Two of my favorite sports cars in the same parking lot...what are the chances?! Well actually, I live across the street from a fancy restaurant with a valet service and correspondingly often see fancy cars - I regularly get to see the finest specimens from Ferrari, Lamborghini, Rolls Royce, Bentley, Porsche, Mercedes AMG, and Aston Martin, new and old. This pairing of the LFA and DB9, though, was practically screaming out for me to take pictures! Click through to see more pictures and a comparison.
The Aston Martin DB9 is unequivocally one of the most beautiful sports cars in the world. I still prefer the smaller Vantage, but the DB9 is close behind.
I wouldn't call the Lexus LFA beautiful, but it surely looks like it was sent here from the future. A crowd gathered as I was taking pictures. Similar to the Radio Shack commercials, men automatically make a beeline to the LFA, which looks like the ultimate gadget - a cutting edge machine you would find at Brookstone or Sharper Image. The wife of one guy said loudly, "I think it's ugly," pointing at the LFA, to which I replied, "I beg to differ." The styling is not everyone's cup of tea, but it sure makes a statement and evokes a reaction - good or bad - from onlookers.
The DB9 was all alone; no one (besides me) even noticed it next to the LFA. The DB9 has been around since 2004 and was featured in Entourage and a couple James Bond movies, so it's a bit overexposed compared to the brand new, super-limited LFA.
Look at the color-coordinated interior - yummy! To be fair, the LFA ($375k) is practically double the price of the DB9 Volante ($190k), so this is not an apples-to-apples comparison. And despite "only" having a V10 compared to the DB9's V12, the LFA is considerably more powerful, with 552hp compared to the DB9's 470. The LFA is also lighter at 3263 lbs., vs. 3880 lbs. for the DB9. Fuel economy is comparable (and terrible) for both cars (around 11/17 city/hwy). The LFA is a true 2-seater, whereas the DB9 has a pair of useless rear seats that make more sense for golf clubs than humans. The LFA will enjoy a very limited production run of only 500 cars, which will make it quite exclusive and rare.
However, if money was not a constraint, which would you choose? The technological wonder or the classic beauty? I'm quite torn...and never thought I'd say this...but I'm leaning toward the spanking new LFA.
Always loved Aston Martins, but the LFA is beautiful! Who did Lexus get to design it?
ReplyDelete@ Warren: The designer has been at Toyota since the 70s and started as a suspension engineer, but the LFA is his only notable design project so far.
ReplyDeleteNo one mentioned that horrible color? Why would someone spend 375,000 and then get it in brown?
ReplyDelete@ Chris: Yeah, the LFA already stands out like a sore thumb. The owners probably thought, "why not go all the way!"
ReplyDelete