First gear is engaged by pulling back on the right shift paddle. To engage Reverse, put the LFA back into Neutral with the shift paddles and then slide a little button on the side of the instrument hood.
The parking brake is electrically operated via a switch just below the driver's right knee. The primary controls sound confusing, but acclimation comes quickly. The first order of business was to program my route in the rather unspectacular navigation system it is just a stock Lexus unit. With that complete, the second order of business was to fill the empty passenger seat. I thought about it briefly. Then I did what any responsible father would do - I drove the LFA directly to my son's middle school, marched into the front office and pulled him out of class for the rest of the day.
While only in seventh grade, and just 12 years old, he's a Forza Motorsport expert who knows more about the LFA than most salesmen in a Lexus showroom. Route Getting the LFA up to highway speed took about as much effort as dropping a rock on your foot, but that is where the exciting part ended.
I don't mean to shatter dreams, but driving any supercar in moderate traffic on a mph highway is as frustrating as having your date's mother chaperone your post-prom party.
Making matters worse, the LFA's suspension bickered with every pothole, wide expansion joint and stretch of grooved concrete it encountered - the Lexus shook the two of us like a bull attempting to throw its riders.
As we passed the coastal city of Ventura and turned inland, we laughed when a sharp impact sent us high enough to leave a pocket of air between our jeans and the Alcantara seat cushions. It was funny at first, but it got old rather quickly.
Holding a fixed interstate velocity, the constant wail of the engine also hit a nerve as it spins over 3, rpm at highway speeds.
Its soundtrack drowns out everything within three lanes, including the patience of the occupants. The two of us needed to find an open road quickly. The transmission has four modes Automatic, Normal, Sport and Snow.
I'd been using mind-numbing and slow-shifting Automatic on the highway, but as we approached Ojai on California State Route 33 CA I dropped the gearbox into its Sport mode and began to shift manually with the column-mounted paddles. Entering the artsy town, where most residents drive something along the lines of an eco-friendly Prius , I kept the engine spinning at about 4, rpm just to gauge effect.
The trio of exhaust outlets bellowed loudly, with the unique soundtrack not only encapsulating the Lexus, but broadcasting one hundred yards in each direction.
The pipes announced the arrival of the exotic like a horn blower in a medieval king's procession. It was fun to watch the peasants on the sidewalks as they turned and stared.
Done terrorizing Ojai, we filled the tank with high octane unleaded and again pointed the nose north to follow CA into the Santa Ynez Mountains. Within 15 minutes we were the only car on the twisty two-lane mountain road.
Have you ever seen how a dog reacts at the park the moment its owner releases the leash? Think about the precise second when man's best friend notes its freedom and sprints madly away, as if it has never seen an open patch of earth. The Lexus must contain a molecule of canine DNA because it seemed to sense the open road in front of it. I didn't realize it then, but I had just swallowed the LFA pill. Overcome by the passion of driving a spectacular machine on an equally breathtaking road, I seized the opportunity to put the LFA through its paces.
Here's a look at it like you've never seen before. The Savagegeese YouTube channel put together a comprehensive video on the history, design, and engineering that went into creating the iconic naturally aspirated V supercar of the early s, and if you love cars seeing how cars work, it's certainly worth a watch. We get an unprecedented look underneath the car, seeing a walkthrough of all the ultra-cool details that allow the LFA to live up to its status.
Everything, from the shocks, to the brakes, to the steering, to that magnificent engine, was built to perfection, and it shows. While that single-clutch paddle-shift gearbox certainly isn't as quick as today's dual-clutch systems, it gives the LFA a sense of theater behind the wheel.
With plenty of power on tap and only an IS F to keep pace with, this didn't prove to be problematic. Turn 3 is a severe, but slightly banked left-hander that can be taken with speed in the Lexus, allowing me to experience the high lateral G-forces the LFA was capable of creating as the vehicle and I shot uphill toward a fast, blind right turn. Turn 6 is the longest of the course, an off-camber, sweeping left that had my passenger pinned to the door as we carved through the apex and accelerated toward the high speed straight where the coupe would easily hit mph before the braking point for the Turn 7 hairpin.
Then it was into the chicane of Turns 8, 9, and 10, where the LFA's light handling at speed could be experienced. The electronic power steering was decidedly un-Lexus, possessing none of the overboosted assist that other vehicles that follow the "L" badge exhibit and communicating every bit of information gathered by the front wheels to my finger tips.
Meanwhile, the rear axle was relaying the attitude of its end of the vehicle through the seat. Lexus states that placement of the engine and gearbox at opposite ends of the vehicle produce a balanced weight distribution. Likewise, the placement of these components inboard of the vehicle's axles creates a low polar moment that allows the LFA to rotate around the driver through a turn.
With my speed and confidence increasing with each lap and encouraging chatter from the instructor still ahead of me, driving, watching and radioing back from the IS F , I started to think to myself, "Why this is rather easy! The other participants and I swapped tales of the mornings exploits. One gentleman was a new owner who was awaiting the delivery of his slightly more hard-core Nurburgring edition LFA, which would be added to his collection of Porsches.
Another was a current owner who delighted in sharing how low the serial number of his red LFA was only about will ever be made. However as we made merry, Mother Nature was setting up to spoil our afternoon and as we stepped outside in preparation for the second session of the day, we were disappointed to find a rain-slicked track. Undaunted, the instructors told us to helmet-up, strap in, and set the gearbox to Wet mode--the slower shifts supposedly upset the rear end less under acceleration, keeping the LFA's rear end planted in limited-grip situations.
Engaging first gear, I headed out onto the track. Shortcutting Turn 1 out of pit lane and charging uphill toward Turn 2, the LFA seemed undaunted by the precipitation.
Braking was also still quite good. However, the vehicle hit a wet patch as I cleared the apex and began to accelerate, causing the rear end to lose grip and swing wide. A quick flick of the wheel to catch the slide and presumably, a bit of intervention by the electronic nannies and grip was quickly restored and I was able to complete the curve without incident.
The rest of the day's sessions were done at what felt like three-quarters of the speed of the dry session still a respectable clip for the conditions and on a modified racing line that placed a higher emphasis on stability than outright speed. Even then, the LFA felt faster around the track than anything that I've ever driven. By the time we'd completed our second session, it was raining in earnest and windshield wipers were necessary for visibility.
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