Lexus LF-A: The Long and Winding Road

[Keef]

Please, do tell what alternatives have the efficiency of an electric setup. The only place I do not see electric motors prevailing is aeronautics, where weight from batteries is a large concern.

I'm not a massive fan of electric cars, but the reality is the electric motor is more than twice as efficient at converting stored energy into kinetic when compared to an ICE of any sort. Hydrogen ICE is like taking two steps forward (storing hydrogen safely) while taking three steps backward (wasting most of the energy to heat) because, again, the ICE is just woeful by today's standards.

There are numerous electric airplanes in development right now, including a version of Cessna's 172 powered by lithium batteries. Most of the others are very light or are self-propelled gliders.

The fact that Boeing mucked up their lithium batteries on the 787 was a disaster for that type of battery in aviation. They're so reliable in every day use, even in cars; they royally screwed that one up. It's like they let a 5 year old design a technology that's been dead-nuts reliable for 10+ years. Why didn't they just call Samsung and say, yo, we need some batteries that won't blow up.

Not only is a hydrogen engine less efficient, simply making the hydrogen seems moronic to me. The only practical ways to do it involve the use of resources which are already useful in themselves.

You can make hydrogen by burning fossil fuels and doing magic with steam; natural gas, methane, is a good fuel to use. The only problem is that methane is already perfectly useful by itself. But, hell, in the name of science why don't we just not use the perfectly good methane, add a bunch of complicated and unnecessary steps, then make and use hydrogen which is even less efficient a fuel than methane.

Or electrolysis. Why on earth would anybody think of using the electricity that is already mass produced and used by virtually everything everywhere to power cars, too? That's dumb. We should use the already useful, available, and very cheap electricity to boil some water and make hydrogen which is far worse a source of energy than the electricity we just wasted to make it. Yeah, that's a great idea.

I'm no scientist or engineer but sometimes I really wonder what these people are thinking. It's like, why on earth do we burn coal to make electricity when we can use that coal to...[insert complex and expensive 7 step process]...and viola, we've created hydrogen to burn and create electricity. Which we'll then use to create more hydrogen. #engineering

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Please, do tell what alternatives have the efficiency of an electric setup. The only place I do not see electric motors prevailing is aeronautics, where weight from batteries is a large concern.

Once again you make leaps to things that aren't their, I never said that there were alternatives that are more efficient. Yet your clear bias for the electric movement is seen. Should I go all caps and inform you that I don't hate electric engines. All I said is there will always be alternatives as gas begins to fade back to the stone age. Also you're quite wrong about aeronautics, but we can debate that pm, since it doesn't have anything to do with Lexus and that is the field I major in. The point is there is a market now for varying types of energy, and thus to think it will go back to one like that with gasoline for so many years or steam before that, is a bit optimistic. However, there will be competition from here on unless electric proponents can take fully over.

I'm not a massive fan of electric cars

Could have fooled me

but the reality is the electric motor is more than twice as efficient at converting stored energy into kinetic when compared to an ICE of any sort.

Once again and I will underline it so it hopefully stick with you; I am not debating or saying that electricity isn't efficient one only needs to look at the torque curves with electric-diesels to realize how wonderful they are compared to gas combustion. However, once again Lexus had a driver's car pathos on the construction of their hyper car.

Hydrogen ICE is like taking two steps forward (storing hydrogen safely) while taking three steps backward (wasting most of the energy to heat) because, again, the ICE is just woeful by today's standards.

I'm well aware of the issues with Hydrogen, and for the final time if I had said it wasn't efficient (electric that is) then you arguing with a battle axe would make logical sense. Yet since I didn't do that, this just seems like the rantings of a misreading on your part. Also a more massive issue with Hydrogen is how to harvest it and thus creating tons of green house gas just to make a "clean fuel".

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

NEWS -> The Lexus LFA GTE that never was:

This is the Lexus LFA GTE which was originally developed to compete in the 2012 WEC season.
Toyota Motorsport GmbH had plans to race a GTE car and a LMP1 vehicle that year, but while the TS030 participated at 24 Hours of Le Mans, the GTE was never officially revealed.
The reason why Toyota pulled the plug on the LFA GTE has to do with logistics since they didn't want to have two programs running at the same time, especially when they were preparing for a Le Mans return. However, they did test the car in May 2011 in Valencia after spending some time in the wind tunnel.
At one point they wanted to race the car in the VLN series for customer teams at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Various setups were developed for the car, including one for sprint racing in the FIA GT Championship. Powering the LFA was a V10 rated at 475 HP (349 kW) and 560 Nm (413 lb-ft) of torque at 9,000 rpm put to the ground via a six-speed gearbox geared to 186 mph (300 km/h).
Even though it was canned, some of the knowledge acquired during development was put to good use in the Gazoo Racing Lexus LFA which took class victories at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring.

