LFA Appreciation

The carbon fiber door cards (as well as some other carbon fiber details) on the interior of the Nurburgring cars were only available on European and Japanese-spec cars if I recall correctly. Same goes for the Recaro racing bucket seat option. I have the information from Lexus on this, I'll confirm later and post the official info when I do.

Anyway, that car should do very well. It's in the "right" colors, exactly as the show car was specced from Lexus with the Orange exterior and black Alcantara interior. We will see how it compares to the $825,000 result of the previous USA-spec LFA Nurburgring that went to auction. That car had delivery miles, but I don't think the color combination was as desirable by a long-shot.

 

I honestly wasn't aware changing the thread title was an option at this stage (they used to lock it off after a few hours or days?), but it appears FerrariChat has now made that available with the updated interface. Done, happily.

We can all now sleep at night with the important confirmation that this is indeed an appreciation thread.

 

I'll find the Lexus documentation, give me a few.

 

Here are some screenshots from the English-language 2012 LFA Nurburgring guide from Lexus. I believe it lists "Europe-only" due to the fact this is an English brochure, but most likely the Europe-only details here also apply to Japanese cars and possible Middle East-spec cars too. There were five LFA specs overall, North America, European (in LHD or RHD), Japanese, and Middle East. Regardless, as I said above USA cars did not get the carbon fiber door cards. I believe this is likely due to crash regulations, where carbon fiber in a side impact could splinter and injure the driver or passenger.

 

For those who were curious about the body panel materials, I found this amongst my records. This image comes from an internal technician training presentation on the LFA, of which I have all the 100+ slides stored away for safekeeping!

 

A common complaint about the LFA is that it uses a single-clutch automated transmission rather than a dual-clutch, which was just coming into vogue as the LFA was released. Porsche first offered their PDK in 2009, one-year before the LFA's debut, and Ferrari first used a dual-clutch in the 2009 California. While single-clutch technology is retained even today in supercars like the Lamborghini Aventador (although in varying formats), reviewers have complained about the shift speeds when comparing to the instantaneous feeling of a dual-clutch. Unfortunately, I've noticed that many of the online reviews of the LFA are conducted by drivers who don't know how to adjust the shift speed on the LFA's RB60M transmission to its maximum, which is explained below...

 

Here are the shift speeds at Level 7 (fastest). Notice the car revving to almost 9,500 RPM on upshifts!

 

Clarkson's overall thoughts on the LFA. Regardless of your thoughts on him, this is a man who has driven everything!

 

That could be part of it, and I tend to agree, they look best in the standard trim.

 

A rather unfortunate incident recently in Singapore. Proof that these cars have plenty of power to get one into trouble if the driver isn't up to the task!

 

Best Motoring race in the standard LFA versus GT-R, Corvette ZR-1, F430, and 997 GT2 RS. The LFA ends up with an equal lap time to the 997 GT2 RS, pretty nice result. That sound!

 

Any pictures of the LFA wine?

 

A journalist's lap around the Nurburging in a standard LFA.

His comments: "Still in love with the engine and the sound of the car. The LFA is magnificent, sublime on the road and track. Best supercar I've driven. So balanced, so poised and with enormous levels of grip. Will remember this for the rest of my life. Was one of the highlights of my journalistic career and I get chills just looking at this..."

 

The second USA-spec LFA Nürburgring to come up for auction in recent memory just sold for $700,000 ($770,000 after fees), solidifying the value of these cars and forging a great start for their future in the marketplace. I maintain that the LFA is one of the great supercars of modern times, and certainly one of the most overlooked!

 

Great LFA Nurburgring review with subtitles in English. The driver continuously talks about how hardcore and stiff the car feels around the Nurburgring. My favorite driving impression quote: "This isn't a street car anymore, this is really a race car that accidentally is allowed on the streets." Keep in mind even the standard LFA is within 7 seconds of the record setting Nurburgring version's time around this track!

 

Chris Harris' feelings on the LFA, posted today to his Instagram, see caption at bottom: