2012 Lexus LFA vs. 2011 Porsche 911 GT2 RS. What we've got here is approximately $635,000 worth of alphabet soup with a combined 1,172 horsepower. We never thought we'd pit a Lexus against a 911 either, but in the end, while their approaches are worlds apart, these cars are both about going fast -- damn the cost.

The 2011 Porsche 911 GT2 RS is the latest in a decades-long refinement project by Porsche to build the best car the 911 could ever be. And if this isn't the peak, we're scared to see what is. The GT2 RS gets its 620 horsepower from a twin-turbo flat-6 mounted in the rear of the car and hooked to a six-speed manual transmission. This is how a Porsche should be.

YouTube - 2012 Lexus LFA Road Trip: LFA vs. 911 GT2 RS

Conversely, the 2012 Lexus LFA is in no way what a Lexus should be. Errr, let's rephrase that, it is in no way what Lexus is right now. There's not even a hybrid badge on it. Five-hundred fifty-two horsepower dumps out of a screaming 4.8-liter V10 that sounds barely removed from Toyota's F1 efforts. The transmission is a six-speed auto-clutch manual that, again, sounds and feels race-ready. The LFA doesn't feel like a Lexus, it feels like the future.