Is the Lexus LFA more durable than a Ferrari?
05-24-12, 08:30 AM
#1
Is the Lexus LFA more durable than a Ferrari?
Lexus College National Manager Paul Williamsen is always the person you want to talk to about every details in Lexus vehicles. He's one of the most knowledgeable guys out there on Lexus. Here's an interesting story reported by topgear
http://www.topgear.com.ph/features/f...than-a-ferrari
http://www.topgear.com.ph/features/f...than-a-ferrari
Is the Lexus LFA more durable than a Ferrari?
Lexus's top technical guy, Paul Williamsen, tells us a story about the LFA supercar. One time, while his team was driving it around in the US, they ran into a group of Ferrari owners. The latter were surprised when they found out that the LFA unit that Williamsen and his crew were driving had already accumulated 25,000 miles (40,000km).
And so the Ferrari guys asked Williamsen: "So, how many engines has this car used through all that mileage?"
That's a question that makes sense, considering the fact that the ultra-expensive supercoupe's 4.8-liter V10 engine revs to 8,700rpm to produce a maximum output of 552hp. These numbers ought to be harsh to the powertrain components, right?
"Just one," answered Paul.
"One?" the Ferrari guys asked, obviously impressed. "And how many times have you replaced the transmission?"
"Never," Paul replied. "This car has used the same stock engine and transmission through 25,000 miles."
Needless to say, the Ferrari owners couldn't imagine their own exotic cars being driven that far without going through some engine or transmission replacement.
Lexus's top technical guy, Paul Williamsen, tells us a story about the LFA supercar. One time, while his team was driving it around in the US, they ran into a group of Ferrari owners. The latter were surprised when they found out that the LFA unit that Williamsen and his crew were driving had already accumulated 25,000 miles (40,000km).
And so the Ferrari guys asked Williamsen: "So, how many engines has this car used through all that mileage?"
That's a question that makes sense, considering the fact that the ultra-expensive supercoupe's 4.8-liter V10 engine revs to 8,700rpm to produce a maximum output of 552hp. These numbers ought to be harsh to the powertrain components, right?
"Just one," answered Paul.
"One?" the Ferrari guys asked, obviously impressed. "And how many times have you replaced the transmission?"
"Never," Paul replied. "This car has used the same stock engine and transmission through 25,000 miles."
Needless to say, the Ferrari owners couldn't imagine their own exotic cars being driven that far without going through some engine or transmission replacement.
05-24-12, 09:51 AM
#2
Couldn't it be relative though?
If the engine or transmission replacement for the LFA doesn't arrive until the 50k mark but costs twice as much as the Ferrari which arrives at 25k, aren't they just cancelling each other out?
I think more information would be needed to give a complete response as there are a few more scenarios I can come up with to skew in either direction.
If the engine or transmission replacement for the LFA doesn't arrive until the 50k mark but costs twice as much as the Ferrari which arrives at 25k, aren't they just cancelling each other out?
I think more information would be needed to give a complete response as there are a few more scenarios I can come up with to skew in either direction.
05-24-12, 11:06 AM
#3
Lexus Test Driver
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^ +1 agreed. I would bet Lexus > Ferrari in terms of durability any day, but the initial cost of the LFA vs. the initial cost + maintenance of a Ferrari would still lean towards Ferrari.
05-24-12, 11:16 AM
#4
Lexus Test Driver
Once all variables are taken into consideration, you will see the price difference is not that big.
Taking the example of current in-production Ferrari models
The ask rate of optioned out brand new and slightly used 458 Italia is between $300,000 - $350,000 for all of these 25 for sale
http://www.dupontregistry.com/autos/...&modelname=458 Italia
The asking price of the outgoing 599 GTB with HGTE track package is about $400,000
http://media.caranddriver.com/files/...ite-flight.pdf
Now comparing this to the LFAs for sale on the web, the price is mostly between $385,000 - $394,000 in those available for sale and the fact that much of the pricing is due to only bespoke 500 production limit as well as usage of carbon fiber, you should see pricing is really a moot point in this argument.
http://www.dupontregistry.com/autos/...&modelname=LFA
Last edited by 05RollaXRS; 05-24-12 at 02:18 PM.
