The Lexus LFA is heading back to Nürburgring this May, the place where it clocked plenty of testing miles in pre-production form. This time, the mission is to challenge for glory in the famed 24 hours endurance race.
It will be the first time the production LFA enters a competition. However, the car isn’t a stranger to the Nürburgring 24 Hours as development versions of Lexus’ supercar were entered in two previous occasions to help hone performance and handling. Toyota president Akio Toyoda took his turn behind the wheel in those outings.
Gazoo Racing will prepare two LFAs for the race. Led by top Toyota test driver Hiromu Naruse, the team will include four Japanese and three German drivers who between them have outstanding GT and endurance racing experience.
Takayuki Kinoshita is a six-time winner of the Super Taikyu Endurance Series and is the most experienced Japanese driver in the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Akira Ida was overall winner of the Tokachi 24 Hours in 1995 and 2007, and both Juichi Wakisaka and Kazuya Oshima race in Super GT.
The Germans are Armin Hahne, winner of the Spa 24 Hours in 1982 and 1983; Jochen Krumbach, who finished second overall in the 2008 Nürburgring 24 Hours; and Andre Lotterer, reigning Super GT 500 champion. Sepang Super GT regulars will recognise Lotterer as the man who drives for championship winning Team Petronas Tom’s.
The Lexus LFA is powered by a 552 bhp mid-mounted V10 engine, and is capable of 0-100 km/h in 3.7 seconds and a top speed beyond 320 km/h. More images after the jump.
Danny Tan loves driving as much as he loves a certain herbal meat soup, and sweet engine music as much as drum beats. He has been in the auto industry since 2006, previously filling the pages of two motoring magazines before joining this website. Enjoys detailing the experience more than the technical details.
Go Lexus…..
Go Lexus
this thing cost like 300k USD plus. and still they havent made any money selling it at such price.
still got balls to run it 24 hours Nurburgring? atleast they got to assemble 2 cars. another for spare.
they havent got the best accountants, have they?
sigh..pity them
have to put effort to be known as supercar..
ferarri,lambo & porshce just come out with a car and everybody is complementing for dunno what
Hopefully after Nürburgring 24 Hours, the next step would be FIA GT or Le Mans 24 Hours!
this is fun.
I didnt realize LFA is so ugly…
…but what if the brakes don't work?
Didn't the LFA fail at Nurburgring last year. Maybe it'll be better this year.
this bodykit makes rear of this lfa looks ugly….
rear is fugly..love the sound though..
Still ugly..
imo, this is nt a brilliant car…i agree with drM…it is sooo expensive though lapping nurburgring slower than nissan gtr if im not mistaken…so..y should we buy this car in a first place???better go for other supercar brand…
Stormtroopers
rear too plasticky…like gundam lol
Original car looks so much better than this necessary bodykit to race.
In 2009 they had the following positions on the Nürburgring:
87th -> No. 14 Gazoo Racing, 41 laps behind the leading Porsche 911 GT3
The second LF-A (No.15) had mechanical problems in lap 106 and was taken out of the race.
BTW. In 2009 a Renault Clio was 83rd, a Honda Civic was 77th and a VW Scirocco CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) was 17th.
http://adac.24h-rennen.de/uploads/media/24h-Ender…
sorry to say……..the rear of the car is soooo ugly.
So, Toyota has proven that expensive marque can be ugly too.
ah…the glorious growl of an idling race-tuned V10.
Mohd said,
March 16, 2010 @ 10:22 pm
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good point mohd. the fact it is.
ugly – overpriced – boring – not fast car = rubbish
yes.. it's toyota btw, what do you expect?.
This car is awesome, but the price tag is not proportional to it's performance.
The rear look absolutely gorgeous
Gundam Wings ! on 'tyres' !
drMPower said:
this thing cost like 300k USD plus. and still they havent made any money selling it at such price.
still got balls to run it 24 hours Nurburgring? atleast they got to assemble 2 cars. another for spare.
they havent got the best accountants, have they?
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Dr M, retire lah, don't kacau2 here!
They don't have good accountants…..
BUT they have the best Marketing people! If you go to school long enough and understand what is 'Loss Leader', then you'll understand.
Gazoo had the LF-A and the IS-F last year. Position 56 and 156 respectively. Let's see if they can do better.
End of the day LFA is a benchmark. The technology used to built this car is something Lambo or Ferrari never dreamed off. It is far advance than any supercar available today and thus the price. Technology has a price and there are people willing to pay for the latest. So far the sales speak for themselves and you cant deny the attraction.
So conti fan boy pls give credit where due…I am sorry lexus has done something that Ferrari should done years ago which is build reliable and quality cars.
Last year's Nurburgring was more like a testing session for Lexus, I suppose.
This year's edition could show something different….
That's the main point Lexus entering Auto Racing competition just to test their engine. Not like Lotus 1Malaysia under Proton that just want to gain cheap popularity in automotive industry. MALAYSIA SEMUA PUN BOLEH!!! hehehehe!!