LINK

 

[G.T.Ace]

It's beautiful, would've loved to see it at Le Mans.

 

[dice1998]

So the loom that helped shape parts for the LFA will apparently be on display (via video, apparently) at the London Design Museum.

http://jalopnik.com/lexus-lfas-carbon-fiber-tech-heads-to-the-london-desig-941685798

From now until Oct. 29, the museum will showcase raw carbon fiber material, formed vehicle parts and a video presentation about the Lexus Carbon Loom as part of an exhibit called The Future is Here: A New Industrial Revolution.

and a video of said loom:



I wish I could go and see it .

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

-> I find it odd lately that Lexus NA shows off the LFA (Nurbie-spec Edition of all things!) is all over the ads here in the US promoting their new IS & GS. Why not more awesome ads for the LFA when it was still in production?

 

[GranTurismo916]

-> I find it odd lately that Lexus NA shows off the LFA (Nurbie-spec Edition of all things!) is all over the ads here in the US promoting their new IS & GS. Why not more awesome ads for the LFA when it was still in production?

Yeah, I saw that and I was like:

 

[Keef]

Because they've got new product coming out.

There's no sense in advertising a hyper expensive hypercar that nobody can afford to buy except a select few people who find out about it via hookups and invites and other special ways that nobody else does.

But when you show off an extreme product alongside your other offerings that people can actually afford to buy, it makes them look that much better. You guys really need to start factoring more economic principles into your analyses of the automotive industry. It's pretty simple why they do the things they do.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

I think the LF-A is possibly the most rigorously engineered car ever produced. Each and every owner is a very lucky soul indeed. There is not a car ever made I would take before an LF-A I don't believe.

 

[Keef]

I'd take one. I'd sit on it for a while until it appreciated, then sell it for a Miata or FRS, a car which you can actually have fun with on a daily basis, and buy house, a boat and an airplane with the rest.

 

[Bram Turismo]

I'd buy one and live in it for the rest of my life. That's how beautiful I think the interior is. Then I'd married it and buy it an entire house for itself.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

I'd take one. I'd sit on it for a while until it appreciated, then sell it for a Miata or FRS, a car which you can actually have fun with on a daily basis, and buy house, a boat and an airplane with the rest.

Way to be practical, Keef. And boring.

 

[Kent]

I'd have fun driving a LFA every single day, no doubt about it.
My question is, what kind of driver wouldn't be able to enjoy driving an LFA (besides Keef)? That's plain stupid, I don't care how much you dislike Lexus or the LFA, not being able to enjoy that car would be a smack in the face of all the enthusiast in the world.
Then again, I admit, it's no autocrosser so I can understand why Keef would want something you can actually enjoy.

 

[Keef]

I'm sorry I'd rather take some girl flying in my Searey, land it on the lake, moor it to my pontoon boat, and proceed to party with all our friends.

Can't do that in an LFA.

 

[dice1998]

I think the LF-A is possibly the most rigorously engineered car ever produced. Each and every owner is a very lucky soul indeed. There is not a car ever made I would take before an LF-A I don't believe.

I was going to agree, but then I remembered Paris Hilton had one.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

I was going to agree, but then I remembered Paris Hilton had one.

She'll sell it when it's 5 years old and isn't cool anymore. No car can be really cool when it's actually cool.

 

[freshseth83]

I'd take one. I'd sit on it for a while until it appreciated, then sell it for a Miata or FRS, a car which you can actually have fun with on a daily basis, and buy house, a boat and an airplane with the rest.

You don't even make sense. The proposed appreciated value probably wouldn't even cover the price of a house. Let alone a property on water. So how would you buy a plane, and a boat in addition? Must be that 'double wide' you had your eye on that's next to the lake by the waste disposal where your boat and plane can land?

