Lexus LFA 2011 News

...but that has not stopped Lexus from shipping the great-looking machine to Melbourne.The LF-A is the latest in a string of future cars that the Toyota group has shown at the Exhibition Centre.“We always try to either show prototype vehicles or something which illustrates future potential — we believe it gives an insight into the direction the brand is heading,” says the company’s sales and marketing chief in Australia, Dave Buttner.“It gives some credibility to what we are trying to do as a manufacturer.”Buttner has no update on final production plans for the LF-A, either as a supercar coupe or roadster, despite the car competing last year as a prototype at the classic Nurburgring 24-hour race.But Lexus has released details of the vehicle, starting with a carbon-fibre and aluminium body fitted with a 5-litre V10 engine.The powerplant is installed ahead of the cockpit to give a 50:50 weight distribution, which Lexus says is essential with 360kW to feed to the rear wheels and a top speed of more than 330km/h.The engine is connected by a torque tube and propeller shaft to a rear-mounted transaxle gearbox controlled by paddle shifters.The car’s styling draws from the Lexus L-Finesse design philosophy, with a compact, low-profile and aerodynamic front end. Like its coupe counterpart, the Roadster is just 1220mm high.While the LF-A will star under lights, Lexus is also expecting plenty of interest in the all-new RX350 SUV which will share its stand with the concept car.It is a clear evolution of the previous RX, which has done well in Australia as a regular petrol-powered car and also as a petrol-electric hybrid, but with some important upgrades.It continues with all-wheel drive and gets a 3.5-litre V6 with 220kW, as well as all the usual Lexus luxury stuff. The 2009 Melbourne International Motor Show... 

It's low, a purposeful two-door coupe sitting on big wheels with a sleek body and it promises super performance. But what is the car in our picture - an Aston Martin, Jaguar XK, maybe a Ferrari?Nope. It's from Japan and from a company known for building luxury cars, Lexus.This Lexus LF-A is arguably the first supercar from a Japanese brand since the Ferrari-challenging Honda NSX of 1991-2005, but with a lot more power than the NSX.Lexus has aimed “to build a supercar with world-class performance that is uniquely Lexus”.It features a five-litre, V10 engine developed for high revs. Power output is 370kW and early track testing shows a 320km/h top speed is within reach.The engine is mounted in front of the two-seat passenger compartment but behind the front axle line. LF-A engineers call it a `front-mid” configuration.The transaxle is rear mounted, providing the rear-wheel drive that enthusiasts prefer -and helping the weight distribution. As an aid to even weight distribution over each end of the car, two cooling radiators are mounted in the rear.It means the nose of the car can be kept low and designed for optimum aerodynamics - a science which often is compromised by having airflow into radiators.In this case, large intake ducts are just ahead of the rear wheel on each side of the car and feed air to cool the radiators.Aerodynamics, including the car sticking to the road at high seed, is helped by venturi-effect underbody shape as used on race cars.The rear bodywork has a pair of large grilles as exit vents for hot air from the radiators.The Lexus LF-A bodywork is built of aluminium and carbon-fibre. The rear section has a speed-activated spoiler.Gearshifting will be via paddleshifts.Lexus started with a fixed-top coupe in developing its LF-A, which is now well beyond concept stage but also has created a Roadster convertible as a show car. Both versions are just 122cm tall.Wheels? Try 20in diameter turbine-styled alloys - special 265/35 tyres on the front and 305/30 on the rear. 

It's the sort of odd-couple relationship that really shouldn't work ... but does. North America's eternal fascination with giant trucks and muscle machines continues

This year the North American International Auto Show did not disappoint with a huge range of cars – some mildly sensible, some downright ridiculous.One of the more ludicrous offerings was Suzukis’ X-HEAD. Looking more like a Tonka truck than a serious off roader, the X-HEAD is said to have more capability than a mere toy. It combines the off road readiness of the Suzuki Jimny and Grand Vitara with the load-carrying capacity of the Suzuki APV van from Japan.Lexus’ LF-A Roadster is one concept not to be chuckled at however. The engineers and designers at Lexus continue to use their groundbreaking LF-A concept as a medium for expressing their ideas about what a high-performance sporting vehicle not only can be but should be. A very sleek road machine.Sit back and enjoy this image gallery from day 1 of the 2008 Detroit Motor Show to see into the future of the motoring world.

The road-car lap record at the Nurburgring race circuit in Germany has been claimed by Lexus. It is not an official claim, but the coming LF/A supercar is said by company insiders to have bettered the mark set by Porsche with its turbocharged GT2.The existing mark was 7 min. 25 sec, set by former world rally champion Walter Rohrl in a GT2, and Lexus insiders say the LF/A managed 7.24.The Lexus mark easily beats the previous Japanese star, the new Nissan GT-R, by about 12 seconds.But, as there is no official timing at Nurburgring — which is used by most major carmakers for testing because of its long and demanding layout — no one is really sure.Porsche still claims the outright mark for a production car with its Carrera GT, a supercar in the Ferrari class, though its rivals tend not to include it when claiming kudos for their cars. And it denied claims at the Tokyo Motor Show in October that the GT-R had bettered its GT2 lap time.Lexus is now pushing hard with the LF/A, which has been delayed since it was first previewed at the Tokyo Motor Show two years ago.One source close to Lexus says the test mule has a 4.8-litre V10 engine co-developed with Yamaha, and pumping an incredible 420kW. Spinning to 9000 revs, the engine uses Formula One technology and is installed mid-ships in the LF/A, but just ahead of the cabin.The rear-drive LF-A's performance and handling are said to be closer to that of a racing car than anything Toyota has built before.With a slippery drag co-efficient of only 0.26, against most production cars in the 0.29-0.30 range, the LF-A is rumoured to have a top exceeding 330km/h.The car is expected on the road in 2009 and Lexus Australia is holding firm orders in the hope that it will get cars for local owners.