The V10 engine in a Lexus LFA revs from idle to the red line
in just 0.6 of a second
Lexus LFA |
That's so fast, the engineers had to fit a digital
rev-counter because a conventional needle couldn’t keep up. Toyota says that,
for prefect handling, 52 per cent of the weight should be over the rear axle.
As a result, the LFA's radiators and battery are at the back. So, too, is the
washer bottle. It has a single-patle flappy-paddle gearbox. The changes are
slow and savage. But each time it shifts cogs, it feels like MR Mucsle Man has
walloped you in the back. With a sledgehammer. This gives drivers a sense that
they really are in a racing car. The body may look conventional, but there's
genuine aero here. As I discovered at Willow Spring in California recently, The
fast you go, the more grip you have. There are sound tubes that feed the roar
of the engine's induction directly into the cockpit. And there's a women in the
boot who can find you the nearest Japanese/Euro fusion restaurant. I love the
Lexus LFA a lot, So much, that i recently described it as the best car I've
ever driven. Naturally, this caused both Hammond and May to scoff very loudly.
Mainly because-as they kept pointing out-it costs 359,590 Euro. That's nearly
give times more than a Nissan GT-R which, if anything, is even more technical.
It's way more, too, than a Ferrari 458 or a Merc SLS. It is, they argued, a stupid
price
Lexus LFA |
But they're wrong. Arguing that the Lexus LFA is too
expensive is like arguing that, at 100 billion Euro, The Mona Lisa is too
expensive. Or saying that there's no point buying a 20 million Euro Henry Moore
sculpture when, for just a fiver, you could buy a nice stone otter from an Oxfam
shop. With a car like the Lexus LFA, price not relevant. because it's just a
tech fest. A howling, thrusting, tyre-squealing arrowhead of industrial-grade
showing off. It belongs in a collector's climate-controlled garage, as an
example of the moment. It is emphatically not a car you are actually going to
buy and use. If you do, you may find that , from time to time, it's a bit
annoying. Because, in among all the glorious detail and the sense it was
designed by engineering psychopaths, there are some small issues. All of which
reared theor heads on a short trup to the pub last month. The increasingly
earnest BBC news teams were advising motorists to say at home and not go out
unless the journey was "absolutely necessary". But it was necessary.
I wanted some lunch, And anyway, it was a beautiful day. Not a cloud in the
sky, and, on the ground, a light sprinkling of Jack Frost hardened snow. So, I
climbed into the Lexus LFA and, 10 minutes later, with a cricked neck, a
punctured lung and a twisted gut, I had managed to fasten the desperately
fiddly seatbelt. Ten minutes after that, I had overcome the enormous turning
circle by executing a 77-point turn, and was finally pointing in the right
direction. But i wasn't going anywhere, because the race-inspired tyres were
struggling quite badly with the icy gravel. I therefore undid the seatbelt,
broken out the shovels, and the blow torch and the bits of sacking. And 10
minutes later, I was back in the cockpit, hungry from all the exertions and
looking forward to much lunch. Ten minutes after that, I had done up the
seatbelt again, And i was off
Lexus LFA |
To quench my thirst, I reached into the door pocket for a
refreshing can of fizzy pop and took a slug. And the noted there was no cup
holder. But that wasn’t the end of the world, because the Lexus has a fuel tank
exactly seven per cent smaller than the fuel thank on a Zippo lighter. I
therefore grazed the nose going into the petrol station, undid my seatbelt,
deposited the mostly full can of zesty drink in a bin, filled up with 0.3
litres of V-Power, got back in, and, after a brief 10-minute gap during which I
did up my seatbelt, I dragged the low nose onto the road again. And set off
Zigzagging furiously. Most odd. I'd driven this exact car
before, in the summer, in Yorkshire, and it tracked straight and true. But
since then, somebody in overalls has made a small change to the
undersides-Tyres? Comber?- and as a result, it simply followed every small
groove in the road, irrespective of what i did with the wheel. To take my mind
off the problem, I turned on the excellent Mark Levinson stereo and selected
DAB. Which wasn't working. And then it was time for some more petrol. After
this and another punctured lung from doing up the seatbelt, the road opened out
and I put the hammer down. Soon, i was doing 70mph, and my ears started to
bleed. Because at this speed, the engine is howling at 3,000rpm. You crave a
seventh gear in a Lexus LFA, but there isn't one. You also crave a bit more
space in the boot. Because any suitcase has to be fitted in the space behind
the seats. Which means you can't see anything out of the rear-view mirror.
Which is why I didn't spot the approaching police car
Lexus LFA interior |
After a bit of finger-wagging, i set off once more with the
radio crackling and the engine howling and the tryes following the grooves left
by snowploughs. Until eventually, I ended up at the snowplough depot. This is
where all Lexus LFA drivers will end up, if a man in an overall has been
underneath with a spanner. Eventually, though, I made it to the pub where i had
what had become supper, and I gave the Lexus LFA a bit of thought ... With the
possible exceptions of a V8 Ariel Atom or a Caterham R500, I cannot think of
any car which makes going to the pub on a crisp winter's day such a chore. For
willow Springs? Yes. For that road which twists up into the hills outside Plam
Springs? Yes again. But for going from Chipping Norton to The kingham Plough
for some snails and mushrooms on toast? No. You'd be better off jogging.
However, I will not change my mind about this car. I still believe it's the
best I've ever driven. Because, for just a few Quid, You could buy a picture to
hang over your mantelpiece. It might even be quite nice, But that doesn't stop
you dreaming about owning Turner's priceless Rain, Steam and Speed. It’s old It’s
cracked. It's fuzzy and the insurance would be huge. But what would you rather
have? That? Or the Crying Boy? Hammond and May would go for The Crying Boy. But
I have a soul, which is why I wouldn't
usnewnews.blogspot.com
ReplyDeletehttp://usnewnews.blogspot.com
ReplyDelete