Look what just showed up at Forged Performance....

East Coast Lexus LFA Pre Production Demonstration vehicle.

















Sharif was given the opportunity to give it a very extensive and thorough test drive. I will let Sharif chime in a give his first impressions

Videos to come soon...

 

Here are some little video clips for you to check out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQCZEUxuo3k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj7LeYkaWdE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkM6LcS-jY8

 

As much as the car looks impressive the engine bay looks pretty bland...

 

Today, we had the rare opportunity to be the first performance shop in the country to get their hands on the new Lexus LFA. One of our local clients is a huge car buff, and was the first person in the country to put a deposit down on his very own LFA. Although his custom prepared LFA won't arrive until Jan, a representative from Lexus corporate was charged with introducing a demonstration car to each buyer and allowing them to drive it for a half day. This yellow LFA is the East Coast demo car, and there is only one other in the country out on the West coast.

This particular client not only has done business with us in the past, but is also a good personal friend. So when he called me at 12:30pm and said he'd be at my shop in 20 mins with the LFA I was ecstatic! When the car rolled up, it brought our shop to a complete standstill...

Much like the GT-R, the LFA looks infinitely better in person. The body line is similar in many ways to the GT-R but with a more compact form factor and a tall broad shoulder line. It's physically a much smaller car. I took about 20 mins simply to take the car in and examine all of it's lines closely. This is a precision designed car with aggressive and sharp body lines along with some magnificent technology underneath the skin. From the carefully placed air inlets to the sturdy support structures for the active wing, it's all very well thought out and designed. The interior of the car is all business. Carbon fiber racing steering wheel, seats wrapped in alcantera and all gauges and controls well placed.

After my viewing it was time to give the LFA a well deserved test drive. After a 2 minute orientation by the nice lady from Lexus, I grabbed the paddles and set the transmission to "SPORT" mode. After making a right turn out of the parking lot I wasted no time in doing a quick 1,2,3 to 9000rpm down Cobb Parkway buzzing past a half dozen car dealerships in the process. One word: MAGIC! The exhaust note is by far the best sounding I have ever heard. It's a sharp Formula 1 inspired note, with very little bass or drone. The gearbox shifts were very sharp in SPORT mode but had that slight delay between power application that I've experience before in the gearbox from Ferrari and Lamborghini, and Audi. It's a shame the gear changes aren't instantaneous like our GT-R's, as it would have made this amazing machine that much better.

I kept heading southbound on Cobb Parkway on my way to my favorite "test track" also known as Delk Road by the Air Base. Noticing that my passenger was a little agitated with my 105mph blast down Cobb Parkway. I assured the Lexus representative that I was a licensed race car driver and I knew what I was doing. She seemed relieved and started to relax a little bit. She mentioned that nobody has taken this car above 4500rpm yet...oops...and she was really impressed with how fast the car was. Fortunately, she was unnerved and gave me full rein to drive the car as hard as I wanted to. One favorite section of my "track" is a nice right hand ramp with two sharp right hand turns inter-spaced with two short straights. I dropped the LFA down to 2nd gear and dove in. Body roll is nearly flat, and the brakes are tremendous. With my foot on the floor we rocketed out of the last right hander and enjoyed the music coming from the engine....another 2, 3, and part of 4 and we are 120mph in a heartbeat.

Overall, the OEM handling of the car is the best I have ever experienced. Flat and firm suspension manners and razor sharp steering make this one really fun car to drive fast. The power delivery is extremely linear with loads of power from 2500rpm all the way to the 9000rpm shift point I chose. No turbos, no turbo lag, just loads of power everywhere. It's a very different car from the GT-R; the LFA has a more purist feel to it despite it's high end hardware and technology behind it. Once our client takes delivery of his own LFA, you better believe we'll have it on the dyno, and tested right away. Maybe even a few "track" comparo's as well....perhaps some twin turbos?! Stay tuned!

Sharif

 

Yamaha acoustic design FTW! This is the best sounding car I have ever heard.

 

Congrats on being able to drive the LF-A! Amazing car for sure.

I think the reason for the gap between gears is... isn't this a single clutch tranny? (as opposed to dual clutch like in the EVO X and GT-R)

 

Amazing car but Yellow isn't the color. I think that car needs more power for the price IMHO.

 

very nice

 

Nice writeup Sharif! The car looks great, and that sound is intoxicating. Definitely up there with the best sounding Ferrari's. I'm sure that it felt nice to be the first guy on the East Coast to hit 9k rpm in an early production LFA.

Do you believe that this car can compare to the likes of a Ferrari 458? With the amount of money Toyota put into R&D with this car, they are pricing this car with or above the top production exotics (excluding the Bugatti or course). I've been curious as to whether Lexus will have any trouble selling the limited number that come to the states. I can't imagine there being too many brand loyalist ready to make a down payment on an LFA.

With the investment Toyota made with this car, I hope they are able to use their new technology throughout the line. Maybe we see more light weight Toyotas in the future. I wouldn't mind seeing a future toyota that is under 3000lbs car, maybe a mid-engine car...hint...hint...Toyota

 

WoW... that is so sick! Body lines are perfect! I couldnt have imagined it any better. Well, maybe not yellow, but thats just me. And it sounds amazing! Well done toyota! Looks like your gonna have some fun w/ this one!

 

The Ferrari 458 would destroy it, not even close.

 

not to be an ***, but I'm confused about the whole 'this is a preproduction' thing there are none available yet to customers, etc. When there's another thread in here of an LFA that is seemingly already in the possession of a guy in jersey. Did you take all this info from kind of an old thread elsewhere or is toyota just feeding this guy a line of bull?

 

This yellow LFA just left New Jersey. I'm sure it is the same one.

I can assure you from the corporate rep that came by there are only 2 in the country. One on the east coast, and one on the west coast. They are going to dealerships, events, shows, and letting the people who have already purchased one spend some time with it.

 

so sick!