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Edmunds Drives the Lexus LFA

The Lexus LFA writeup at Edmunds Inside Line is a real delight to read: This is a staggering engine. It likes to be revved hard, but with 90 percent of the torque output available from 3,700 rpm there’s none of the low-rpm languor that blights other high-revving motors. Lexus claims the LFA with its six-speed, …

Kevin · October 22nd, 2009

Lexus LFA World Premiere

After five long years of development, Lexus will be announcing the production model LFA at the Tokyo Motor Show on October 21st, 11:10am Japan Standard Time—which translated to North American time, means October 20th, 7:10 PST/10:10 EST. Less than 24 hours away! Hopefully, a live stream of the event will be somewhere online—if not, a …

Kevin · October 19th, 2009

Lexus LFA: “The Best Car I’ve Ever Driven…”

In a quick interview during a Lexus LFA press event, Dutch motoring journalist and race-driving instructor Thomas Bangma had some very, very complimentary things to say about the upcoming supercar: The best car that I’ve ever driven in my life as a car journalist. It is an absolute gem, it is amazing…and I think it’s …

Kevin · October 12th, 2009

Lexus LFA Supercar Drift!

As part of this weekend’s Motor Sport 2009 in Odaiba, Japan, Lexus brought out one of their LFA racing prototypes this weekend for some supercar drifting, and was videotaped by numerous members of the crowd: And the best one of the bunch: Bringing out a supercar concept to do donuts for an enthusiast crowd in …

Kevin · October 12th, 2009

White Lexus LF-A on Nürburgring Video

Here’s another quick video of the Lexus LFA—this time taken on the track at Nürburgring and more importantly, completely undisguised: Here’s a quick screenshot of the full front-end: It’s impossible to make any real judgment from a 16 second video, except when it comes to the sound. What a roar! SAVAGE! (Thanks WorldofLuxury!)

Kevin · September 27th, 2009

Lexus LF-A in Matte Black

Autocar has published a bunch of new Lexus LF-A spy shots, this time painted in matte black: Judging by the Recaro front seats, this is likely the rumored track-ready version of the Lexus supercar—there’s a few more images in the Autocar gallery, be sure to check them out. Between this and the white LFA seen …

Kevin · September 22nd, 2009

Car & Driver: Lexus LF-A Test Drive

Car & Driver sent a journalist out to test out the Lexus LF-A race car, and the resulting article is so positive that I had to double-check that it was really on the C&D website: …the engine feels stronger than 500 horsepower, more like 550. A Lexus spokesman provides a torque figure: 369 pound-feet. We …

Kevin · August 21st, 2009

Lexus IS-GTF Race Team for Sale

If you’ve ever wanted to have your own racing team, you will be interested to learn that the DRC Motorsports Lexus IS-GTF race cars are now for sale. This trio of super-modified IS 350s (one fully assembled, parts for two more), which you may remember from last year, originally belonged to Team Lexus, and can …

Kevin · August 19th, 2009

Info on the Lexus LF-A Driving Modes (plus a Name-Change Rumor)

Japanese auto magazine Holiday Auto has published some new information on the LF-A, including details on the four Automated Sequential Gearbox (ASG) modes: Auto, Normal, Sport and Wet. Normal & Wet modes are fairly self-explanatory, but here’s what’s mentioned about the other two: Sport mode will allow for 0.2 second gear shifting. Auto mode will …

Kevin · August 16th, 2009

Lexus LF-A vs. Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR: A Virtual Nürburgring Race

Similar to the virtual Lexus LF-A vs. Nissan GT-R race we saw a couple months ago, this split-screen racing footage has the LF-A (top) up against the 600bhp Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR on the Nürburgring: When you consider the traffic the LF-A has to deal with, there’s no telling how much faster it could have …

