Clearly I been posting too many articles; sorry about the mixup. I will correct the original link.

As for the V10, if Honda actually makes theirs I am sure that Lexus will not be far behind.

 

I'm starting to think that 500hp is too low from a V10. I think closer to 600 would justify the price of $100k plus...

 

600hp? Considering that the 5.0L V10 in the Gallardo generates just 520hp and the 5.0L V10 in the M5 does just 500hp, 500hp from a V10 with a displacement of less than 5.0L (according to the official specs) is very good already for a reliable production car.

 

And last time I checked, 520hp is MORE than 500hp. I'm thinking, 'why be at the middle of the pack with your first representation of a sports car?' If the Gallardo makes 520... this Lexus should make 560. It's the natural progression of true sports car companies. When was the last time you saw Ferrari make a V12 Lambo fighter that just was at the same level of the Lambo? They usually meet and exceed the bar. That's why the Enzo came out with 660hp and (at the time) the Murcielago only had 575hp. That's the nature of the game.

 

I think you overlooked the fact that the LF-A is front-engined and any additional weight in the front may make the car front heavy and more prone to understeer. I think Lexus wants to keep this car lightweight and focus on agility and power-to-weight ratio rather than absolute power.

 

I do not in any way believe that the Lexus supercar will be a hybrid. Too much added weight basically. Toyota is going to use a carbon fiber body for the supercar, if you believe the rumours. Adding a hybrid system would completely defeat the purpose of such a lightweight car. Also, a long while ago, there was a Toyota official quoted as saying they wanted to keep the car's weight under 2900lbs.

 

wow! *drools*

 

last time i checked, lexus is not a high maintenance car as well i have no doubt if lexus is given a v10, they can easily make 600hp or more out of it. the celica engine that they tune to race, that's 4 banger and they made 400+hp already. the v8 in the 400 and 430 lexus, you can rebuld it and easily push 450rwhp, that's over 500hp at crank.

however, everything comes at a price. maintanance is a must on most of the exotic cars. lexus, while developing an exotic car, i am sure they take reliability and other factors into account.

 

This whole story is pretty confusing. Supposedly there is an IS500 running around although there was also an IS430 running around in the past and it never made it to production either. If the 4.6 is making 380 hp why put a 5.0l in the LS600h hybrid to make 430 or 450 hp? The way Lexus rates the hp increase of the hybrid they wouldn't have any problem hitting that mark with the 4.6.

As for Lexus making special race motors, they certainly have. But if it is "simply" an overbore of the 4.6 they very well could do that for a racing only application and not have invested a lot to do it. Maybe there is a purely racing application out there that this engine might not currently qualify for but could in the near future, say, with a carburetor on top? All it would take is approving OHC and that is probably coming before the EFI sanctioning.

With all the assumptions of what Toyota/Lexus will or won't do it is amazing how fast everyone is willing to accept a "new" V8 in the passenger cars when the new V8 (4.6) isn't even here yet. Now that is something that Toyota/Lexus has not done in the past.

 

I think its coming and have said it. It would be another world first. Lexus hybrid sports car. Find a way to make it happen. Challenge perceptions and your people. Prove a hybrid can work.

Hell hollywood would eat it up

 

The IS430 was an idea sought after the IS300 was already produced. Because it was an expensive idea, building a V8 on an old chassis was not cost effective. And the RMM IS430 proved that. The idea was there to entertain what potential there would be for a V8 in a vehicle in that category. Because the new IS is an obvious new chassis...R&D in the early stages is a given.

Lexus isn't making any special race motors. They take what they already have production or pre-production and improve on it. The 4.6 is already in existence. The new V8 is the standard powerplant for the 07 LS460 which has technically been in existence since late last year. Sure the 5.0L V8 is not in production format yet, but it's a sneak preview on what's to come. At least they're thinking out of the box by releasing an engine used in a race car format to later use in production, instead of the conventional production engine turned race motor. This is a very good way for Lexus to engineer and perhaps improve their R&D methods for future engine applications. Afterall Toyota's famous mangement process of Kaizen aka "continuous improvement". This is a great way to excercise their engine R&D.

 

That picture is sick, i remember seeing a picture of an m3's motor with the manifold blazing red but the motor was half the size of this LoL

 

Instead of this motor being propped up on a motor stand for show, Lexus needs to slap it in the GS & SC asap. BMW is already using the F1 V10 from the Williams race car in the M5 & M6. Lexus needs to speed things up.

 

Incorrect internet speculation. The M5's V10 is not the same engine as as their old F1 motor. Two different motors.

 

I hope Lexus gets it right with the LF-A, it would be cool to have a V10, but they did a different approach with the LS 600h L where it was a V8 hybrid instead of V12. We'll see how they proceed, I hope they continue to put out world-class efforts.