It’s not just Honda and BMW who have been putting their F1 experience to use in their road cars. Meet the Lexus LF-A.
We’ve not really seen anything mind-boggling from Toyota/Lexus since the Toyota Supra. This LF-A will come with a 5 litre V10 putting out an excess of 500hp.
A 5 litre V10 would put it into the same league as the Porsche Carrera GT and the Lamborghini Gallardo.
The car is expected to be unveiled at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show. Cost? Upwards of USD$100,000. Very ambitious.
Side profile reminds me of the Toyota Supra legend.
What’s that fan doing there? Suck hot air from the brakes?
It’s not just Proton that’s mad with center exhausts. This one’s got three!
There is an exclusive spy video of the car doing it’s paces on Germany’s Nurburgring test track here.
Click to enlarge
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
this is rumoured to be the replacement model for toyota's supra.
What is the different between LEXUS and TOYOTA? Can someone explain it?
Lexus is the rebranded name of Toyota in Europe/America.
Lexus is the more premier brand for Toyota in US and Europe same as Acura and Infiniti for Honda and Nissan respectively. The lastest technology and engines will go to the Lexus before Toyota badge models. Lexus are price much higher too and the brands are not sold under the same showroom.
The next Supra will be a Lexus badge in line with Toyota's participation in F1. Insiders say that Toyota wil not launch the new Supra (LF-A) until they start winning in F1.
lexus has just been launched in Japan. toyota is trying to really seperate the 2 brands, lexus as purely premium models.<a href="http: www.lexus.jp" rel="nofollow">Lexus Japan
So, interm of design and quality. Are they still the same. Don't care about Rebrand or Rebadge or Rename. I wish to know why people pay more for the same design?
I think maybe Just pay more for better service?
I knews, if you buy a LEXUS, your will received a special service from dealer. like 24 hours support…..nice Showroom etc Is this correct? Paul what is your comment?
in most cases the lexus cars have better trim level such as better seats and so on.
dogthewan.
Let me put this into perspective for you.
For instance. Laptops. If you have an Acer laptop or a Fujitsu laptop…which will you go for? You pay more for the Fujitsu. The parts are pretty much the same as rumour has it that most components for laptops in the world comes from 3 manufacturers, regardless of brand. So why do you pay 6000 ringgit for a Fujitsu and 4000 for an Acer?
In Toyota's case,Lexus is created to segmentate the market in Western countries. The reason to this is because Toyota wants to compete with other luxury branded manufacturers directly, eg. BMW, Mercedes and Audi.
To the laymen, Toyota is your workhorse, the car which gets you from A to B, the car with reliability.
Lexus means class, finer built and sleeker cars with a whole lot of extra features. Eg. The Lexus Harrier. Toyota has their own version, but without the premiums. The Lexus LX300 has a camera at the back of it, while the Toyota doesn't.
Finally, an example which we commonly see is that there is the Lexus luxury model competing with the S class which costs a whopping 1 million ringgit, while Toyota's executive model, probably be the Camry, competing with the likes of Honda Accord.
the difference between lexus and toyota is that they are build to different quality control standards. but still made the toyota way, which is pretty faultless to begin with.
lexus is more expensive because the materials used are of higher quality, though the fundamental chassis and engine and other components are common to some toyota.
and in states / europe and now japan, the lexus dealers and toyota dealers are seperate. you get better service and maintenance for your lexus than your toyota.
In short, Lexus is a premium brand from Toyota, just like Acura from Honda… example, you'd find the Harrier with toyota or lexus locally, but toyota is the lower end model; with lower capacity engine, specs and things like that, hence cheaper… savvy???
As for this car, i've seen it in toyota's free magazine few month's back with the purchase of altis (not mine)… more detailed description but less pics… didnt say anything about supra replacement, just new prototype then… this is a magnificent car, avantgarde… its a toyota, nothing less to expect from them…
the fan at the back is for radiator.
the radiator is at the back for better weight balance.
Wow! Thank you for your explanation.
I agreed that higher Trim spec and add some camera and brand can create an image of Luxury or Class for customer. But back to the based, the car body structure and chassis still the same and I don't think the body steels or panel materials are different for LEXUS and TOYOTA.
So, handling and durability might be the same. Is like buying a cheap apartment or flat and then install AIR-CON, better flooring, Plasma TV……Luxury furniture, but the based structure still cheap.
How can it compare with BMW and MB? For me it is different standards cannot compare with. LEXUS only win because of Service and quality gap control to customers. Don't you think so?