Kevin · August 14th, 2009

Flickr Find: Duct Taped Lexus LFA

There’s no question that the Lexus LFA driven at Goodwood was a little worse for wear after its time on Nürburgring, and nothing illustrates that more clearly than Simon Greig’s photo of the beat-up front bumper (click for the full image): Just goes to show, duct-tape really can fix just about anything. [Source: Simon Greig’s …

Kevin · July 21st, 2009

Edmunds Drives the Lexus LFA

As it turns out, Edmunds also had the chance to drive the Lexus LFA at Goodwood, where the supercar prototype continued to impress: The Lexus LF-A is the sort of car in which you could spend hours whittling away at your lap times while confident it would never misbehave. You would emerge fresh from your …

Kevin · July 21st, 2009

Fifth Gear Drives the Lexus LFA

The Lexus LFA test-drives at Goodwood continue to stream in, and next up is Fifth Gear‘s video feature, as driven by Vicki Butler-Henderson (skip to 6:40 to watch the video directly): These reviews are all bringing a very clear message, and in this video Vicki sums it up perfectly: “This is really a user-friendly racing …

Kevin · July 20th, 2009

Lexus LFA Goodwood Videos

Today saw not one, not two, but three new videos of the Lexus LFA at the Goodwood Festival of Speed—the first two are produced by Lexus Europe, and show the super-race-car-prototype bombing around the circuit from both the exterior and the interior (click on the images to go to the videos): The picture in these …

Kevin · July 15th, 2009

Lexus LFA First Drive in The Sunday Times

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 …

Kevin · July 13th, 2009

Autocar Drives the Lexus LF-A

Autocar journalist Steve Sutcliffe was also had a chance to drive the Lexus LF-A at last weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed: There’s a clonk from the transaxle when first gear engages, and as I pull away the ride immediately feels firm but refined, not at all racing car hard. Another faint but disappointing clonk as …

Kevin · July 9th, 2009

Pistonheads Drives the Lexus LF-A

During the Goodwood Festival of Speed last weekend in Great Britain, a group of journalists were given the opportunity to drive the Lexus LFA racing prototypes that raced last month in the Nürburgring 24h. One of these journalists was Chris Rosamond, and he’s written a stellar account of the experience: The racing car accelerates flat …

Kevin · July 9th, 2009

More on the Baja 500 Lexus 570

Earlier this week, I posted about Joe Bacal, who raced in the 41st annual Tecate SCORE Baja 500 in a modified Lexus LX 570 and ended up winning the class. Now we have some more information on the race, courtesy of a Lexus press release: Assisted by first-time navigator Williamsen and a new but well-organized …

Kevin · June 11th, 2009

Lexus LX 570 Competes in SCORE Baja 500 Race

This past weekend, the first ever Lexus 570 racing truck took part in the Tecate SCORE Baja 500, where it took first in its (admittedly small) class. The LX 570 was piloted by Joe Bacal of JTGrey Performance Driving, who was confident about his chances: “It may seem unusual to race a large luxury SUV …

Kevin · June 8th, 2009

Lexus LFA Concept in Next Need for Speed Video Game

Video game fans will be getting a chance to test-drive the Lexus LFA in the new Need for Speed SHIFT—here are some screenshots: Based on the 2007 LFA II Concept, this virtual supercar will be one of 65 vehicles in the next NFS when it’s released in September. (Also, Gran Turismo 5, the long awaited …

Kevin · June 4th, 2009

Lexus LFA to hit 220mph

Information about the upcoming Lexus LFA keeps coming—Edmunds is reporting that the Japanese supercar, which will be powered by a 550+hp 4.8L V10, is capable of 220mph (354km/hour): Channeled through a six-speed Aisin AMT transmission bolted to a transaxle, that 220-mph top speed is 27 mph faster that the production Nissan GT-R and even the …

Kevin · May 28th, 2009

New Rumors on the Production Lexus LFA

Japanese magazine Best Car has published the above computer rendering of a possible look for the Lexus LFA production model, and has also included some new information: The LFA will be receiving a new name, possibly the SS (for Super Sport) or GT (Gran Turismo/Tourer). The numeric designation could be 500 or 550, though it’s …

Kevin · May 26th, 2009

Lexus LFAs Racing in Nürburgring 24h Race Today

Just a reminder, the Nürburgring 24h race has started, and the two Lexus LFAs are in the field. You can follow the race results for the Lexus LFAs on the Gazoo website with a very nice interface showing the remaining race times and positions. Good luck drivers!

