly better than Toyota's

Numbers are meant to give an rough overall performance estimate for a car. They do not capture the entire car ownership experience. Arguing over numbers is like comparing dick size with the guys in the men's room stall. Not something I usually do but if it floats someone's boat, I am okay with that.

[blue2fire]

Originally Posted by Cdnrockies

The statement that the LF A "isn't advanced in many aspects" clearly shows that you know nothing about this vehicle. Lexus owns one of only 2 carbon fiber looms in the world....that they acquired just to build this car. Maybe actually do a little research before making asinine comments.

The performance numbers are decent but not earth shattering. But guess what....not everyone is buying supercars for straight line speed. How does it not perform? Have you checked out the times it put down at Nurburgring? Top gear put down the fastest wet lap ever. It's 7:24 time puts it in the same range as the Enzo and Zonda...and ahead of the Koenegsigg's, Mclaren SLR, and Murcielago. That kind of performance is terrible.

1. I certainly do not pay heed to the looms. Did you know that the MP4-12C's (a car which incidentally costs half as much but has more power) CF bucket is made in one piece?

2. Research, like you did? Count with me, how many clutches does this gearbox have?

Yep, one. Plus, it was criticized for being jerky and inconsistent.

3. I think the numbers will tell you how advanced this car is, safe to say not very much.

4. Wow, you are comparing the brand new LF-A to the Enzo, a car released in 2002?

Okay, it is a whole 5 Seconds quicker than the normal GT-R!!!!! (over 7 Minutes)


Let us see. It is slower than a ZR 1 in the straight line and is no quicker around the nurburgring than the (still overpriced) GT-R Spec V that still manages to cost 1/2 as much.

ROFLCOPTER.

[Cdnrockies]

Originally Posted by blue2fire

1. I certainly do not pay heed to the looms. Did you know that the MP4-12C's (a car which incidentally costs half as much but has more power) CF bucket is made in one piece?

2. Research, like you did? Count with me, how many clutches does this gearbox have?

Yep, one. Plus, it was criticized for being jerky and inconsistent.

3. I think the numbers will tell you how advanced this car is, safe to say not very much.

4. Wow, you are comparing the brand new LF-A to the Enzo, a car released in 2002?

Okay, it is a whole 5 Seconds quicker than the normal GT-R!!!!! (over 7 Minutes)


Let us see. It is slower than a ZR 1 in the straight line and is no quicker around the nurburgring than the (still overpriced) GT-R Spec V that still manages to cost 1/2 as much.

ROFLCOPTER.

You are utterly clueless.

1. Right...because a carbon fiber cabin and a carbon fiber seat are the exact same thing...lol. List the other carbon fiber framed vehicles and their prices please?

2. You're right it has only one clutch. What's your point? Most reviewers who have driven the car have loved it.

3. I'm still trying to figure out what numbers you're referring to? Most BMW drivers (especially M3 drivers) seem to denounce the importance of straight line numbers and place more importance on how track fast it is.

It puts down some amazing numbers around a track....but because it's a Lexus....now it's not fast enough in a straight line? You can't have it both ways.

As far as technical advancements:

http://www.lexus-lfa.com/

Click on "Product Info" and then "Tech Features".

4. Convenient that you ignore the fact that it's faster than both Koenegsigg's, a Murcielago, and a Mclaren SLR.

I referenced the Enzo and Zonda because they put down similar times. The fact that the Enzo time is still one of the fastest simply displays how amazing a car it was/is. By the way, how much was the Enzo?

You do realize that there has not been a Lamborghini or Ferrari that has lapped Nordschleife faster, right?

By your logic every new supercar that comes out should display significantly faster straight line speed and track times. That means that every supercar in the future should run the 'Ring sub-7 minutes and do 0-60 in 2 second. Right.

[blue2fire]

Originally Posted by Cdnrockies

You are utterly clueless.

1. Right...because a carbon fiber cabin and a carbon fiber seat are the exact same thing...lol. List the other carbon fiber framed vehicles and their prices please?

2. You're right it has only one clutch. What's your point? Most reviewers who have driven the car have loved it.

3. I'm still trying to figure out what numbers you're referring to? Most BMW drivers (especially M3 drivers) seem to denounce the importance of straight line numbers and place more importance on how track fast it is.

It puts down some amazing numbers around a track....but because it's a Lexus....now it's not fast enough in a straight line? You can't have it both ways.

As far as technical advancements:

http://www.lexus-lfa.com/

Click on "Product Info" and then "Tech Features".

4. Convenient that you ignore the fact that it's faster than both Koenegsigg's, a Murcielago, and a Mclaren SLR.

I referenced the Enzo and Zonda because they put down similar times. The fact that the Enzo time is still one of the fastest simply displays how amazing a car it was/is. By the way, how much was the Enzo?

You do realize that there has not been a Lamborghini or Ferrari that has lapped Nordschleife faster, right?

By your logic every new supercar that comes out should display significantly faster straight line speed and track times. That means that every supercar in the future should run the 'Ring sub-7 minutes and do 0-60 in 2 second. Right.

1. The MP4-12C technically has a "Monocell" out of 1 piece CF, sorry for not realizing that you wouldn't catch on to calling it a tub. So, it is a CF Frame with aluminum but an 1/2 price. Your statement calling LF-A a full CF frame is technically wrong, there will be some aluminum in any car.

http://www.mclarenautomotive.com/uk/...x#/p11/explode

2.Not all of them.

3.Why are you bringing up M3 drivers? Has no meaning. Okay, simple equation, both the 458 Italia and the MP4-12C will outperform it at half price, deal?

4.Enzo's price is inconsequential as it is 8 years old. Try picking a fight with the Italia . Murcielago is 8 years old and out of production. SLR is 7 years old and out of production. Koenigsegg and Zonda are non questions as they were plain versions from the early 2000's and not the later versions like CCX/CCXR, Zonda F/Roadster.

I really wouldn't be smug, the Italia and MP4-12C haven't been put round the ring yet.

5. No, but i expect they will outperform a modified BMW 335.

All you seem to do by posting is acknowledge that the GT-R beats the LFA 0-60, 1/4 mile but is 5 seconds slower on the ring at 1/5 of the cost.

[josephr25]

How do you have a "one-piece CF?" I didn't realize there was CFRP out there that was multi-directional! How exciting.

The McLaren contains a CFRP tub that sits within an Al frame. The LF-A has an all-CFRP cabin which of course should be much more expensive to make.

And the reason why the other supercars are brought up is because it shows how fast this car can be. You say those other supercars are old but the Lexus has been in development in almost just as much time. Especially since a car they originally designed to have an aluminum spaceframe was ditched in favor of an all-new CFRP frame