Taking The Super Car World By Storm

Words: Devin Langston

Lexus and Bentley are two well known names that aren't often spoken in the same breath, or even thought about at the same time. Lexus being your practical everyday business man car full of wood grain, and Bentley being the ocean-liner on four wheels with more features than a swiss army knife. One thing they do have in common, is that you would never think they would be able to compete with the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini, or even Porsche. The Lexus LFA, and Bentley Super Sports have each silenced any noise of each company only appealing to one crowd with these two vehicles.The Lexus LFA is beautifully crafted car unlike no other super car seen before. Some may say it's weird alien exterior makes it ugly, but in actuality it's what makes you fall in love with it. Bentley released their Continental model in 2003, and they loved it so much they decided to dress it up even more. A quick wardrobe change resulted in the staggering Super Sports model. Though it hasn't changed drastically, its pretty evident that it isn't like its younger brother. More scoops, less weight, and the absence of the back seat has totally evolved this car into a mutated beast. With these two cars crossing into the super car world, how can they compete with other established and well known super car makers.      

Performance: Both companies really did their homework before stuffing just any engine in their project. Toyota wanted the best engine possible for their first Lexus named super car. They decided to overlook the V8 and V12 engine placement and went with the V10. The V8 didn't rev high enough, and the V12 was to heavy. The 4.8 L V10 chosen produces 560 horse power, creating enough power to launch the LFA from 0-60 in 3.6 seconds and to its final speed of a 202 mph. Bentley went with the their turbo charged W12 engine.It also sports an all new ZF 6-speed ‘Quickshift’ automatic transmission for faster response and reduced strain on the engine. The Bentley Super sports W12 creates 621 horses resulting in 0-60 in 3.7, then thrusts it all the way to 204 mph. These numbers have solidified the the Super Sport as the fastest and best handling Bentley to date.

Design: The Super Sports design hasn't changed a lot since original Continental.The Changes that were made created a huge difference in the cars overall performance. A body kit featuring several air intakes were installed below the headlights, as well as a larger lip below the grill. At high speeds they ensure that the engine is being cooled reducing over all stress. The original Continental was plagued with the issue of being too heavy, which caused the car to often slide, and over steer at high speeds. The first step in building the Super Sport was trimming as much weight as possible. The combination of new Pirelli Ultra High Performance tires were installed along with lighter ceramic disk brakes. This all tied in with the newly installed Bosch Electronic Stability Program in culmination with the removal of the back seat caused the Super Sports to shed about 200 pounds in weight from its original model. An entirely new AWD system was added to make the car even more agile then before.The AWD system helps the car grip the road and keep it centered during tight cornering. Like most super cars the Super Sports has a retractable wing that deploys at fifty miles an hour to create down force and additional stability. The LFA took years of research and development to create. The bulk of the body is made out of carbon fiber reinforced plastic.Using this design material enabled the developers to use various shapes, edges, and curves regular metal would be impossible to bend into. The numerous air intakes aren't there just for show. The sharp edges throughout the car ensure that wind will flow directly into the engine, and away from the body when it is moving at high speeds. One of the LFA's most attractive feature is it's sophisticated dashboard only matched by the Lamborghini Reventon. The display panel houses the speedometer, gear indicator, tire pressure, and transmission mode. Though all cars have these settings, not all of them have a gauge that changes depending on the vehicles mode. When 9,000 rpm is reached the gauge turns reds signifying the driver to shift. The dashboard was very essential because it was developed to delivered a high level of information to be user friendly for the person behind the wheel.

Fitting in: The LFA and Super Sports both produce an outstanding amount of power. Though they weren't made by companies that specialize in making super cars, they don't fall short in any category. The Lexus LFA produces 560 horse power, putting it in the same category as the Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4.The Gallardo has more horse power, but the LFA is slightly faster with it's launch control system. Seeing how this is Lexus's first super car, and Lamborghini is on their tenth Gallardo, Victory goes to the LFA in this match up. The Super Sports produces 621 car horses pitting it against royal super cars such as the SLR McLaren, and Ferrari 599 GTB. What seperates the Super Sports from others in it's class is the fact that your buying a Bentley. Bentley made their name on luxurious interior and beautifully hand crafted interior.The heritage speaks for itself, when you get behind the wheel you still feel the comforts of home.The red and black leather seats with the patent wood grain says it all. For being such a great machine the Bentley is a great bargain for the asking price. What we have learned is that the usual suspects aren't always the only choice. Lexus's first super car is breaking records previously held by the the main crew in the super car world, and the Super Sports is doing the same.New tweaks are already in production for each vehicle.One wonders what new technology will make them even better.