Kevin · May 23rd, 2009

Lexus IS Convertible F-Sport Photo Gallery

To promote the fact that the existing F-Sport performance accessories for the Lexus IS are fully compatible with the IS Convertible, Lexus has released some images with an IS-C decked out to the nines: {embed=“site/gallery” gallery_id=“1157”} The convertible is still too junky in the trunky for my tastes, but the 19” forged alloy wheels suit …

Kevin · May 22nd, 2009

Behind-the-Scenes Video of the Racing Lexus LFAs

It’s been Lexus LFA week here at The Lexus Enthusiast, and it looks like we’ve saved the best for last—this behind-the-scenes video detailing the long road to the 24h Nürburgring race this weekend is nothing short of fantastic: It’s great not only to see the supercar, but the people behind it. You can see their …

Kevin · May 22nd, 2009

Live Lexus LFA Racing Photos

Take a look at these Lexus LFA photos from today’s qualifying sessions for the weekend’s Nürburgring 24h race: As for the results of today’s sessions—the twin LFAs finished 17th and 30th out of 194. Tomorrow is the final qualifying before the race this weekend. [Source: Lexus Europe]

Kevin · May 21st, 2009

Lexus LFA Racing Supercars Revealed

With the Team Gazoo Lexus LFA team readying for their 24-Hour Nürburgring Race this weekend, new photos of the supercar pair are in order (click for larger images): From the accompanying press release: Entered by Gazoo Racing, the team hopes to repeat its class winning form in the 4-hour race earlier in the year. The …

Kevin · May 20th, 2009

New Lexus LFA Spy Video

Stop everything and watch this video of the close-to-production Lexus LFA howling round Nürburgring: This car looks and sounds demonic, very exciting when you consider how close this will be to the real thing. Can not wait to see the production LFA. (Thanks Roberto!)

Kevin · May 19th, 2009

Lexus LS 460 Crashes, Audience Claps

As a rule, I avoid posting any crash videos, but I suspect the only thing injured in this Tatry Donau Cup race footage is the driver’s pride: At least the crowd was entertained. Really though, who enters a race in a LS? Update: Looks like the LS driver wasn’t the only one who had a …

Kevin · May 13th, 2009

Lexus IS 350 Drift Car with Corvette Engine

Daijiro Yoshihara, one of the drivers in the Formula D series, has a new team and a new machine—a Lexus IS 350 with a Corvette Z06 LS6 engine: Looks like he’s going to need some more practice. [Via: Straight Line]

Kevin · May 12th, 2009

More Lexus LFA Spy Shots

More Lexus LFA photos are making their way online—World Car Fans has posted some additional images showing the supercar prototype at Nürburgring with its rear wing fully extended and the redesigned rear window air scoops visible: The LFA concepts have always been impressive, but this polishing towards production has the supercar looking better than ever. …

Kevin · May 12th, 2009

Akio Toyoda Will Drive Lexus LFA in Nürburgring 24h Race

Akio Toyoda, incoming president of Toyota and grandson of the company’s founder, has been confirmed as one of the drivers in the upcoming 24h Nürburgring race: The grandson of Toyota founder Kiichiro Toyoda is one of four drivers on a Toyota team entering the May 21-24 Nurburgring 24-hour endurance race in Germany, company spokesman Paul …

Kevin · April 24th, 2009

Lexus LFA to Compete in Nürburgring 24h Race

For the second year in a row, the Lexus LFA will be taking part in the 24h Nürburgring Race, the full-day endurance race to take as many laps ‘round The Ring as possible: Based on a prototype of the LF-A being developed with an eye toward commercial release, the race vehicle, entering the Nürburg event …

