What!!?!?! LS 400 at the Nurburgring !!
06-09-05, 06:14 PM
#1
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What!!?!?! LS 400 at the Nurburgring !!
http://www.drive.com.au/editorial/ar...x?id=7553&vf=1
LATEST LEXUS EARNS A 'RING OF CONFIDENCE
The Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday February 25 1999
Toyota went to the world's most feared and revered race circuit, in its German rivals' heartland, to show the soul of the LS400. PHIL SCOTT reports.
The problem: a perception that Lexus builds precision cars with no passion; perfection minus a personality. This image isn't good for business.
The solution: ship the new model and a dozen journalists to the Nurburgring, high altar of German auto culture, on what MPs would call a fact-finding mission. All expenses paid.
The key exhibit: a new, harder-edged Lexus flagship, the LS400, for which its maker claims indecently fast acceleration, beyond even that of the rival V8s from BMW, Mercedes and Audi. Suspension and steering are similarly sporty, with all manner of electronic and computerised handling aids.
The price, already beyond the bounds of sanity, happily hasn't budged a dollar. At $155,350 it remains one-third cheaper than the equivalent Mercedes, a quarter less than a BMW 740 and even undercuts Jaguar's new Sovereign.
On hand at the 'Ring is former Formula One world champion Alan Jones, who recommends helmets. "Around here," he says, cocking an eye at the misty Eiffel mountains, "anything can happen. A wheel might come off or I might forget which way the track goes."
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Germany's old Nurburgring is infamous: a 20.8 km ribbon of road that rises and falls 300 metres while simultaneously corkscrewing and zig-zagging through 170 corners, most of them blind. Hitler really enjoyed his motor racing at the 'Ring, because his Reich-sponsored Mercedes and Auto Unions usually followed the script, and won.
It can take weeks to learn the original north circuit, a place so dangerous and unforgiving, so rich with ghosts and folklore, there hasn't been a Formula One race on it since 1976 when Niki Lauda was lightly toasted in his Ferrari.
Jones and I are about to hurtle around the world's most feared, revered piece of racetrack in the world's least likely car, 1.8 tonnes of leather-lined, Japanese-made luxury cruiser. The incongruity is on par with Mal Meninga lining up for the Olympic 100 metres final. In a tux.
"This is brave bringing these cars here," muses the burly 1980 champ as he peels off the new part of the circuit onto the original layout. The Lexus is at full roar, which is distinctly and commendably sotto voce, apart from the tyres. Jones scythes from kerb to kerb, then attacks the famous Flugplatz - literally, the flying place - with gusto. We leave terra firma for an instant.
He is sweating, working hard, yet casually points out the spots where Niki Lauda had his Big One, where Ronnie Peterson launched into the gravel. The world outside is a green blur and the road looks exceedingly narrow. On the Adenau Bridge, made famous in all that grainy Fangio footage, Jones points to the spot where he tangled with Vittorio Brambilla, at better than 200 km/h, and lived.
It's a rollercoaster of crests, dips and frantic blind double-apex corners - about 90 peeling off the left, perhaps 80 corkscrewing right. Think Mount Panorama from Reid Park to Forest Elbow ... then multiply by 20 and throw in two evil half-banked corners, the Karusel and its smaller brother, which if taken less than millimetre-perfect can despatch the car into the nearby trees.
The ferocity of the test is designed to give Lexus credibility, viz the European grandees which now use the 'Ring as a daunting test and development circuit.
Without a heritage of its own, Lexus has come to Germany to borrow one.
"It is categorically important," the Lexus people insist, "to demonstrate the autobahn credibility of our flagship ..."
The original 1990 LS400 was one of my favourite cars. It rocked the luxury car establishment to its steel-belted radials because it was quieter, smoother, better built and cheaper than any luxury car from Europe. The great marques were publicly dismissive; privately, their engineers were incredulous at the depth of the Lexus achievement.
But then Toyota chairman Eiji Toyoda's "most cherised child" succumbed to Japanese dithering. The 1994 model was completely new but baffling. A few hundred million dollars had been spent making wholesale changes but not even the experts could tell it from the old one.
To a charge of arch conservatism, even Lexus's new chief engineer pleads guilty. "Many times when a team gets ahead by one goal it starts to play conservatively," says Yashushi Tanaka.
"Most customers didn't understand the difference between the first and second generation, so this time we make a big change." Not so you'd notice on the outside. What did the Nurburgring prove?
Simply this: Lexus has the technology but it no longer insulates the driver. Japan's leading luxury brand is on the way to acquiring a soul.
The former model, a loungeroom on wheels, would have been reduced to a smoking mess on the 'Ring. The new one handled it with relative ease, lapping in times similar to those set by Tazio Nuvolari ... in 1932.
How this relates to the real commuting world of the Harbour Bridge and the Pacific Highway remains a mystery.
Was the old LS400 too conservative? "Yes," says Tanaka without hesitation.
Will the new, more extroverted model reprise the feat of the original 1990 masterwork and dent German pride? Probably not. But it's a fair improvement.
LATEST LEXUS EARNS A 'RING OF CONFIDENCE
The Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday February 25 1999
Toyota went to the world's most feared and revered race circuit, in its German rivals' heartland, to show the soul of the LS400. PHIL SCOTT reports.
The problem: a perception that Lexus builds precision cars with no passion; perfection minus a personality. This image isn't good for business.
The solution: ship the new model and a dozen journalists to the Nurburgring, high altar of German auto culture, on what MPs would call a fact-finding mission. All expenses paid.
