1 00:00:15,316 --> 00:00:25,476 Speaker 1: Pushkin. If I were to give you a blindfold and 2 00:00:25,596 --> 00:00:30,836 Speaker 1: I line up, UH, the LC and three of your 3 00:00:30,876 --> 00:00:37,756 Speaker 1: competitors Mercedes s l Uh. I don't know what the AUDI? 4 00:00:37,836 --> 00:00:39,956 Speaker 1: A eight? Who you know? You name them? What they 5 00:00:40,036 --> 00:00:43,156 Speaker 1: whatever they may be? UM, could you and I sit 6 00:00:43,276 --> 00:00:46,796 Speaker 1: you inside the car? Can you tell? Can you tell 7 00:00:46,836 --> 00:00:48,956 Speaker 1: them apart? Do you know which one is the LC? 8 00:00:49,116 --> 00:00:51,756 Speaker 1: If you? If you have your h if you if 9 00:00:51,796 --> 00:00:57,476 Speaker 1: I give you a blindfold, yes, I'm confident I will 10 00:00:57,516 --> 00:01:02,556 Speaker 1: know LC right away from Lexus and Pushkin Industries. This 11 00:01:02,676 --> 00:01:15,596 Speaker 1: is go and see. I'm Malcolm Glabba. In the last 12 00:01:15,596 --> 00:01:19,236 Speaker 1: two episodes, we investigated the sound of the Lexus LC 13 00:01:19,476 --> 00:01:23,196 Speaker 1: sports car. In this episode, we're heading to the track 14 00:01:26,796 --> 00:01:31,596 Speaker 1: and in preparation we got a briefing from Yessushi Muto Mutusan, 15 00:01:32,076 --> 00:01:35,996 Speaker 1: the chief engineer of the LC, in his fifties, salt 16 00:01:35,996 --> 00:01:38,516 Speaker 1: and pepper hair, a little bit of an athlete's swagger. 17 00:01:39,156 --> 00:01:41,036 Speaker 1: It was the day before we went to the track. 18 00:01:41,596 --> 00:01:44,556 Speaker 1: We were at the main Lexus building in a conference room. 19 00:01:44,716 --> 00:01:53,516 Speaker 1: Mutusan came early. The Lexus people were always early, remember 20 00:01:53,556 --> 00:01:58,116 Speaker 1: O Mutanashi, mindful hospitality. These are not people who would 21 00:01:58,196 --> 00:02:02,516 Speaker 1: dream of inconveniencing their guests. Mutosan spent years working on 22 00:02:02,596 --> 00:02:06,636 Speaker 1: the LC, obsessing over every detail. So I asked him 23 00:02:06,716 --> 00:02:08,716 Speaker 1: if he would know whether or not he were sitting 24 00:02:08,716 --> 00:02:12,876 Speaker 1: at an I'll see if he were blindfolded. He said absolutely, 25 00:02:13,196 --> 00:02:16,476 Speaker 1: and of course he would. Mutosan knows how the car 26 00:02:16,516 --> 00:02:22,716 Speaker 1: sounds and moves and feels, but that wasn't his point too. Yeah, 27 00:02:22,756 --> 00:02:24,836 Speaker 1: it's explained to me the meaning of the of the 28 00:02:24,916 --> 00:02:28,956 Speaker 1: drawing on the whiteboard. Halfway through our briefing, Mutosan stood 29 00:02:28,996 --> 00:02:31,756 Speaker 1: up and drew a simple stick figure of a seated 30 00:02:31,836 --> 00:02:36,596 Speaker 1: driver on the whiteboard, both legs extended. He wanted to 31 00:02:36,636 --> 00:02:40,596 Speaker 1: demonstrate how designing a car at a place like Lexus works. 