Daily Slideshow: Will the LC500 be Better than the LFA?

Different Categories

Supercars like the LFA can’t be compared in any way, shape, or form to cars like the LC500. The design philosophy is completely different in a V10, 200mph screamer from a fast, but lazy touring car. LC500s are designed to pile 3 people into a car and go skiing in Tahoe for the weekend while you sip champagne and talk about fine wine. The LFA is for people who want to blow their eardrums out at a heavy metal concert.

Engines Are Night And Day

At 4,800cc the 10-cylinder LFA is capable of producing 552 horsepower at a blistering 8,700rpm. Shifting is done courtesy of an automated sequential gearbox that beats down shifting times like a prizefighter. Horsepower is close in these cars, but the nature of the V10 is so much more savage. The experience is like doing shots of adrenaline compared to Redbull. Both are great cars, but the LFA is a more sharpened performance car in every sense of the word.

>>Join the conversation about the LC vs LFA comparisons right here in the ClubLexus forum.

Placement of Mass

Front engine cars, like the LC500, preferably have a majority of their mass located over or just behind the front axle. Mid-engine cars such as the LFA (front-mid mounted) have the majority of their mass between the front and rear axles, centrally located. This placement of weight causes the car to pivot and rotate much more freely in cornering. It’s a very sporty way to build a car that translates to the driving experience. Again, these two are different in that sense, even though they might not look that way on paper.

>>Join the conversation about the LC vs LFA comparisons right here in the ClubLexus forum.

Weight

Comparing these two on the scales wouldn’t be entirely shocking. The LFA comes in almost 1,000lbs lighter than the LC500 making it ultra nimble in transitions where pivoting the chassis left to right is key. A decent driver would notice this within the first few seconds of cornering. Added weight and engine placement combine to make for a much more “relaxed” driving experience in the LC500.

>>Join the conversation about the LC vs LFA comparisons right here in the ClubLexus forum.

Summary

These cars are not really all that similar despite all the many comparisons being drawn. Both are great examples of Lexus competence and engineering prowess across two different categories. A surgeons scalpel, the LFA slices decisively through any race track with all the hairs on your neck standing up. The LC500 is a locomotive train for the road that is wrapped in a truly brilliant interior. Two amazing cars with two totally different goals. Hope you enjoyed this one. Cheers. 

>>Join the conversation about the LC vs LFA comparisons right here in the ClubLexus forum.

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