Hey guys, the LFA has been a bit of a controversial car since it's release. After reading about it in some detail and driving it last weekend, I feel in love...

Comments are appreciated!

The Lexus LFA - A Better Understanding

At first glance, the Lexus LFA is a confusing car. When Lexus launched its first supercar in 2010 the initial consensus was, “huh?” We’ve all heard or said a variation of “it doesn’t [insert performance statistic] for the money.” I was guilty of this too. After researching the LFA, I not only changed my mind but found a better way of understanding cars.

Over the years ferocious competition between automotive companies has marginalized performance figures between competing cars. We’re talking racetrack relevant differences unfelt by the human body, and easily negated by driver error. However, these figures are frequently repeated in argumentative conversations – the online bickering and the “this car is better than that car arguments.”

Requiring simple regurgitation, it’s become the default ammunition most people use while in futile debates over an opinion. However, in this day and age, cars are far too complex to be generalized this way. The various types of variable suspension, engine configurations, brake disc compounds, composite materials, manufacturing techniques, and the endless other unique components and configurations render the price vs. standard performance judgment a very shallow way to gain an understanding for a car.

It’s sad, since car enthusiasts should celebrate a deeper understanding of cars and the culture of the companies that produce them, instead of wasting time bickering about .2 seconds faster to 60 and a 5 mph higher top speed. We should be discussing how it gets to 60 .2 seconds faster and how it attains that extra 5 mph.

But don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying cars shouldn’t be compared to one another or performance doesn’t matter. The important distinction here is to mind how they compared and in what context – i.e. why did the company produce the car? For example, McLaren is producing the MP4-12C to take significant market share away from the 458 Italia, et all. So it makes sense for it to be heavily judged in relation to its peers. The price, performance, build materials, and technology are all under comparative scrutiny. However, companies don’t always produce cars to directly compete with another.

Every once in a while, something special happens, a company green lights a project without a direct competitor in mind. There is no proven market, nor short-term profitability for the project. These cars are conceived to challenge the company itself or the industry, but usually both. Think about some of the cars that were conceived by this mentality. Four cars that come to mind were the McLaren F1, Bugatti Veryon, Ferrari Enzo, and Porsche Carrera GT. Lexus’ LFA was also created with this inspiring mentality.

Akio Toyoda, the grandson of Toyota founder Kiichiro Toyoda had the car enthusiast in him take over his business sense and decided it was time for Toyota to put itself to the test – to create a car using the company’s best the technology in the spirit of the company itself - perfection. They forgot about making a profit, ignored everyone else, and challenged themselves.

Enter the LFA – a 552 HP screamer that goes from 0-60 in 3.6 seconds and has a top speed of 202 mph. However, the LFA’s list of impressive performance statistics and inspiring driving characteristics are obvious compared to its other qualities.

Let’s look at a few. The LFA – Lexus Fuji Apex was named after the 2 Toyota test tracks on Mount Fuji where it was tested and the fact it’s the pinnacle of what Lexus has to offer. Industry pioneering production methods were used. For example, the a-pillars of the LFA are manufactured using a carbon fiber loom only previously used to construct aircraft components requiring zero imperfection. Overkill? Yes, but if they used an aerospace carbon fiber loom to produce the a-pillars, imagine the level attention given to the rest of the car. Furthermore, the LFA is being produced in collector car quantities of just 500 while being covered by a 5 year, 100,000 mile daily driver warranty – other exotic companies take note. And I assume it’s a warranty you’ll never need considering Toyota’s reliability is arguably the best in the industry. The 4.8 liter high-revving V-10 and carbon fiber chassis was developed in-house. You’d be surprised how many big name companies outsource major assemblies like their chassis and engines to contract companies. The single clutch transmission was also an in-house affair, another major assembly no other major exotic company produces solely in house – not Ferrari, not Lamborghini, and not Bugatti. I must note that a single clutch paddle shifted transmission was decided upon because the design team felt that dual clutch transmissions were too smooth and the single clutch enhanced the driving experience. Before you start arguing, I didn’t mention this to say it’s better, I brought it up to point out that Lexus comprehensively thought about the experience they wanted to convey, they didn’t just follow everyone else. Putting what most would call antiquated transmission technology into the LFA makes me think that the typical “we’ll monetize what we learn from this halo project downstream” was just a brilliant excuse to get the Toyota board to green light the project. The design team gave up those precious argumentative milliseconds for the benefit of the visceral driving experience and I think that is commendable. It’s a preference and for the short amount of time I spent behind the wheel, I can vouch for the LFAs overall driving experience. The LFA is well balanced, very quick, sounds great, and just feels right. But don’t take my word for it; watch any review online while considering the aforementioned.