05-24-12, 11:27 AM
#5
Lexus Connoisseur
Paul is the Lexus Encyclopedia. Wait I take that back, he's the Toyota Encyclopedia, compassing all things Toyota. That LFA transmission is very durable. Aisin is well known for making bulletproof transmissions for Toyota and Lexus over the years. They're proven and they can take a beating.
05-24-12, 01:55 PM
#7
if any of you, in some way, agree that owning a mb / bmw for 200k miles is going to cost more overall to maintain (keep running in good condition) compared to a lexus, then i think it's not much of a debate here regarding lfa vs ferraris
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05-24-12, 08:32 PM
#8
Not disagreeing with the premise that the Lexus is built tougher, just that it's not a blanket statement when it comes to the word durable. It's not a one to one comparison. There are tons of variables that can be thrown in to balance out the equation. If you put the Lexus next to ANY Ferrari and run them flat out until they break, I'm betting Lexus every time, but that's never going to happen.
05-25-12, 09:13 AM
#9
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Not disagreeing with the premise that the Lexus is built tougher, just that it's not a blanket statement when it comes to the word durable. It's not a one to one comparison. There are tons of variables that can be thrown in to balance out the equation. If you put the Lexus next to ANY Ferrari and run them flat out until they break, I'm betting Lexus every time, but that's never going to happen.
05-25-12, 11:00 AM
#11
Moderator: LFA, Clubhouse
Well, this isn't really at all surprising to anyone. What would you trust more, a product developed by Toyota in-house to exacting specs and then produced in conjunction with a Japanese company like Denso or Aisin, or some out-of-house product from an Italian company like Graziano? Or heck even Getrag (go read about all the 2011 458 owners who had to replace their transmissions... some more than once).
That said, we'll see. You never know with these super high performance limited production vehicles. While P014 and the (originally) matte black proto did get public road time, most of the mileage nevertheless was accrued on the track. It's a much different thing for reliability to be putzing around on nasty and unpredictable public roads than on the track.
That said, we'll see. You never know with these super high performance limited production vehicles. While P014 and the (originally) matte black proto did get public road time, most of the mileage nevertheless was accrued on the track. It's a much different thing for reliability to be putzing around on nasty and unpredictable public roads than on the track.
Last edited by gengar; 05-25-12 at 09:31 PM.
05-25-12, 03:14 PM
#13
executive matchup
i read somewhere on the web (can't remember the source now) that it costs on average, approx. $50K per year for repairs/maintenance on a ferrari or lamborghini. not sure if this comment is true or not, but i would think it's fairly close.
the question one needs to ask oneself is: will you pay the same annual maintenance cost ($50K) for a LFA? i would hazard a guess that the answer would probably be no.
the question one needs to ask oneself is: will you pay the same annual maintenance cost ($50K) for a LFA? i would hazard a guess that the answer would probably be no.
05-26-12, 05:58 AM
#15
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i read somewhere on the web (can't remember the source now) that it costs on average, approx. $50K per year for repairs/maintenance on a ferrari or lamborghini. not sure if this comment is true or not, but i would think it's fairly close.
the question one needs to ask oneself is: will you pay the same annual maintenance cost ($50K) for a LFA? i would hazard a guess that the answer would probably be no.
the question one needs to ask oneself is: will you pay the same annual maintenance cost ($50K) for a LFA? i would hazard a guess that the answer would probably be no.
. As for the durability discussion, Lexus USA cars are probably living proofs that the LFAs are robust. They all got used to the max at track events, by newbies and professional racers. Tires, brakes and fluids are probably the only major items on their service records.