 

[Tornado]

First $5000 TVs, then $375,000 houses. It must just be raining money in Washington.

 

[Keef]

You don't even make sense. The proposed appreciated value probably wouldn't even cover the price of a house. Let alone a property on water. So how would you buy a plane, and a boat in addition? Must be that 'double wide' you had your eye on that's next to the lake by the waste disposal where your boat and plane can land?

Decent house in my area = $125k

Searey LSA Sport = $125k

Pontoon boat stored at the lake = probably less than $10k for a good used one

FRS = $25k

That's well under $300k. A new LFA was about $375k. There are numerous ones on DuPont Registry asking over that, up to $390k.

So I could buy all that and, hell, I might as well get a bigger pontoon boat, and an SVT Raptor to tow it because I can afford to be a badass. Or - because money means options - I could skip the Raptor and Searey and get a Super Decathlon plane to practice my aerobatic skills.

 

[Bram Turismo]

That only applies for certain areas Keef. Land to build a house upon here in Belgium easily costs 250,000 euros. And then you are yet to build an entire house on the land.

 

[Keef]

Good reason to move to the US where everything is cheap!

I'd like to see Top Gear do a segment on American caravanning.

Speaking of which, I could have something like this for the price of an LFA, maybe less:

 

[Kent]

What I find to be funny about this is the idea of people even considering a budget.
I mean really, who in the world is so stupid as to consider cars like an LFA or 599 or anything else in this general range of cars without being insanely rich?

Further more, to me this was always about the fact that Keef said something to the sound of "actually have fun" when talking about taking a FRS over a LFA.

I mean really dude?
If you need to worry about buying a house, boat, airplane and all that other crap then you'll never need to worry about an LFA because you'll never be able to afford one. This was a discussion for the dreamers, not the practical economist worried about the possible other uses of $400,000.

It makes me wonder if there is any car you'd not consider replacing with a FRS (besides w/e you're driving right now obviously).

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

While I would question the sanity of anybody stumbling onto $400,000 and then actually electing to stay in Ohio, I don't think Keef was really trying to insinuate any value or budget argument because he was originally responding to the hypothetical and ridiculous notion of being given an LF-A, not actually buying one.

And if it were me, I'd enjoy the **** out of it for a week, take some special ladies on some special drives, and then sell it. And then start a ****ing company.

 

[McLaren]

Speaking of which, I could have something like this for the price of an LFA, maybe less:

Better do your research on Class A Motorcoaches, then. They can easily go for more than a LFA, & that's before you start picking out floor plans or what you want done inside.

And let's not get into the money required to maintain & operate one year around.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

What I find to be funny about this is the idea of people even considering a budget.
I mean really, who in the world is so stupid as to consider cars like an LFA or 599 or anything else in this general range of cars without being insanely rich?

Further more, to me this was always about the fact that Keef said something to the sound of "actually have fun" when talking about taking a FRS over a LFA.

I mean really dude?
If you need to worry about buying a house, boat, airplane and all that other crap then you'll never need to worry about an LFA because you'll never be able to afford one. This was a discussion for the dreamers, not the practical economist worried about the possible other uses of $400,000.

It makes me wonder if there is any car you'd not consider replacing with a FRS (besides w/e you're driving right now obviously).

Clearly you never met a rich tight wad or penny pincher, that still budgets out his work lunches like his mother did when he was kid.

 

[Crash]

So the loom that helped shape parts for the LFA will apparently be on display (via video, apparently) at the London Design Museum.

http://jalopnik.com/lexus-lfas-carbon-fiber-tech-heads-to-the-london-desig-941685798



and a video of said loom:



I wish I could go and see it .

That loom looks impressive.

I've seen it in action before in previous LF-A videos, but have never really seen it working up close in any videos. I really want to go see the machine and learn more about the entire composite fabrication process that they use. Do they just spin the carbon fiber, or do they wrap it around a mold?

 

[Joel]

Good reason to move to the US where everything is cheap!

Inb4 healthcare.

 

[kennylmao]

Inb4 healthcare.

My health is good ATM, so I don't care.

USA!

 

[Fazerfan]

Too bad that i havent seen LFA in real life. It looks so impressive.

 

[Giygas]

Too bad that i havent seen LFA in real life. It looks so impressive.

I've seen 2 at the NY auto shows and one i believe in Florida. They look better in real life, trust me.