Lexus has scored a small victory in Germany setting a very impressive Nürburgring ring lap time, just a year after its decades-long chief test driver died in a head-on collision driving the LFA just outside of that very track.
Although Hiromu Naruse, the chief test driver for Toyota and Lexus, may have perished while testing the LFA just outside of the Nürburgring Nordschleife, that did not stop Lexus from continuing the goal of setting the best possible lap time at the famous testing track. The time set has now been confirmed at 7 minutes and 14.64 seconds, good enough for the fourth fastest production car time.
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The lap time was set in the LFA Nürburgring-Edition, which will only see a production run of 50 units, compared to the 500 unit production run for the standard LFA. The LFA package adds additional aerodynamic tweaks thanks to a carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) front spoiler and fixed rear wing, a more track-tuned suspension, custom wheels and an increase in maximum power to 563 horsepower, up from 552.
The driver for the lap was Akira Iida, using the Bridgestone Potenza RE070 tires that come on the special edition LFA from the factory.
The only three cars to best the LFA Nürburgring-Edition in the production car class are a pair of Radical SR8 models, each completing the lap in under seven minutes, and the Gumpert Apollo Sport, finishing in 7:11.57. That of course means the LFA bests the Porsche 911 GT2 RS’s time of 7:18, the Corvette ZR1′s 7:19.63 and the Dodge Viper ACR’s 7:22.1 time.