The key exhibit: a new, harder-edged Lexus flagship, the LS400, for which its maker claims indecently fast acceleration, beyond even that of the rival V8s from BMW, Mercedes and Audi. Suspension and steering are similarly sporty, with all manner of electronic and computerised handling aids.
The price, already beyond the bounds of sanity, happily hasn't budged a dollar. At $155,350 it remains one-third cheaper than the equivalent Mercedes, a quarter less than a BMW 740 and even undercuts Jaguar's new Sovereign.
On hand at the 'Ring is former Formula One world champion Alan Jones, who recommends helmets. "Around here," he says, cocking an eye at the misty Eiffel mountains, "anything can happen. A wheel might come off or I might forget which way the track goes."
advertisement
advertisement
Germany's old Nurburgring is infamous: a 20.8 km ribbon of road that rises and falls 300 metres while simultaneously corkscrewing and zig-zagging through 170 corners, most of them blind. Hitler really enjoyed his motor racing at the 'Ring, because his Reich-sponsored Mercedes and Auto Unions usually followed the script, and won.
It can take weeks to learn the original north circuit, a place so dangerous and unforgiving, so rich with ghosts and folklore, there hasn't been a Formula One race on it since 1976 when Niki Lauda was lightly toasted in his Ferrari.
Jones and I are about to hurtle around the world's most feared, revered piece of racetrack in the world's least likely car, 1.8 tonnes of leather-lined, Japanese-made luxury cruiser. The incongruity is on par with Mal Meninga lining up for the Olympic 100 metres final. In a tux.
"This is brave bringing these cars here," muses the burly 1980 champ as he peels off the new part of the circuit onto the original layout. The Lexus is at full roar, which is distinctly and commendably sotto voce, apart from the tyres. Jones scythes from kerb to kerb, then attacks the famous Flugplatz - literally, the flying place - with gusto. We leave terra firma for an instant.
He is sweating, working hard, yet casually points out the spots where Niki Lauda had his Big One, where Ronnie Peterson launched into the gravel. The world outside is a green blur and the road looks exceedingly narrow. On the Adenau Bridge, made famous in all that grainy Fangio footage, Jones points to the spot where he tangled with Vittorio Brambilla, at better than 200 km/h, and lived.
It's a rollercoaster of crests, dips and frantic blind double-apex corners - about 90 peeling off the left, perhaps 80 corkscrewing right. Think Mount Panorama from Reid Park to Forest Elbow ... then multiply by 20 and throw in two evil half-banked corners, the Karusel and its smaller brother, which if taken less than millimetre-perfect can despatch the car into the nearby trees.
The ferocity of the test is designed to give Lexus credibility, viz the European grandees which now use the 'Ring as a daunting test and development circuit.
Without a heritage of its own, Lexus has come to Germany to borrow one.
"It is categorically important," the Lexus people insist, "to demonstrate the autobahn credibility of our flagship ..."
The original 1990 LS400 was one of my favourite cars. It rocked the luxury car establishment to its steel-belted radials because it was quieter, smoother, better built and cheaper than any luxury car from Europe. The great marques were publicly dismissive; privately, their engineers were incredulous at the depth of the Lexus achievement.
But then Toyota chairman Eiji Toyoda's "most cherised child" succumbed to Japanese dithering. The 1994 model was completely new but baffling. A few hundred million dollars had been spent making wholesale changes but not even the experts could tell it from the old one.
To a charge of arch conservatism, even Lexus's new chief engineer pleads guilty. "Many times when a team gets ahead by one goal it starts to play conservatively," says Yashushi Tanaka.
"Most customers didn't understand the difference between the first and second generation, so this time we make a big change." Not so you'd notice on the outside. What did the Nurburgring prove?
Simply this: Lexus has the technology but it no longer insulates the driver. Japan's leading luxury brand is on the way to acquiring a soul.
The former model, a loungeroom on wheels, would have been reduced to a smoking mess on the 'Ring. The new one handled it with relative ease, lapping in times similar to those set by Tazio Nuvolari ... in 1932.
How this relates to the real commuting world of the Harbour Bridge and the Pacific Highway remains a mystery.
Was the old LS400 too conservative? "Yes," says Tanaka without hesitation.
Will the new, more extroverted model reprise the feat of the original 1990 masterwork and dent German pride? Probably not. But it's a fair improvement.
06-09-05, 06:57 PM
#2
Speaks French in Russian
Hmmm...wow interesting. I had no idea that they actually did this. We all know that the LS is a somewhat capable car when pushed(proved by many tests done by magazines), but lacks the feel and agility of some competitors in its class. Like many have stated before, Lexus luxury, smoothness, and solidity outplays any sport the company has and unfortunately this little gathering didnt help them out much. They did however improve on the hanfling on the LS with the new LS430 and the sport package, but its still not enough. But I'm pretty sure that it won a few people over that the LS is more than just a cushy bvld cruiser. It will do what it has to do when begged upon to do so.
I am pretty damn happy that Lexus did this, and proves that once again, Lexus marketing is one of the best in the business(and this was back in 1999, I dont think anyone at this time took there cars to a track to prove people wrong, well atleast I dont think so).
Hmmm, definitely going to play GT4 now and master my skills on the Nurburgring.
I am pretty damn happy that Lexus did this, and proves that once again, Lexus marketing is one of the best in the business(and this was back in 1999, I dont think anyone at this time took there cars to a track to prove people wrong, well atleast I dont think so).
Hmmm, definitely going to play GT4 now and master my skills on the Nurburgring.
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