Tag Archives: Brembo

From Top Gear: Lexus LS 600h Review

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Lexus LS600h

Twenty years ago, the Lexus LS put the wind up the Mercedes S-Class, helping to launch Toyota’s posh division with a bang. Sadly, its cars’ competitiveness has been declining ever since.

This heavy facelift does little to turn the tide, despite the fact it’s a thorough re-engineering that stretches right down to the methods used to weld the chassis together. No stone has been left unturned. The steering wheel is smaller, the steering column has more adjustment. The wheelarches have a new type of sound insulation. Seat cushions are 20mm thicker. The climate control uses infrared sensors to measure occupants’ body temperature and adjust accordingly. Even the analogue clock hasn’t been forgotten – it’s now automatically controlled via GPS. Truly obsessive.

This much we expect from Lexus. The LS’s newfound style is a welcome surprise, though, particularly the ‘spindle’ grille that’s becoming a Lexus signature. It’s particularly striking in new F-Sport trim, which gets big wheels, Brembo brakes, lowered ride height and even a Torsen rear diff. Sadly, you can’t get it on the £100k hybrid.

For several years, this petrol-electric variant has been the only model on offer in the UK, but sales have tumbled, so the plain V8 petrol is being reintroduced, lowering the entry price by £20,000.

Saving the cash gets you the better car. The hybrid is immaculately refined in city driving, but the E-CVT transmission is inept, and it only manages 32.8mpg. Why so inefficient? And what’s happened to the concept of downsizing? A hybrid using such an enormous engine seems ridiculous – a 44mpg A8 hybrid has a 2.0-litre four-pot, remember.

Four-wheel drive is a boon, the over-light and disconnected driving experience does come with a decent ride, plus the Lexus is staggeringly quiet when the CVT isn’t flogging the engine to death, while the rear of this stretched variant is palatial. But it’s not good enough. Today’s S-Class beats it. Tomorrow’s will knock it for six. Richard Aucock

Richard Aucock

The numbers
4969cc, V8, 4WD, 389bhp, 383lb ft, 32.8mpg, 199g/km CO2, 0-62 in 6.1secs, 155mph, 2370kg

The verdict
Hybrid is hopeless here. Save yourself £25k and get the LS F-Sport. Better still, a diesel S-Class

 

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AutoTech Update: Aston reveals new Vanquish Volante

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Aston Martin Vanquish Volante

Need a moment to yourself? Then let us give you a moment to yourself. This is the new Aston Martin Vanquish Volante, and as you can see, it’s a rather stunning bit of machinery.

And it appears Aston has been rather busy of late, what with this new Vanquish Volante arriving just moments after the Fastest Production Aston Ever (that’ll be the new V12 Vantage S) and the roofless CC100 Speedster concept. TG reckons AM engineers will need some tea, a biscuit, and a nice lie down after all this activity…

See more pics of the new Aston Martin Vanquish Volante

So, this new Vanquish Volante. It’s powered by the same 6.0-litre ‘AM11′ V12 as the Vanquish coupe, here producing an identical 565bhp and 457lb ft of torque, driving the rear wheels and coupled up to a ‘Touchtronic 2′ six-speed automatic gearbox. Incidentally, that peak horsepower output comes at 6,750rpm, while the full slug of torque is delivered a little lower down, at 5,500rpm.

As such, the Vanquish Volante will accelerate from 0-62mph in 4.3 seconds (two tenths slower than the Vanquish coupe) and rock on to a top speed of 183mph. Which is all fine and dandy, but more importantly, the triple-skinned lightweight fabric roof will fold in just 14 seconds, sitting beneath a tonneau and deck lid that have both been aerodynamically tuned for performance. Also, it looks really nice.

We’re told that every panel on the VV is made from carbon fibre (a first for a convertible Aston Martin), clothing the fourth generation of Aston’s VH bonded aluminium structure underneath, which – in this iteration – is 14 per cent stiffer than the old DBS Volante. There are new spring and damper settings, naturally, and a plethora of driver aids including stability control, ‘positive torque control’ and adaptive damping. The latter gets three settings: normal, sport and track, each corresponding to an increase in the level of harassment your hairstyle will suffer.

Aston has fitted 398mm Brembo carbon ceramic brakes up front, and 360mm discs at the back; they’re lighter than conventional brakes, and should prove more resistant to fade.

Prices start at £199,995, and the first deliveries will hit the UK at the end of 2013. Have a click through the pictures and let us know what you think of the new Aston Martin Vanquish Volante. Pretty young thing, isn’t it?

 

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