Kevin · April 21st, 2009

Rumormill: The Lexus IS-F Evo Strikes Again

JDM blog 7tune has pushed out a rumor that the Lexus IS-F Evolution, the unconfirmed, carbon-fiber-covered editon of the IS-F, will be limited to 500 units and will cost a staggering $250,000USD. From the source: Focus has not changed much either with previous reports of the new body losing 140kg all round and dropping to …

Kevin · April 20th, 2009

Javier Quiros Racing the Lexus IS-F @ Nürburgring

This is just plain wild—here’s Javier Quiros, one of the drivers of the recent Lexus LFA race win and owner of a Lexus dealership in Costa Rica, piloting an IS-F around Nürburgring on a practice run: Crazy how you can almost feel the downshifts, especially with that rough audio blip. An interesting perspective, it also …

Kevin · April 15th, 2009

More on the Lexus LFA Win @ Nürburgring

As mentioned, the Lexus LFA racing concept won its class (SP8: 4000cc ~ 6200cc) in the Nurburgring 4 hour race this weekend—and now sponsor Gazoo has posted some photos from the race: Here’s a photo of drift champion Iida Akira, soon-to-be Toyota President Akio Toyoda, and dealer owner/racer Javier Quiros with their trophies: I also …

Kevin · April 8th, 2009

Lexus LFA Makes a Nürburgring Appearance

For the first time this year, the Lexus LFA racing concept car has been spotted at Nürburgring, likely due to its upcoming appearance in the upcoming 56. ADAC Westfalenfahrt being held this weekend at the Nordschleife—the same four-hour long distance race on the Nürburgring grand prix circuit that the LFA won last year. Here’s the …

Kevin · April 6th, 2009

Video: Lexus IS-F vs Last-Generation BMW M3 (among others)

If you remember the Lexus IS-F vs Audi RS4 video that was posted online last week, this new video is from the same people, and it’s similar in results and sketchiness: Watching the IS-F demolish a host of older cars doesn’t really do much for me, and I don’t think there was a single fair …

Kevin · March 24th, 2008

Future Taste of Lexus Events Cancelled

Beginning this year, Lexus USA will be replacing their annual Taste of Lexus travelling test drive events with a series of three separate tours, as they try to bring the focus back on the vehicles and not the event itself: “People were coming because we were giving three to four hours of entertainment value.” As …

Kevin · March 20th, 2008

Timo Glock Driving the Lexus IS-F

Timo Glock, Toyota’s latest F1 driver, was filmed taking the Lexus IS-F out for a racetrack spin, and I’m not all that sure how comfortable he looks: Now that’s one serious driver, I would have liked to see him compete in the Best Motoring comparison. The result might have been quite different.

Kevin · March 17th, 2008

More on Best Motoring’s Lexus IS-F/BMW M3 Comparison

Turns out there was more than one part to the Best Motoring comparison that I posted about a couple days ago. Get comfortable and and take a look at this 20 minute video (for quickness’ sake, the two main competitors as I see them, the BMW M3 and the IS-F, are at 1:25 and 13:36 …

Kevin · March 13th, 2008

Lexus IS-F vs. Audi RS4 Race Video

I’m not sure about the validity of this racing video, in fact it seems downright sketchy, but pitting the Lexus IS-F against an Audi RS4 doesn’t seem like a fair fight at all: The reason for my doubt is in the second turn, it looks like the IS-F lets the Audi pass, only to absolutely …

Kevin · March 9th, 2008

Lexus & the Chip Ganassi team win third consecutive Daytona 24

The No.1 Lexus Riley Prototype has won the Daytona 24 race for the third year in a row, marking the first time this has ever been accomplished in the race’s history. Piloted by Scott Pruett, Juan Pablo Montoya, Dario Franchitti and Memo Rojas, the Chip Ganassi team powered through the 24 hour race with none …