32 00:02:41,596 --> 00:02:44,436 Speaker 1: You don't design the car then fit the driver in it. 33 00:02:44,956 --> 00:02:48,716 Speaker 1: You do the opposite. You start with the driver yea 34 00:02:49,036 --> 00:02:52,996 Speaker 1: from the side. So when we decide on the package, 35 00:02:53,316 --> 00:03:00,236 Speaker 1: we first decide on a driver's position. It's a heel 36 00:03:00,316 --> 00:03:06,036 Speaker 1: point of the axel point to your hip point. Heel point, 37 00:03:06,396 --> 00:03:08,956 Speaker 1: Mutosan drew a line between the hip point of the 38 00:03:08,956 --> 00:03:11,876 Speaker 1: stick figure driver and the floor of the car. The 39 00:03:11,956 --> 00:03:16,196 Speaker 1: heel point meaning the position of the foot on the pedal. 40 00:03:19,156 --> 00:03:23,036 Speaker 1: In every car that distance is different. In a big 41 00:03:23,076 --> 00:03:26,516 Speaker 1: sedan like the Lexus LS, it's two hundred and forty 42 00:03:26,516 --> 00:03:30,196 Speaker 1: five millimeters from the driver's hip to the car's floorboards. 43 00:03:30,836 --> 00:03:34,756 Speaker 1: In an LC, it's two hundred so two inches lower, 44 00:03:35,036 --> 00:03:38,636 Speaker 1: which changes the angle of your hips, a subtle difference, 45 00:03:38,716 --> 00:03:41,796 Speaker 1: which in turn changes the entire geometry of the car 46 00:03:42,196 --> 00:03:46,196 Speaker 1: and the driver's position. And from there we went deep, 47 00:03:46,516 --> 00:03:49,716 Speaker 1: deep into the weeds, until I felt like I too 48 00:03:49,796 --> 00:03:53,636 Speaker 1: could climb blindfolded into an LC and know exactly where 49 00:03:53,636 --> 00:03:58,196 Speaker 1: I was. You may remember from two episodes ago that 50 00:03:58,276 --> 00:04:01,156 Speaker 1: the origin of the LC came when the head of Toyota, 51 00:04:01,396 --> 00:04:05,196 Speaker 1: Akio Toyota, went to a product launch at the legendary 52 00:04:05,236 --> 00:04:09,436 Speaker 1: Concourse to Elegance in Pebble Beach, California, and an auto 53 00:04:09,476 --> 00:04:13,716 Speaker 1: writer told him in front of everyone that Lexus was fine, 54 00:04:14,276 --> 00:04:19,916 Speaker 1: but boring ta and never boried, never boried. At least 55 00:04:19,956 --> 00:04:24,196 Speaker 1: one well respected journalists you know was was doing an 56 00:04:24,196 --> 00:04:27,476 Speaker 1: interview with doctor sonn mentioned his feeling that the Lexus 57 00:04:27,516 --> 00:04:30,356 Speaker 1: brand was boring, and that was both a surprise and 58 00:04:30,396 --> 00:04:34,396 Speaker 1: a shock Tokyo son And so when he came back, 59 00:04:35,156 --> 00:04:37,156 Speaker 1: he said to all of these guys here, you don't 60 00:04:37,156 --> 00:04:39,076 Speaker 1: never want to hear that maybe he has a very 61 00:04:39,516 --> 00:04:42,836 Speaker 1: Step one in the anti boring campaign was making a 62 00:04:42,876 --> 00:04:47,796 Speaker 1: sports car that sounds exciting. This episode is about step two, 63 00:04:48,756 --> 00:04:52,276 Speaker 1: a sports car that feels exciting to drive, which is 64 00:04:52,276 --> 00:05:04,916 Speaker 1: a far more involved process than you might think. Lexus 65 00:05:05,236 --> 00:05:08,796 Speaker 1: has six test tracks, most of them in Japan. There's 66 00:05:08,836 --> 00:05:12,076 Speaker 1: one at the main facility in Toyota City, another in 67 00:05:12,116 --> 00:05:16,156 Speaker 1: the Gulf of Nagoya, one in Higashifuji, one way