Despite the evocative title of this article, I assure you that the Lexus LFA 2012 really exist, since I am part of a select group of automotive journalists who had the opportunity to drive it … It happened on the circuit Homestead, Florida, where I had the chance to drive two copies of the Lexus performance absolutely insane.

If I call the Lexus LFA 2012 ghost car is due to the fact that production is limited to only 500 copies. These will be produced during model years 2011 and 2012 at the Motomachi plant in Japan in 1540 by a team of technicians at the rate of one car per day. Of these, ten cars will be allocated to the Canadian market with five year. It’s a safe bet that some purchasers, whether here or elsewhere, ever lead or very little of their LF-A, preferring to keep the garage as an investment. All this means that if you ever see a Lexus LFA 2012 on the roads of Quebec, you must say it’s your lucky day and run out and buy a lottery ticket …

On a technical level, the Lexus LFA 2012 is at the forefront with its frame made of 65% carbon fiber and 35% aluminum. This configuration was adopted under development, the first prototype was made on a frame all aluminum to reduce the weight of the car. Moreover, the choice of carbon fiber as raw material for the production of chassis Lexus LFA 2012 Toyota brought to its origins … Indeed, the brand that would one day become a giant car built, its beginnings, textile weaving machines. Ironically, Toyota’s engineers have developed a new machine circular loom and weave carbon fiber required to manufacture many chassis components of the LF-A.

The interior of the Lexus LFA 2012 is a mixture of high tech and traditional luxury touches that are unique to the brand. Thus, the Lexus LFA 2012 does not have a block of conventional instruments, but rather a screen that reproduces images the tachometer which is found and presented in different ways depending on the selection by the driver of a four driving modes, or “automatic”, “Normal”, “Sport” and “wet.” Hugging sports seats are covered with a high quality leather and the Lexus LFA 2012 is also equipped as standard with a powerful sound system and a navigation system.

Right out of the wells, the Lexus LFA 2012 Announces exceptional test. The 552 horsepower speak with authority and V10 rises quickly regime en route to its limit of revolutions of 9000 revolutions / minute with that scream own the LF-A. I should mention that during my career I have had the opportunity to drive several Ferrari, Lamborghini and other high caliber sporting the new Audi R8 GT, but none of these cars come to emulate the sound of an F1 engine as faithfully as the Lexus LFA 2012. Is that the engineers have paid particular attention to this aspect in the development of refining engine and exhaust passages while integrating with membranes between the engine compartment and the passenger compartment, just to enhance the listening experience. At 9000 revolutions / minute, the sound of the V10 screaming,

The box is a manual six-speed Aisin, which is electronically controlled by bearings located on the steering column. The left, which controls the downshift requires a little more effort than the right, which controls the upshift. Password box speeds of 200 milliseconds, when the “sport” mode is selected. It is a little slow, considering the fact that Ferrari provides a dwell time of 60 milliseconds for the new 458 Italia. This is one of the weak points of the Lexus LFA 2012, the other being the electric power steering could provide more feedback.

Tour de force on a technical level, the Lexus LFA 2012 is a car anthology. Its only problem is its stratospheric price, especially when the Lexus LFA 2012 is compared to the Nissan GT-R, whose performances are not all equal to those of the Lexus, but the price is six times less …

Lexus LFA 2012 : The Ghost Car