Lexus is one the most successful luxury brands in the US. how can they compete with other premium brands? they already have.. and they're winning too
when Toyota introduced the first Lexus model back in the 80s,Lexus became third best selling luxury brand in US after Merc n BMW. Now they've become the best selling brand, leaving BMW at 2nd place and Cadillac at 3rd place
i've read the book about the history of toyota. The main purpose Toyota was introducing Lexus was to seriously entering the luxury car market. Literally i can say that Lexus is an equal brand compared to those Merc and BMW.
Lexus also possess better quality than Toyota in US. In US the some Lexus models are manufactured in a factory in Canada where they are entirley built by machine and has no human touch at all which is close to almost zero defect quality.
there are no direct link between having robots building a car and a more conventional way of building a car. Rolls Royce wore pride stating that their cars are 99% hand-made. can anybody find faults in RR's quality? AMG have the 'one engine-one engineer' policy where each engine is assembled/checked by authorised engineers.
what i meant was that having robots do the job doesnt guarantee perfect quality can be achieved.
last time RR wast 99% hand made but now not really.
mostly entirely built by machine and has no human touch at all which is close to almost zero defect quality, the possibility is height compare to hand maid.
the Phantom's body is shaped using robots, no doubt about that, but the minor detailings are still left to human hands. the previous RR limo, the Silver Seraph was 99% hand made
To me a Lexus is "just-a-glorified" Toyota with better build quality, equipment and innovation etc. But that is just my own individual perception of the brand. Don't get me wrong, if i had the money i would happily own one. Personally brands don't appeal to me that much, just as long as i'm getting value for my money.
On the same note, i would choose the new GS Lexus over the current 5 Series anyday. You should check out the specs and features on the GS, it's mindblowing!
I suppose the only reason why Lexus sales are doing well (or even selling their cars for that matter) with the likes of Mercedes, BMW and Audi as competition is mainly because:
1. Lexus undercuts starting prices
2. Lexus offers you more bang-for-your-buck (more equipment for your dollar).
It's a very sound marketing strategy because Lexus knows that for the time being, they cannot compete against established competion directly. So instead, they offer the same sort of high build quality as the competition but at a lower price and with more equipment.
For example, here in Australia the Lexus RX330/Harrier starts in at about 70K fully loaded (most notable are reverse camer, xenons and the 11-speaker Mark Levinson sound system). Compared this to the BMW X5 which costs from 82K and it doesn't even have xenons. I would think you would need to buy a top of the range X5 (around 120K+) to get the same equipment levels as the Lexus .
Speaking of 4×4's, the Nissan Murano just got officially released here from 50K! Man that's the price of my X-Trail back in Malaysia!
Also the Maybach Exelero will be unveild here in October with a ticket of AUD$8 million. Any takers?
starting this year, new Lexus cars will no longer be 'glorified Toyotas' anymore. Toyota now wants Lexus to grow on its own. it'll be a full fledged luxury car maker, not just a luxury arm of Toyota. previously all Lexuses are sold in japan badged as Toyotas. IS=Altezza, RX=Harrier, GS=Aristo, LX=Land Cruiser Cygnus, SC=Soarer, etc..
recently Lexus have been using 'L-Finesse' designs(whatever that means) which was made in house(Lexus). new Lexuses will have no resemblance whatsoever to their Toyota cousins. look at the new GS and IS. instant classics!
this will play a major role in making Lexus a 'proper' luxury brand. they'll get the respect they truly deserve.
yes, it is true that Lexus cars are sold cheaper than their direct rivals, but it is not because they are in inferior to BMW or MB. Lexus have always been a bargain and thats mainly because they have found a sweet spot in investing their funds. they know the right compromise to take with their cars and therefore are able to sell them at a lower price.
that doesnt make them any less remarkable. take the new GS as an example. it excels in refinement of its engine(a Lexus forte), and also gadget wise.. nothing else in the same class even comes close. Lexus is now a major player in the luxury market. true it doesnt handle as good as the 5Series or ride as well as the E-Class. neither is the Audi A6. but the Audi is a 'proper' luxury car ain't it? the same should go with Lexus. the lower price is just part of the brand's broad appeal
Well you see…
If you gave me a choice between the BMW 5 series, Lexus GS, Mercedes E-Class, Audi A6, Volvo S60, or the Jaguar S-type, I'd choose the BMW 5 series hands down. Simply because it's one of the most well engineered machine you'll find. I'm not saying that the others are not good, but the 5 series simply overwhelmes me. And heck it has design which lasts.
