[gbb357]

Obviously this is not official, but otherwise it is still impressive. Here's the GT2 run.http://videos.streetfire.net/video/2...0e00026993.htm

Originally Posted by Autoblog

A Lexus LF-A mule has unofficially recorded a lap time on the Nordschleife of 7 minutes, 24 seconds. This is not in dispute. What is in dispute is how many seconds faster the LF-A's lap time is than that of the 2008 Porsche 911 GT2, the previous "King of the 'Ring" record holder. Wikipedia notes that the fastest 911 GT2 driven around the Ring posted a lap time of 7 minutes, 32 seconds and was driven by Walter Röhrl, Porsche's company test driver and accomplished WRC driver and road racing pilot. Porsche was so proud of the feat that it produced a snazzy video of the run that you can watch here. AutoExpress, however, which reported on the LF-A's remarkable lap time, claims that the fastest 911 GT2 lap time on the Nurburgring is 7 minutes, 25 seconds, but we could find no evidence on the web of a stock 911 GT2 ever posting a time that fast. Also note that a handful of other cars have posted lap times, but all are either tuner cars or limited production boutique cars like the Pagani Zonda F.

Nevertheless, the Lexus LF-A's time is remarkable and puts it in a class normally populated by purpose-built tuner cars. Its 4.8L V10 churns out a reported 552bhp while slapping the needle against a 9,000 rpm redline. A 210 mph top speed is said to be the car's upper bound, which makes us shake our heads. This is, after all, the brand that brought us the sarcophagus of a car that is the LS sedan. The production LF-A should be able to repeat the performance, but we'll have to wait a while longer while the Lexus supercar finishes baking in the oven. In the meantime, for Pete's sake, someone ship a Corvette ZR1 to Germany!

[Source: AutoExpress]

[!Xoible]

lexus vs. porsche..... yah!

wha'''''everrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

[gbb357]

^^ Huh? I don't think that's what the article is about and neither is this thread. And what's wrong with that anyway, if the GTR is challenging Porsche, why not Lexus if that is the case, which i don't think it is. Chevy and Dodge are competing with Porsche, BMW is competing with Porsche as well, why not Lexus?

[E90ice]

Damn! That thing is ugly!

[!Xoible]

Originally Posted by gbb357

^^ Huh? I don't think that's what the article is about and neither is this thread. And what's wrong with that anyway, if the GTR is challenging Porsche, why not Lexus if that is the case, which i don't think it is. Chevy and Dodge are competing with Porsche, BMW is competing with Porsche as well, why not Lexus?

it says unseats GT2...

GTR has a LONG history of competing against exotic cars, despite its unexotic looks. Lexus has no history in nothing

[E90ice]

Originally Posted by gbb357

^^ Huh? I don't think that's what the article is about and neither is this thread. And what's wrong with that anyway, if the GTR is challenging Porsche, why not Lexus if that is the case, which i don't think it is. Chevy and Dodge are competing with Porsche, BMW is competing with Porsche as well, why not Lexus?

Because Lexus makes couches!

[NaTuReB0Y]

The GT-R kicked Porsche to the curb..........and now the LF-A.....

I guess.....the NSX is next in line.........

[c0nstant]

Originally Posted by gbb357

^^ Huh? I don't think that's what the article is about and neither is this thread. And what's wrong with that anyway, if the GTR is challenging Porsche, why not Lexus if that is the case, which i don't think it is. Chevy and Dodge are competing with Porsche, BMW is competing with Porsche as well, why not Lexus?

+1

[fobunited]

Well what we have to remember is that the Lexus LF-A used to make the run was a test mule.

That means it's not a production version and therefore can't "unseat" the production GT2. That shouldn't take away from Lexus' accomplishment however.

Because the LF-A in question was a test mule, that also brings into question what kind of tires Lexus was using, and whether those tires will be in the production version.

I believe people are sensitive about Lexus trying to compete with Porsche is because it is outside of their niche. Lexus has always aimed towards comfortable, soft, luxurious cars, not sports and performance oriented cars.

It is the same reason why the VW Phaeton is considered a flop and had few adopters. It was simply outside of VW's niche, no matter how nice of a car it was. I have no doubt Lexus' marketing and image molding will sell performance cars, but it will take a long time for many auto enthusiasts to embrace Lexus as a performance oriented brand like Porsche or BMW.

[Caster]

Originally Posted by fobunited

It is the same reason why the VW Phaeton is considered a flop and had few adopters. It was simply outside of VW's niche, no matter how nice of a car it was. I have no doubt Lexus' marketing and image molding will sell performance cars, but it will take a long time for many auto enthusiasts to embrace Lexus as a performance oriented brand like Porsche or BMW.

Lexus has the money to advertise and a lot of loyal customers. Although I don't think they're aiming at their loyal customers (who are usually after luxury more then performance), but if your beating the 997 GT2 around the 'ring, I think numbers will speak for themselves.

[gbb357]

Originally Posted by mantis

it says unseats GT2...

