Another of the journalists to drive the Lexus LFA at the Goodwood Festival of Speed was The Sunday Times’ Andrew Frankel:
At the beginning of the hillclimb I hit the start button expecting a massive roar but . . . silence. Through my helmet and at idle the engine is Lexus-quiet. I put it in gear and plant the accelerator on the floor and that all changes: despite the vast slick tyres, the wheelspin was instant and the noise deafening.
…I drove as fast as I knew how, discovering in the process one of the best-balanced and friendly road racers I have handled. Despite those menacing looks, its ferocious speed and cheek-rippling grip, the LF-A is like all the best sorted supercars: inspiring more confidence the faster you drive it.
With the full backing of Toyota and new president/race car drive Akio Toyoda, I’m not surprised that the journalists are taken aback by its performance—but that the vehicle’s engineers were able to maintain that “Lexus-quiet” on start-up is a real accomplishment.
Most telling is this quote from the article:
As a proud Lexus man told me: “Many supercar makers put their road cars on the racetrack. We’re going to put our race car on the road.”
[Source: The London Times]
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