Back to the Lexus. It is surely Toyota, but whoever said that Toyota was bad to start with? Toyota does compete in the F1 doesn't it? It shows how wide and well-based their company is. I just think that subjecting Toyota to a crammy flat with all the gadgets doesn't cut it. Think of the Toyota as an apartment with just enough gadgets and the Lexus as a more well-furnished apartment.
I think that's more of a fair statement Dogthewan.
Well said hfrshah and karheng. You've certainly put things into perspective for me.
Did you all knows that even those Japanese themselve still cannot agreed LEXUS can replace or better than MB or BMW. Japanese still said Mercedes is Mercedes no other product can replace it. (If you don't believed me please ask any Japanese)
I also not agreed LEXUS will take over MB or BMW status. No doubts more people is buying LEXUS, it does means anything to me. For me, I prefer to buy MB or BMW with less Gadget on it compare to LEXUS. These gadget can be replaced easily not the body and chassis and engine.
Back to the base line: Apartment is apartment never be the same level as Condominium or Bungalow.
in history..
the Honda Founder.. = has worked for toyota before he became a motorcyce maker..
read the history.. His father making a something like Piston Ring for Toyota in a workshop beside his house..
Toyota already A VERY-VERY long history and long time runner in the japanese automobile..
I like the Lexus logo more than the toyota logo.
L = Luxury? :D
Of course people are still going to buy MB and BMW gadgets or not.
Like i said before, MB and BMW are 'established brands' with badge and status appeal whereas Lexus only came about in the 90's with made over toyotas. But that is changing now since Lexus are designing their own cars now.
Fact of the matter is that Lexus do make 'quality cars'. When the orginal LS400 came onto the scene in the 90's, it scared the shit out of MB and BMW with its 'super silent' engine and build quality because the europeans didn't expect Japan to produce a car of such high standards. Just sit in an early 90's S-class and a LS400 and you can see why the europeans sat up and took notice.
I honestly feel that it's competition like Lexus that keeps raising the bar for on road refinement etc forcing the market leaders to keep themselves ahead of the game. (Take Proton who have no competition. That's why they feel its still ok to produce substandard cars.)
Not all MB models have outstanding quality. The orginal ML Class Benzs were shocking (mainly cos they were built in America). A year ago they had a 'car build quality' survey (based on consumer opinions) in America and MB came a shocking 7th. I couldn't beleive it myself but it was there. Since then MB has taken the appropriate measures and now they are back in the top 3 again.
Obviously an apartment will always be an apartment no matter what you do to it. But what about 3 story penthouse apartments with 12,000 sq of space? hahaha…:) But for investment purposes of course a house is better than an apartment anyday.
My bottom line is: At the end of the day only you decide what will make you part with your money. No one can tell you which make of car you should by.
in the current LS430, you have to look at the optitron instrument panel to really know if the engine on. you cant hear a thing in the cabin. in the current S-Class the engine can be heard, albeit almost drowned out.
Mercedes car's quality have declined in the recent past. the last 'built to last' Merc is the W124 E-Class. back then Merc had a 'money no object' policy, thus their cars had unsurpassed quality level. Mercedes-Benz-"engineered like no other"
since the W210 E-class, cost cutting measures were obvious in the car's interior. cheap shiny plastics were used in abundance. but fret not as this issue has been rectified, starting with the CLS.
With all the talks above, does any of you own a Lexus? If you do, you will know the difference. It isn't just a glorified name as most of you think. It drives smoother, quieter, and more reliable. When it compares to other luxury brands? Lexus offers a much better value for similar level of performance and features.
I have several. That's all I have for many years. Wouldn't drive any other cars.
i agree, i own both a lexus and a toyota and lexus is much more of a luxery car
i agree,i own both lexus and toyota and u can really tell that lexus is much more reliable, lexus is also more comfortable and luxerious and is much more detailed
if u think about it, lexus didnt become a big company on its own, it had to have had something good to make people like it so much. like mercedes, lexus is a big luxery car comapny that is apreciated for its every detail in the cars it makes. for example, lexus' RX 330 is a great suv that has a smooth ride, comfortable seat adjustments, and aquipped with great new technology. the lexus RX330 allows u to set a certain seat adjustment so it knows exactly how u like your seat when u get it in. all u have to do is press a button and it adjusts the seat just how u like it. the lexus also comes with a navigation system if you want it and if not it has a 6 inch screen including temperature, time, radio station, and much more.
Miau, grrr, crazy,awsome, multimixing the best models :).
Sascha Hammerl