up 68 00:05:16,196 --> 00:05:20,036 Speaker 1: north near Sapporo where they do winter testing. There's one 69 00:05:20,076 --> 00:05:24,396 Speaker 1: more in Whitman, Arizona, outside Phoenix, a massive track that 70 00:05:24,556 --> 00:05:29,076 Speaker 1: Lexus shares with Toyota that's ten miles around, the biggest 71 00:05:29,116 --> 00:05:31,356 Speaker 1: test track in the world. You can land a jumbo 72 00:05:31,436 --> 00:05:33,836 Speaker 1: jet in the middle of it, and every morning the 73 00:05:33,956 --> 00:05:37,076 Speaker 1: sweepers have to go out and get the rattlesnakes off 74 00:05:37,076 --> 00:05:39,996 Speaker 1: the tarmac where they gathered for warmth during the night. 75 00:05:40,436 --> 00:05:44,876 Speaker 1: But the crown jewel of Lexus test tracks Ishimoyama, about 76 00:05:44,876 --> 00:05:48,196 Speaker 1: half an hour up into the hills outside of Toyota City, 77 00:05:48,636 --> 00:05:54,636 Speaker 1: brand new, sixteen hundred acres across two mountaintops. Eventually there 78 00:05:54,636 --> 00:05:58,116 Speaker 1: will be ten thousand people working there. The whole thing 79 00:05:58,156 --> 00:06:01,156 Speaker 1: is so hidden away you'd never find it without directions. 80 00:06:01,356 --> 00:06:04,076 Speaker 1: It's not on Google Maps. You can't get in unless 81 00:06:04,076 --> 00:06:06,596 Speaker 1: you work for Lexus, and you can't drive on the 82 00:06:06,596 --> 00:06:12,476 Speaker 1: track unless you're certified Lexus driver. Lexus let Us in 83 00:06:15,676 --> 00:06:18,956 Speaker 1: Shimu Yama is inspired by the most famous racing course 84 00:06:18,996 --> 00:06:23,356 Speaker 1: in the world, the Nordschleifa at the Nurburgring in Germany's Rhineland. 85 00:06:23,756 --> 00:06:26,916 Speaker 1: The Nurburgring is not a flat oval like the Indie 86 00:06:26,956 --> 00:06:31,316 Speaker 1: five hundred. It's a road course twelve point nine miles 87 00:06:31,316 --> 00:06:35,036 Speaker 1: of twists and turns, a thousand feet of elevation, changes, 88 00:06:35,356 --> 00:06:40,076 Speaker 1: dense forest, medieval villages, the Eiffel Mountains. Current lap record 89 00:06:40,316 --> 00:06:44,236 Speaker 1: is held by a Lamborghini Aventador. Second place is a 90 00:06:44,276 --> 00:06:47,396 Speaker 1: portion of nine eleven g T two rs. Race and 91 00:06:47,516 --> 00:06:52,876 Speaker 1: sports cars are perfected here. Every curve is numbered and mythologized. 92 00:06:53,156 --> 00:06:59,516 Speaker 1: The Nurburgring Nordschleifa is petrol Head Nirvana, former course record holder. 93 00:06:59,556 --> 00:07:05,436 Speaker 1: By the way, the Lexus LFA Bananas Limited Editions supercar 94 00:07:05,556 --> 00:07:10,196 Speaker 1: that Lexus made back in twenty eleven. So Shimo Yama 95 00:07:10,476 --> 00:07:15,236 Speaker 1: is Lexus's answer to the Nordschleifa, a European style road 96 00:07:15,276 --> 00:07:19,756 Speaker 1: course in the hills of southern Japan. It's insanely beautiful. 