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Citydrive Staff

THE performance ability of the power-hungry Lexus super machine, the LF-A concept coupé, will be tested later this month when it participates in Germany’s popular 24-hour race at Nürburgring.

The testing of the two-seat sports machine under gruelling race conditions forms part of the LF-A’s ongoing development and will provide engineers with a unique opportunity to acquire knowledge on the supercar.

The high-revving 5.0litre V10 engine’s 340kW of power makes it capable of reaching 320km/h. Lexus made it clear that the LF-A is not a dedicated race car but will be fitted with the equipment necessary to meet racing regulations. These features include a rollcage, racing fueltank and a seat with a harness.

The LF-A will be driven by a team of experienced Japanese drivers whose aim will be to provide feedback to the Lexus development team rather than achieving a race result. For race support, Lexus will assign a team of young mechanics as part of the company’s commitment to the development of personal and technical skills.

The LF-A’s front mid-engine placement and rear-mounted transmission and radiators allow excellent weight distribution and agile handling. The combination of power and refined aerodynamics make it climb easily to 320km/h from standstill.

The LF-A concept was originally shown in 2005 to express a bold new direction in styling for the Lexus brand. The goals for the current LF-A are no different than they were with the original concept – to build a supercar with world class performance that is uniquely Lexus.

Its engineers haven’t stopped there. They have continued to use their groundbreaking LF-A premium sportscar concept as a medium for expressing their ideas about what a high-performance sporting vehicle should be. In this latest expression of the LF-A they have removed the car’s top to create a high-performance roadster.

The roadster is based on the sturdy yet lightweight carbon-fibre and aluminium body used for the LF-A coupé, which helps maintain the structure’s strength and rigidity even without a top.

Like its coupé counterpart, the roadster is powered by a high-revving V10 engine. The topless machine is also able to reach top speeds in excess of 320km/h. The engine is connected via a torque tube and propeller shaft to a transaxle that is controlled by paddle shifters. The torque tube is a structural member that adds rigidity to the drive-train and chassis while also reducing vibration.

Styling is rooted in the Lexus L-Finesse design philosophy, giving the LF-A Roadster’s front end a compact, low-profile, aerodynamic shape. Like its coupé counterpart, the roadster stands just 1 220mm high but the roadster configuration adds a speed-adaptive rear wing.

The rear is marked by a pair of wrap-around, arrowhead-shaped taillights that flank a pair of large grilles. These grilles vent the heated air from the car’s two rear-mounted radiators into the roadster’s aerodynamic wake.

The radiators are fed cool air by two large intake ducts mounted just above the rear wheel wells. Mounting the radiators behind the cockpit not only allowed the designers to keep the car’s front profile low and tight but also aided the LF-A’s chassis engineers in their search for optimal weight distribution.

Helping to provide balance and scale to the design, which features an overall length of 4 460mm and a wheelbase of 2 605mm, are high-performance tyres on turbine-styled alloy wheels. The front tyres are 265/35R20s, while the rears are 305/30R20s. Like the LF-A coupé, the brakes consist of 360mm cross-drilled, vented discs up front and 345mm cross-drilled, vented discs at the rear. The front brake callipers are six-piston units and the rear callipers use four pistons each.

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