Kevin · January 29th, 2008

Video of the Lexus IS-F Racing Concept @ The Tokyo Auto Salon

Putting aside the hoopla surrounding the Lexus IS-F Racing Concept for a minute, here’s some jumpy video footage of the car from the Toyko Auto Salon show: I think I would have liked this vehicle a whole lot better if it had been done up like an actual race car, with the decals and flashy …

Kevin · January 24th, 2008

The Lexus IS-F Racing Concept gets even more confusing

The confusion surrounding the Lexus IS-F Racing Concept has taken a turn for the absurd, with German auto magazine AutoBild now asserting that it’s not a Lexus at all, but a reworked Opel Opel Vectra DTM racer: From the article, it’s not exactly clear how they came to this conclusion, but it clearly goes against …

Kevin · January 22nd, 2008

Details on the Lexus IS-F Racing Concept

Details are finally coming out in regards to the Lexus IS-F Racing Concept shown at the Tokyo Auto Salon last week. Due to the body styling and rear wing, it was thought that this was a precursor to Lexus’ entry into the DTM Racing series, but in actuality, the vehicle was a one-off design experiment …

Kevin · January 17th, 2008

Lexus IS 350 GT2 to Enter Le Mans Series

There’s certainly some confusion out there today in regards to the Lexus IS-F Racing Concept & the new Team Lexus racer. Thought to be the same car, it turns out that the orange Team Lexus race car may be something entirely different. One thing’s for sure, it’s destined for the Le Mans series GT2 class, …

Kevin · January 8th, 2008

Evo Magazine Reviews the Lexus IS-F

Somewhere along the line, I missed Evo Magazine’s review of the Lexus IS-F, which does a fantastic job at heaping substantial amounts of praise onto the super-sedan: Before the end of the pit straight, one thing is already beyond dispute. For the way it slaughters distance and the noise it makes, the IS-F is a …

Kevin · January 7th, 2008

Lexus to Enter the DTM Racing Series?

According to Touring Car Times, the photo of the Lexus IS-F Racing Concept could be an indication that Lexus will be joining the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters car racing series: The rumors on which manufacturer would join Audi and Mercedes in the Deutche Tourenwagen Masters have been many during the recent years. Since the talks about …

Kevin · January 7th, 2008

The Lexus IS-F Racing Concept to be Shown at the Tokyo Auto Salon

The Tokyo Auto Salon, Japan’s annual automotive aftermarket tradeshow, will see the debut of the Lexus IS-F Racing Concept, with all the body molding and performance modifications you’d expect. Details are non-existent, and the only image is the one shown above, taken from Lexus Japan’s TAS mini-site. In all honesty, I didn’t think it possible …

Kevin · January 4th, 2008

Lexus LF-A News from Australia

Austalian website Drive has posted an interesting article about the Lexus LF-A, including some further verification that the car’s being delayed until the engineers can reach a top speed of 220mph: As for when the Lexus LF-A will appear in dealerships, the company hasn’t set an exact date yet. But Lexus insiders suggest the car’s …

Kevin · December 19th, 2007

Lexus Takes Potential IS-F Customers to the Track

Rather than the mass-media marketing campaign expected with the release of a new vehicle, the Lexus IS-F will be promoted in a different fashion — letting potential customers test drive the car on race tracks across the United States: Lexus will try and lure in buyers at the track, said Brian Bolain, Lexus’ national manager …

Kevin · December 17th, 2007

Did the Lexus LF-A Set a Nürburgring Record?

