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LFA track event in Cali today??

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Old Feb 18, 2011 | 07:19 PM
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Default LFA track event in Cali today??

Saw this posted on the Lambo forum. Anyone from here go?

Originally Posted by dreamcast18
went to a Lexus track event at Autoclub Speedway.

Weather was nice as we had the early morning session:




but you can see the storm clouds rolling in over the San Gabriel mountains:




we get a couple of laps around the track in the IS-F for familiarization; car was a bore to drive after the 2nd lap:




after that, we get to pick one of the two LF-As for some track time:




looks 'better' from the rear:



talked to the Lexus HQ folks after the runs; basically there's 25 slots left for North America; no one has customized a pink LF-A yet.
Looks: Exterior -> Hate it. It had no presence. Interior was actually surprisingly good.

Driving: The single clutch was pretty impressive; felt better than the LP560's. It was FAST. I did twitch the rear end on 2 turns. Very balanced, took me a lap to get adjusted to a RWD car. Even at high speeds, it was very stable. It really surprised me with the handling; chasis was very stiff. I was also driving the car that was not as badly beaten up. Was very impressed.

I asked for a hot lap with Scott Pruett and was told that they are doing that tomorrow for one IS-F person.

Audio: V10 sounded awesome. I was red-lining and blipping every chance i get.

Summary: Not worth the money. there's a reason why they have 25 spots left. Paris got white one (not the one they did for the PR photoshoot).
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Old Feb 18, 2011 | 08:04 PM
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So 500 sold and 25 spots left is bad? Someone correct me if I am wrong but that would mean 95% are sold and 5% are not? That is bad?

Thanks for sharing. I am pretty certain one guy here went.
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Old Feb 18, 2011 | 08:41 PM
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The review echoes what we already know: superb driving dynamics, especially cornering - and that the LFA far surpasses anything out there in chassis rigidity. I can't wait for Infineon.

I am surprised by the positive comment on the single clutch. Looks like Lexus did a good job with it.


Originally Posted by 1SICKLEX
So 500 sold and 25 spots left is bad? Someone correct me if I am wrong but that would mean 95% are sold and 5% are not? That is bad?
Not only that, the figure of 25 puts Lexus USA spot on for their prior declared slate of 150, especially if we take Claus Ettensberger's statement of a 173 allocation to heart. Still no idea why they shifted extra allocations here - seems for some reason Lexus feels it more important to have extra units in the US unsold than actually selling them in other markets. Can't say I'm really a fan of that, because these cars should go to people who want them no matter where they live.

Also, remember that when I first spoke to TMS USA insiders about the LFA way back in 2009 before the phone lines even opened, they were actually batting around a figure of 120 units to the US. Of course, I probably shouldn't complain about the process - maybe I wouldn't have gotten an allocation had they kept it at, say, 120.

Last edited by gengar; Feb 18, 2011 at 08:48 PM.
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Old Feb 18, 2011 | 08:51 PM
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Wow! He really dogged the exterior. It has no presence?? Really??

Just like I have been saying for the longest time that Lexus recently confirmed there are about 20 more LFAs up for sale.
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Old Feb 18, 2011 | 08:51 PM
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Lexus should just come out and say it already (unless they are still juggling some allocations around). The Autoblog story I posted earlier today of the unboxing says "no more than 171" with a few remaining.

With that said, I think the OP was talking about US allocation only, not the full 500. But its just his opinion if he thinks its bad. I have no problems with that.

He did seem to respect it other than the exterior and price.
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Old Feb 18, 2011 | 09:23 PM
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Yes, Lexus LFA Track event at Fontana today



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeX3bQCfgYo

Sorry I am not expert yet, but until then... this will do

https://www.clublexus.com/index.php?...653&Itemid=155

A lot I want to say, but I am busy heading out of town. One interesting car
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Old Feb 18, 2011 | 09:49 PM
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Looks like fun! Some nice colors in that last pic. Good thing it was sunny for a little bit today.
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Old Feb 18, 2011 | 10:18 PM
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Originally Posted by rominl
https://www.clublexus.com/index.php?...653&Itemid=155

A lot I want to say, but I am busy heading out of town. One interesting car
Great write up Henry!

