Latest LF-A looks like a production prototype
A 200 mph supercar from Toyota? Ok, so it may be called a Lexus, this is a Toyota, and like most Toyota concept cars, this one looks ready for production. The previous Lexus coupes looked just a bit exaggerated, but a lot of changes have been made to the styling to suggest that we will see this in production soon.
Powered by a 5-liter V-10 developing over 500 bhp – the Toyota and Honda both seem to have decided V-10s are cool – mounted just behind the front axle, the LF-A looks a pretty smart supercar, with a low, swooping nose, and a small front grille with a pair of grilles for the brakes. The headlamps are an odd, upside-down L-shape, but the whole looks pretty good. The small front grille does not send air to the radiator. but to the other systems like air conditioning.
To get a bit more weight at the back, the twin radiators are mounted alongside the trunk, each fed by a pair of air intakes – one low down, and the other above the fenders – giving the LF-A a different look. That's good.
With an overall length of 175.6 in (4,460 mm) and an overall width of 74.6 in (1,895 mm), the Lexus LF-A is quite compact, and should be very quick. Lexus claims a top speed of over 200 mph, and says that the body is made of aluminum and carbon fiber, so the car should be quite light.
To produce the V12 Vantage RS, Aston Martin has taken the V8 Vantage and stretched it a little to take the terrific V-12 engine. That was not enough for an RS concept, though, so the engine has been tweaked to the sort of power you expect from a top supercar – 100 bhp per liter.
Audi V-12 diesel in R8
Some will be shocked, others delighted, but after winning two Le Mans races and several others with its diesel engined racer, Audi is readying the R8 TDV12 – unless it gets a very negative response.
Sitting in a stretched R8 – there is also a V-10 in the offing, more later – is an engine that is essentially two 3-liter V-6s joined together. In fact, the new cylinder block has an an angle of 60 degrees, instead of the 90 degrees on the V-6, so it not too wide. But as the cylinder block is made from vermicular graphite iron which is stronger than ordinary cast iron, and although a bit lighter is a good deal heavier than an aluminum block. So this version will be a bit tail heavy.
This engine develops 500 bhp and 737 lb ft (1,000 Nm) of torque – absolutely massive, and it will need a very strong gearbox to transmit that. Owing to the massive torque, the on-road performance will be better than a 0-60 mph time of 4.0 seconds and a top speed of around 190 mph suggest.
Incidentally, you can see how serious Audi is about this car and engine by the fact that it already meets exhaust emission regulations coming into force in Europe in 2014.
Power is transmitted by a twin-plate clutch and six-speed manual gearbox, and the body structure is a modified version of the R8, and so is pretty light. All sounds very amazing, and just like Audi's diesel racers, this car will surprise a few people.
Audi's R8 V10 Biturbo problems
Audi may be riding the crest of a wave in sales, but in publicity it has a bad month or two. Not one, but two Audi R8 V10 biturbo prototypes have caught on fire when being tested at the Nurburgring. And they virtually burnt out.
What's the problem? Engineers always try to cram engines into small spaces, and although you can do this on a front-engined car where plenty of air gets into the engine compartment, it is not so easy with a mid-engined car. For a start, you need to get the air flowing smoothly around the middle of the car to keep drag down. Also, to generate downforce to reduce rear lift, there are usually covers beneath the power train on supercars.
So where does the air get in? Small intakes at the sides, and these have to cool the red-hot exhaust pipes and turbochargers of a twin turbo V-10, which are very near the body structure, so it is not that easy to get air in.
No one is saying, but it is likely that the red hot turbos caused the problem, but it is worth remembering that it is only somewhere like the Nurburgring that you can drive fast enough and hard enough to get this engine really hot. Strangely, cooling problems held the Bugatti Veyron back from from production, and Lamborghini has its unique ears to get extra air into the Murcielago. Both these cars were developed in the same group, so I expect Audi engineers will now be talking to their colleagues about this problem – you might have thought they would have done that already.
In any event, the upshot is not all bad. Audi will introduce an R8 V10 without turbos first. With about 530 bhp that should be quite a car anyway, but with a high-revving engine like the Lamborghini unit, but with direct injection.
Land Rover LRX concept
Land Rover has joined the gang of companies showing a sporty SUV – the
Land Rover LRX, smaller than the smallest Land Rover, the Freelander. Looks a bit odd, and could well be a bit of 'window dressing' by Ford to show potential buys of the Land Rover company that it has more models up its sleeve.
Favorite to buy Land Rover and Jaguar is Tata, the Indian company which recently introduced the cheapest car in the world – a cheap copy of the Japanese micro-cars. Ho-hum. If Tata does buy these two companies, their executives will have to learn a lot to manage production and sales of cars like Jaguars.
Detroit Auto Show: Fisker Karma hybrid and others
There were a host of concept cars at the Detroit Auto Show, and below are some of them. Concepts are intended to give the marques street cred, and a few are intended for production. The Fisker Karma hybrid is one car that is destined for production. Here are some pictures of the most intersting ones.
The
Fisker Karma hybrid is one car that is destined for production – indeed, Fisker is already taking orders. The car is powered by a small petrol engine with an electric motor and lithium-ion battery mounted amidships to improve weight distribution. To further reduce fuel consumption, there is an optional solar roof panel.
The four-door coupe looks great, and is 197 inches (4,977 mm) long, and only 51.6 inches (1,310 mm) high. Fisker claims a top speed of 125 mph and a 0-60 mph time of 5.8 seconds, using both engine and batteries.
Chrysler's effort is off the mark. Sure, the
Dodge Zeo looks fine, but it is all-electric, with a 260 bhp electric motor and lithium-ion batteries. Supposed to be good for a range of 250 miles, the Zeo would merely transfer energy consumption from the car to a power station, unlike a hybrid which generates its own electricity.
Designed to run on 100% ethanol,
Mazda's Furai concept is based on a Le Mans series racing car – the Courage C65, which is powered by a three-rotor Wankel engine, which Mazda still sees as having a future.
Mitsubishi RA concept and KTM X-Bow sports car above
Nearer reality is the
Mitsubishi RA, with a powerful and clean 2.2 liter diesel, the twin-clutch transmission from the
Evolution X, all-wheel drive and a lightweight body – the Evo X could do with that now!
The open-wheeled sports car was not at Detroit, but at the Autosport Show in the UK. It is the
KTM X-Bow, due to go into production soon, and powered by a turbocharged Audi 2.0 liter engine developing 240 bhp. This exciting no-frills sports car has a carbon fiber moncoque body, and supercar performance.
Looking for the
Aston Martin V12 Vantage RS or
Corvette ZR1? They are
here.
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Best Wishes
John Hartley, Editor, Fast-Autos
