Toyota confirms V10 tech (UPDATED)
Newswheel :: 13 October 2005 :: Filed under Front engine sportscar, Lexus, Lexus LF-A, Toyota, Europe & UK, US
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LF-A supercar will pack a V10 – but when will it appear?
Reports that Toyota’s slick Lexus LF-A front-engined supercar concept is running a V10 have reached critical mass. But will the production version appear at this month’s Tokyo show? And will the car be branded Toyota or Lexus?
Auto Express – not always the most reliable of sources – reckons the final production variant of LF-A could be shown at the Tokyo show next week. Given the frequent sightings of LF-A mules hammering round the ‘Ring in Germany and elsewhere, that seems plausible, if hardly a dead cert. However one thing does now seem set in finely crafted light alloy: Toyota’s pre-Tokyo press pack confirms that the concept has indeed been harbouring a V10 in a front-engine, rear-drive installation. That’s despite the fact that the inspiration for the car itself, namely Toyota’s involvement in F1, no longer dictates V10 power – F1 will moves from V10 to V8 powerplants for the 2006 season.
The other significant uncertainty, apart from the precise timing of the car’s launch, is branding. Auto Express suggests the car could be badged Toyota while InsideLine gives its vote for Lexus. We, on the other hand, really don’t care so long as the car pumps out 500 high-revving bhp and rips up the tarmac on its way to 200mph.
Update: Toyota has also announced a flagship Lexus saloon concept for the Tokyo show. This will very likely be a thinly disguised version of the new LS, power is expected to come from a V8 petrol-electric setup pumping out up to 500bhp.
Posted 05 May 2007, by Dandre