Thanks for the link....I hardly know there is a front page since I'm always linked directly to the forums...lol.
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Old Feb 18, 2011 | 11:37 PM
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LFA exterior has not been receiving a lot of praises for some reason. The lack of fender flares, wheels arches not being filled properly and boxy proportions might be the culpirt. The one I read the most is, it does not "look" like a $375,000 car.
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Old Feb 18, 2011 | 11:41 PM
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Who cares what people think. IMO it looks good. It performs good, and it's rare. That's all that matters. It does have presence. But not in those bland looking colors. In whitest white it looks stunning. In black it looks stunning, also in red and pearl blue. That yellow and that orange look bland to me. They aren't like Lamborghini colors and are a bit toned down compared to high bright they look. Seeing as how it's a Lambo guy, that's probably what he's referring to. Of course he even had to admit that the car was an awesome performer.
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Old Feb 19, 2011 | 12:37 AM
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WOW i want more video, thats not enough to try to experiance what is like in a LFA.

I wanna see one like this, but with a LFA. This is one of my favorite vids.This guy is a driving mofocker!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mJ69BaBlZM

Last edited by spdrcr771; Feb 19, 2011 at 12:44 AM.
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Old Feb 19, 2011 | 01:21 AM
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Originally Posted by bnizzle87
Looks like fun! Some nice colors in that last pic. Good thing it was sunny for a little bit today.
yes, i was lucky to be in the morning session so i was able to push the car more and also got hot laps from scott. though i was also thinking what it would be like in wet

Originally Posted by CDNROCKIES
Great write up Henry!

Thanks for the link....I hardly know there is a front page since I'm always linked directly to the forums...lol.
hahaha yeah, read the front page!

Originally Posted by 05RollaXRS
LFA exterior has not been receiving a lot of praises for some reason. The lack of fender flares, wheels arches not being filled properly and boxy proportions might be the culpirt. The one I read the most is, it does not "look" like a $375,000 car.
i think this is so subjective and personal, it's really about preference. some like ferrari for whatever it is, and some just doesn't like the styling of lfa coz' it looks big (and i think it does) and high lines. to me it's no big deal, i like how the car looks
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Old Feb 19, 2011 | 01:24 AM
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It was definitely a fun event. Spending a good amount of time talking racing with Scott Pruett was probably my favorite part. Unfortunately it was raining pretty hard by the time I got behind the wheel of an LFA, which took a lot of the aggressiveness out of the laps. The instructors set a quick pace in the lead follow, and I really would have liked the opportunity to drive on a dry track, but I still had a blast piloting an LFA. Kudos to Lexus for allowing us the opportunity.




Javier
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Old Feb 19, 2011 | 02:20 AM
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Thanks for the posting! Orange looks interesting the sunlight .

LOL at the comments from the LP560 owner. IS F was a "bore" to drive, compared to what exactly? LFA exterior has "no presence", that goes against the strong majority opinion that the exterior has a lot of presence. The irony is that this comes from an owner of an LP560, a car that is basically a boxy wedge and IMO looks dull and in real life does not have much presence.

Also funny to hear him describe how great the driving experience is, yet then say the LFA is "not worth" the money. Oh well, exotic supercars are emotional buys, you can't please everybody.

Also if that is accurate info regarding only 25 left in the US for sale, then that means Lexus has sold almost 150 in the US. I wonder what the haters will say regarding this.
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Old Feb 19, 2011 | 02:25 AM
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They intended to only sell that many in the first place, correct? And didn't they supposedly allocate more units to the U.S.? The comments were pretty funny.

He says it's not worth it, but the driving experience was great, as well as the sound. Guess his Gallardo is more appealing. I don't think so, to each his own though.
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