Lexus LF-A Engine Spied at Nürburgring 24 Hours

During the Nürburgring 24 Hours this past weekend, staff from Automobile magazine happened to be at the right place at the right time. Using the famous endurance race to make its first official appearance in public as well as extract valuable live racing data for development purposes, the Lexus LF-A got caught with its hood up.

Despite very few details being visible, the chaps at Autoblog.com have noticed a few tidbits. Looking long enough to be a V10, as previously speculated, both cylinder banks seem to sit 90 degrees apart. Further evidence which seem to confirm the V10 configuration can be seen in the large BMW looking plastic intake plenum which sits on top. Their are seam lines in the plastic which show 8 square chambers inside the plenum. Since the rear of the plenum extends underneath the cowl rain drip panel, there are possibly two more chambers which we cannot see. Meanwhile the engine sits far back immediately in front of the cowl panel which places its center of gravity well behind the front axle making it a front mid-engine layout. Hopefully, now that we have had a good look at the car in action, the production version of the LF-A will make show up in Paris in September.