So now the world has a very unique car, and Lexus has done more than it realizes with the LFA. They didn’t try to take on the world like McLaren F1 and Bugatti Veyron projects, they just said “hi, we’re car fanatics, and we’re creating our take on perfection.” Then when the LFA launched, and didn’t have a direct competitor, we all scrambled to make sense of it with the default price vs. performance method. We all thought that one of the biggest car companies in the world was stupid and boy, were we wrong. Enthusiasts and journalists alike have been confused trying to place the LFA in an existing category when all along it should have been compared to itself. The experience of understanding the LFA solidified my belief that a fair understanding all cars come down to the answers of two questions. The first - did the company achieve the goals it set forth in its project? The second - does the overall package (not just performance) justify its price? By this method we don’t have to like the car to respect it and if the answers to both the questions are yes, then the car in question deserves respect. In the LFA’s case the answer to the first question is obvious, Lexus succeeded in showing the world what it can do. I hope I was able to explain that the answer to the second question, although not as obvious, is also a yes - the LFA’s overall package – engineering, performance, technology exclusiveness, and quality, more than justifies the $375,000 price tag. The 500 people who buy an LFA are lucky to have such a piece of history and engineering.

 

Quite a contrast between the LFA and the Ultimate Aero. Just out of interest, what is it that so impressed you about the car?

 

i think your premise is correct - performance numbers are easily negated by minimal driver error - but you don't really back up why the LFA is such a perfect car.

but i like the approach

- chuck

 

It's the overall package that is impressive to me. My taste in cars is diverse.

 

Thanks for the comment. It wasn't my intention to say the LFA is such a perfect car, because perfect is subjective. Just because I like it doesn't mean anyone else has to or that I would try to convince anyone that they have to like it. I'm just saying that you can respect a car without liking it based on a better understanding rather than just comparative performance numbers. There are cars I don't care for but still respect. I think looking at cars in a deeper way is more fun and sparks better conversation.

 

How is generation 2 coming along.

 

Junus, I think I agree with what you are saying, for the most part. One of the neat things about being an auto enthusiast is all the different flavors that are available. What one likes, another may hate. There is room for all different kinds of approaches to the same idea. Thus we have Corvettes and Vipers, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, Koenigseggs and Paganis. Every company puts their best shots out there, and hopes that their product stirs the emotions of enough people to sell a few and hopefully make a profit doing so.

These differences are also what makes conversing with other enthusiasts so fascinating, and frustrating at times. The constant debate will rage on for as long as there are cars. And I hope it does. This forum is littered with these types of debates; sometimes it turns out funny, sometimes not, but isn't it great to have something to talk about?

In this way, performance figures absolutley DO matter. It's another point of debate, just as interior design is. Non-Corvette people have to grudingly admit that the current generation 'Vette is the performance bargain of the century, while at the same time making a compelling argument that they would never be caught dead in one.

But the numbers don't lie. They're the only objective criteria that enthusiasts have to go by when comparing cars to each other. The fact that one or the other may or may not have a nicer interior, or is more sophisticated, or is built better, whatever, only adds to the debate. That's the beauty of the hobby.

About those numbers: You say that small differences in performance numbers are immaterial. You might be right, to a point. In the days before launch control systems I would argue that the techniques required to produce the lowest 0-60 times were often so violent and abusive that many owners probably wouldn't perform them with their own cars. Get it wrong and you could end up with a smoked clutch, or worse. (It was this thinking that led Car and Driver to develop a "street start" statistic a decade or so ago, that I guarantee you no on pays any attention to).

Furthermore, I believe that for the most part we have reached the lower limits of 0-60 times, due to the limits of available traction. Street car tires probably will not get much wider for practical reasons, and today's performance cars are expected to handle well, so by nature they are not set up to optimize out-of-the-hole launches, the way a dedicated drag car is (ever try to road race a drag car?). In any case, despite increased technology, 0-60 times have not fallen much, even with massive doses of increased horsepower. Your own Ultimate Aero illustrates the point here. So 0-60 times might be irrelevant today.

However, performance numbers that we can find useful, are lap times over a longer time period, over a set, repeatable circuit. This is what Car and Driver is attempting to do with their Lightning Lap, and what Tog Gear does on their airfield. I realize that Nurburgring times are subject to a lot of debate due to the different ways they are measured, but for the most part they are a good reference point. I would argue that except for the upper echelon of professional racers, most experienced, high level drivers will produce times within a statistically significant range.

So yes, we can, and should compare cars by their performance numbers. Isn't that the one thing we all want to know?

BUT, as you say, there is more to cars than that, and therin lies the beauty of the debate. The LFA might very well be faster than a lot of other cars, and it might be a fantastic expression of Toyota's dream ideal, but still there are going to be those who refuse to respect it, for one reason or another, because it is not their taste. If I won the lottery and had $400,000 to spend on a car, I would not buy an LFA, and no amount of fancy A-pillars or gauge trickery will change that.

Others may disagree, but that's why we're all here.

 

LFA is a fantastic bit of kit, its silly to say otherwise.

toyota actually made a car with character and soul, who would have thought it possible.

 

Really thoughtful write up. I found myself actually nodding in agreement as I read along. Great work brother. I hope you continue to provide us with more posts of this caliber.

 

I seem to have lost my ability to edit my post...

To be clear, when I said there will be those who won't respect the LFA, I wasn't including myself. I do respect the LFA, but I still wouldn't buy one. Just a matter of personal taste.