Lexus LFA Nürburgring Package : First Look

Jay Williams - 24/February/2011

Aichi, Japan - Lexus will be showcasing its LFA Nürburgring Package supercar at the Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland next month.

The Nürburgring Package features new aerodynamic boby  parts, suspension upgrades and revisions to the 4.8-litre V10 engine that make the LFA supercar more track-focused.

Shown in public for the first time at the Geneva motor show, the Nürburgring Package option is available on just 50 of the 500 cars that will be built. These versions will be manufatured during 2012.

To sharpen the car's circuit driving performance even further by increasing downforce at high speed, the Nürburgring Package introduces modifications and additions to several key carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) components. These include a larger front spoiler, fin-type side spoilers, a canard fin and a fixed rear wing.

The V10 engine has been revised to increase maximum power by 7kW to 419kW, this allows the car to accelerate from 0-100km/h in 3.7-second before topping out at 325km/h. Shift times in the six-speed sequential transmission are just 0.15 seconds.

In terms of handling modifications, the package features suspension tuning and a 10mm reduction in the ride height. Exclusive mesh-type wheels are introduced, fitted with dedicated high-grip tyres.

Exterior colour choices are restricted to matte black, black, white or orange, with interiors finished in black and red, black and purple and all-black. Cars delivered in Europe will feature a carbon fibre centre console and door trims, with carbon fibre sports seats finished in Alcantara.

Customers who specify the package will also be offered one-to-one driving tuition from a Nürburgring chief instructor and a year's pass to enjoy their car on the famous Nordschleife circuit.

LFA production began in December with just one hand-crafted car completed per day. A team of 175 people are involved in CFRP parts manufacturing, vehicle assembly and painting.

CFRP is exceptionally strong, rigid and lightweight, and accounts for about 65 per cent of the LFA's body structure weight. This amounts to a saving of around 100kg, when compared to an all-aluminium body.

Lexus is producing and assembling the CFRP components in-house, with a view to future development of the technology. It is a time-consuming process, compared to working with steel or aluminium, but the LFA project provides a valuable test bed for new, automated processes which will be used in the manufacture of future Lexus and Toyota models.

The LFA assembly line moves through five consecutive processes, each of which has been digitally validated. For the first four - sub-assembly, underbody, small aluminium parts and main body - adhesive bonding is used. Final assembly of the aluminium parts is by mechanical fastening.

This is the first time Lexus has used adhesive bonding for main body assembly, a process that has required new quality control measures to be implemented to ensure each of the five stages involved in the bonding meets the required criteria.

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