97 00:07:20,316 --> 00:07:23,356 Speaker 1: The road cuts through the side of the mountains, surrounded 98 00:07:23,356 --> 00:07:27,196 Speaker 1: by tall Japanese pines. When we first got there, we 99 00:07:27,276 --> 00:07:29,876 Speaker 1: stood out on the observation deck of the visitors center 100 00:07:30,156 --> 00:07:34,956 Speaker 1: and all you can hear our birds chirping, and insects buzzing, 101 00:07:35,436 --> 00:07:51,116 Speaker 1: and a blue sky above. Until Sweet Jesus is every 102 00:07:51,196 --> 00:07:54,396 Speaker 1: curve a replica of a curve. Our pre track briefing 103 00:07:54,556 --> 00:07:58,196 Speaker 1: came from our guide, Paul Williamson. They're not direct replicas, 104 00:07:58,236 --> 00:08:00,076 Speaker 1: but they kind of said, hey, you know, I really 105 00:08:00,116 --> 00:08:02,436 Speaker 1: like to turn seventeen A, and then they go out 106 00:08:02,476 --> 00:08:04,396 Speaker 1: and measure it and figure out what the grade change 107 00:08:04,396 --> 00:08:06,756 Speaker 1: and how the road is cambered, and they say, okay, yeah, 108 00:08:06,796 --> 00:08:09,276 Speaker 1: we can do something like seventeen A and so so 109 00:08:09,396 --> 00:08:11,836 Speaker 1: basically they took kind of thirty eight of their favorite 110 00:08:11,916 --> 00:08:15,276 Speaker 1: spots of the Nervagring and built them in here along 111 00:08:15,316 --> 00:08:19,716 Speaker 1: with all these other European type road surfaces. And you 112 00:08:19,836 --> 00:08:21,756 Speaker 1: saw some of those undulations as we're driving in. I 113 00:08:21,796 --> 00:08:23,556 Speaker 1: pointed that out, so you can see some some big 114 00:08:23,596 --> 00:08:27,196 Speaker 1: areas where you know, if one more careless with speed, 115 00:08:27,236 --> 00:08:31,316 Speaker 1: you can get everyonere and careless with speed. Classic euphemism. 116 00:08:31,356 --> 00:08:34,276 Speaker 1: It's what you say when the highway patrol officer pulls 117 00:08:34,316 --> 00:08:38,476 Speaker 1: you over. Officer, I got careless with speed. So we've 118 00:08:38,516 --> 00:08:42,676 Speaker 1: got some fifteen degree ascents, twelve degree descents, pretty steep areas. 119 00:08:42,676 --> 00:08:46,036 Speaker 1: Some of the track is perfectly smooth asphalt. And by 120 00:08:46,036 --> 00:08:49,196 Speaker 1: the way, I'm not sure why, but Japanese asphalt doesn't 121 00:08:49,356 --> 00:08:52,396 Speaker 1: look like American asphalt. It looks like a putting green, 122 00:08:52,756 --> 00:08:55,316 Speaker 1: if that makes any sense. So this country road course 123 00:08:55,356 --> 00:08:59,596 Speaker 1: that you'll experience today simulates many different kinds of European roads. 124 00:08:59,876 --> 00:09:04,596 Speaker 1: It has seven unique road surfaces. So some is perfect smooth, 125 00:09:04,916 --> 00:09:09,476 Speaker 1: gorgeous Japanese asphalt or probably closer to Germany fault like 126 00:09:09,516 --> 00:09:12,156 Speaker 1: an autumn but others, and we'll ask Osakisan to do 127 00:09:12,196 --> 00:09:14,196 Speaker 1: some lamps for you where it uses the off lane, 128 00:09:14,436 --> 00:09:17,236 Speaker 1: and then the off lane will have little ripple surfaces. 129 00:09:17,236 --> 00:09:21,596 Speaker 1: It'll have kind of a bolden block. Osakisan, he's Alexis 130 00:09:21,636 --> 00:09:24,036 Speaker 1: master driver who agreed to take us out on the course. 