If Japanese magazine Holiday Auto is to be believed, the Lexus LF-A has put in a dominant performance on Nürburgring, lapping the track in 7:24. If true, it would make the LF-A the fastest production car to run the ring. This comes on the heels of Pagani Zonda F setting the record in October of …

Kevin · December 14th, 2007

Japanese Video Review of the Lexus IS-F

This Lexus IS-F segment from Start your Engines, a Japanese auto news show, is a pleasant switch from the norm, as it’s all subtitled in English: “It’s been a long time since I’ve had so much fun driving a Toyota”, the host says after ten laps of the Fuji Speedway. “The shifting really is like …

Kevin · December 10th, 2007

Lexus IS-F vs. Nissan Skyline Coupe Type S

The January 2008 editon of Best Motoring, one of Japan’s most popular automotive TV/DVD shows, has a Lexus IS-F vs. Nissan Skyline Coupe 370GT Type S (Infiniti G37 Sport in North America) showdown: While it can’t match the IS-F in a 0-60 race, the 333hp Skyline Coupe Type S holds its own on the track, …

Kevin · December 4th, 2007

IGN Test Drives the Lexus IS-F

Can’t say I’ve ever visited IGN for auto news before, but they’ve put together a well-worded review of the Lexus IS-F as tested on the Laguna Seca Raceway: Though it’s not a lightweight car, the IS F handles with an impressively limited degree of body roll, to the degree to which it’s pretty easy to …

Kevin · November 22nd, 2007

Lexus Technical Training Session Video

It may run a little long, but this video of the installation of a slippery surface for test driving Lexus’ is still pretty neat: From the video description, this was for a technical training session in Spain, and looks like it would be a lot of fun. Strangely enough, I played a PS3 game today …

Kevin · November 17th, 2007

Auto Express Drives the Lexus IS-F Around Fuji Speedway

Auto Express’ first drive of the IS-F is different than the other reviews today, in that they travelled to Japan to try the IS-F out on the Fuji Speedway, the track that inspired the F-Performance name. However, the end result was very similar to the Edmunds review, with a key difference — Auto Express was …

Kevin · October 24th, 2007

The Lexus IS-F Shows Off

When the Lexus IS-F hit the Laguna Seca Raceway during the California Taste of Lexus Event, there was a deluge of video released by spectators, but nothing, and I mean NOTHING that compares to the following video: Expert editing, amazing angles, fantastic sound — until I find out otherwise, I’m going to assume this is …

Kevin · September 25th, 2007

Lexus GS 450h Completes Targa Newfoundland Rally

Targa Newfoundland, a 2,200 km (1,367 miles) rally through the winding province of Newfoundland, Canada, had an interesting entry this year, a 2007 Lexus GS 450h. The course is so grueling that it’s an accomplishment to finish, which the GS 450h did, coming in 18th overall, eight minutes behind the leader, a 1969 BMW 2002. …

Kevin · September 19th, 2007

Lexus: Why the F?

A very interesting discussion is ongoing at The Truth About Cars, and what started out as an editorial criticizing the new IS-F’s marketing campaign has blossomed into a much deeper debate: Why does Lexus have a performance division at all? To be fair, the question does open up considerably, casting the same doubts onto Mercedes/AMG, …

Kevin · September 12th, 2007

The Lexus IS-F 1/4 Mile Dyno Run

For the Taste of Lexus Evening Edition in Arcadia this past weekend, the IS-F was available for the public to test-drive — only catch was, it was on a dynamometer: The exhaust note is smooth and powerful, and the shifting is practically seamless. No dyno results were shown, but one Club Lexus tester felt there …

Kevin · August 27th, 2007

Lexus IS-F @ SoCal Taste of Lexus Event

The new Lexus IS-F was in Southern California this week, flown in from Japan for the Orange County Taste of Lexus event, where some members of Club Lexus were lucky enough to get some in-car time with chauffeured laps around the famous Laguna Seca racetrack. Here’s a great video look at the time on the …

Kevin · August 19th, 2007

TOM’S LS460 Body Kit & Modifications

I spent some time today on TOM’S, Toyota’s authorized tuning shop, taking a look at their various Lexus body kits and modifications. Their new tuned LS 460 is a beauty, matching the exteriors of the Fabulous and Wald offerings in subtlety, but also adding an extensive range of very real performance modifications. Here’s a list …

Kevin · July 16th, 2007

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