GTR has a LONG history of competing against exotic cars, despite its unexotic looks. Lexus has no history in nothing

Exactly, the article is only talking about the ring time that the GT2 has and Lexus beating it. Nothing about the LFA going against the GT2. If the record was held by Yugo it would say it unseated Yugo, that does'nt mean it's challenging it. Everyone knows the long history of the GTR and everyone knows about Lexus not having much history in racing, so what exactly is your point again? Basically you don't like Lexus therefore you're dissing it just for the sake of dissing, and since you notice i own a Lexus, you thought i would get pissed and start a .net battle with you, in other words you're just trolling. Well if that's the case, you thought wrong, i'm not a Lexus fanboy although i do like them a lot as much as i like BMW's. But i am a huge fanboy of MB, especially AMG models. Anyway, nice try.

[Kev]

Don't forget that Lexus is Toyota in disguise. Look at all those Supra that they churned out. It's highly capable of making race cars if they wanted to.

[gbb357]

Originally Posted by Kev

Don't forget that Lexus is Toyota in disguise. Look at all those Supra that they churned out. It's highly capable of making race cars if they wanted to.

+1.

[sdiver68]

I'm sorry, but the LF-A is sweet! I'm not a big Toyota fan even though I do like Honda and Nissan.

But no we can't count a prototype LF-A time when comparing production cars.

As for their racing credentials, yes they have lagged most other manufacturers, but I think they do have some experience:

"Winning the 2003 Indianapolis 500 with Gil de Ferran was the crown jewel of a 24-year run that has witnessed Toyota IMSA victories at the Daytona 24 Hours and the 12 Hours of Sebring, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, the Baja 500 and Baja 1000, in addition to manufacturer's and driver's championships in the Indy Racing League, NASCAR, Grand Am, CART, IMSA, SCORE, MTEG and CORR."

http://www.toyota.com/motorsports/history.html

Until they compete in and win F1, though, they can't be considered among the true performance manufacturers.

[gbb357]

Originally Posted by sdiver68

I'm sorry, but the LF-A is sweet! I'm not a big Toyota fan even though I do like Honda and Nissan.

But no we can't count a prototype LF-A time when comparing production cars.

As for their racing credentials, yes they have lagged most other manufacturers, but I think they do have some experience:

"Winning the 2003 Indianapolis 500 with Gil de Ferran was the crown jewel of a 24-year run that has witnessed Toyota IMSA victories at the Daytona 24 Hours and the 12 Hours of Sebring, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, the Baja 500 and Baja 1000, in addition to manufacturer's and driver's championships in the Indy Racing League, NASCAR, Grand Am, CART, IMSA, SCORE, MTEG and CORR."

http://www.toyota.com/motorsports/history.html

Until they compete in and win F1, though, they can't be considered among the true performance manufacturers.

Nissan does'nt compete in F1, neither does Porsche, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Aston Martin, and many other high performance cars.

[Kev]

Toyota does have their own F1 team, so what are you trying to say here?

[gbb357]

Originally Posted by Kev

Toyota does have their own F1 team, so what are you trying to say here?

They do? Since when, i'm guessing not too succesful.

[gbb357]

[Kev]

Originally Posted by gbb357

They do? Since when, i'm guessing not too succesful.

Sorry, not referring to you. I'm referring to sdiver68's comment.

Toyota F1 has been around since 2002. Last year, they did better than Honda, scoring 13 pts in the Constructors Championship. Also, Williams is powered by Toyota engine as well

[sdiver68]

Originally Posted by gbb357

Nissan does'nt compete in F1, neither does Porsche, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Aston Martin, and many other high performance cars.

Porsche has won a constructors (engine builder's) championship in F1. Nissan does through its parent company Renault and they too have won constructors championships.

Bugatti does (barely) compete but hasn't won anything. Lamborghini competed from 1988-1993. Aston Martin also competed in F1. These tiny specialty companies, however, are generally exempted from the large R&D budgets needed for F1, imho.

Care to try some others?

[sdiver68]

Originally Posted by Kev

Sorry, not referring to you. I'm referring to sdiver68's comment.

Toyota F1 has been around since 2002. Last year, they did better than Honda, scoring 13 pts in the Constructors Championship. Also, Williams is powered by Toyota engine as well

I did say AND WIN! How many constructors or team championships do they have?

13 pts?

[Kev]

Originally Posted by sdiver68

I did say AND WIN! How many constructors or team championships do they have?

13 pts?

LOL..... I don't recall BMW or any team supplied by BMW ever winning the constructors Champion. This year, they won 2nd place after McL was DQ'ed from the championship, but they still lag behind Ferrari by over 100 PTS. Honda won before with McL. Does that make Honda > BMW? Your logic is flawed, man.....

Also, Nissan does their own R&D. It might be owned by the Renault group but it's still being ran by Japanese, not French. There aren't any active collaboration between the two racing divisions.

How much money for R&D is needed to win in F1? If Toyota pour in all their profits into their F1 dept, they will wipe out every one for sure, but is that economical? No...... They are a car manufacturer to make money. They have stock holders that they have to answer to....

Traditionally, Toyota has been very conservative in testing out new waters, so their F1 operation is still not up on par with the big boys. But hey, they've only been in this game for 5 years. However, don't forget that they were ones that made the F3 car for Ayrton Senna in 1983 for him to later become one of the best drivers of F1..... There are some brilliant minds in the company.

Give people credit when they deserve it. Don't bash because of brand. I know, so far, Lexus cars have been lacking soul. They're built for comfort and luxury, but everyone has to start somewhere. Give them some time before you make your harsh judgement. Even Mercedes and BMW did not start out as performance cars, both AMG and M were aftermarket tuners before they were acquired by the respective company to become their exclusive in house tuner.