131 00:09:26,876 --> 00:09:30,916 Speaker 1: He's driving Alexis LC five hundred and in fact, as 132 00:09:30,916 --> 00:09:34,596 Speaker 1: you're being briefed by Paul I see Osakisan down below. 133 00:09:34,636 --> 00:09:37,436 Speaker 1: In the off ramp area, taking three helmets out of 134 00:09:37,436 --> 00:09:43,916 Speaker 1: the back of a gleaming white LC. I asked Paul 135 00:09:44,076 --> 00:09:47,116 Speaker 1: if Osakisan and his fellow drivers keep a record of 136 00:09:47,196 --> 00:09:49,916 Speaker 1: the fastest times around the course, like they do at 137 00:09:49,956 --> 00:09:55,196 Speaker 1: the Nrburgring. He said no, not officially, because of course 138 00:09:55,236 --> 00:09:58,636 Speaker 1: you know they do, like a secret list stashed away somewhere. 139 00:09:59,516 --> 00:10:03,396 Speaker 1: We go downstairs to meet Osakisan. He's slender, light on 140 00:10:03,436 --> 00:10:06,916 Speaker 1: his feet, like an athlete. He's a surfer late forties, 141 00:10:06,916 --> 00:10:10,356 Speaker 1: early fifties, although he seemed younger. He's what a Lexus 142 00:10:10,516 --> 00:10:13,796 Speaker 1: is called takumi, a master, only one of two Takumi 143 00:10:13,836 --> 00:10:18,516 Speaker 1: masters of driving. Feel in the entire Alexis company? You 144 00:10:18,636 --> 00:10:26,236 Speaker 1: joined Lexus or Toyota? Yes? What did you think? You? 145 00:10:28,436 --> 00:10:31,156 Speaker 1: What did you go into? Nineteen eighty five? So how 146 00:10:31,156 --> 00:10:33,716 Speaker 1: long does it take to be certified as a Takumi driver? 147 00:10:33,796 --> 00:10:37,236 Speaker 1: How many years needs you going? In June? Approximately about 148 00:10:37,236 --> 00:10:41,116 Speaker 1: twenty five to thirty years. Oh wow. Kasaki San's job 149 00:10:41,196 --> 00:10:44,916 Speaker 1: is to drive prototypes as they're being developed and provide feedback. 150 00:10:45,276 --> 00:10:49,036 Speaker 1: He's a frequent visitor to the Nrburgring, typically drives two 151 00:10:49,116 --> 00:10:51,516 Speaker 1: hundred laps at a visit. Did I did I read 152 00:10:51,556 --> 00:10:57,236 Speaker 1: somewhere that you you spent two years arguing about for 153 00:10:57,356 --> 00:10:59,756 Speaker 1: a change in the angle of the steering wheel. Yes, yes, 154 00:10:59,796 --> 00:11:02,236 Speaker 1: that's actually he was involved in that. What model was that? 155 00:11:02,476 --> 00:11:07,396 Speaker 1: So we started that discussion from GS, but then h 156 00:11:08,596 --> 00:11:10,796 Speaker 1: LC was the actual first car that we're able to 157 00:11:10,836 --> 00:11:13,356 Speaker 1: apply that change in the angle. What was the how 158 00:11:13,436 --> 00:11:16,916 Speaker 1: much of a change in angle did you wanta? Angle? 159 00:11:17,836 --> 00:11:21,076 Speaker 1: Two degrees? Two degrees? Was it hard to convince people 160 00:11:21,836 --> 00:11:24,436 Speaker 1: to change the angle of the string ways? Yeah, so 161 00:11:24,876 --> 00:11:27,516 Speaker 1: you know, not only with the LC, but changing the 162 00:11:27,556 --> 00:11:31,276 Speaker 1: steering angles actually also affixed the platform of other vehicles too, 163 00:11:31,316 --> 00:11:36,796 Speaker 1: so you know, to really make any evolution as far 164 00:11:36,876 --> 00:11:39,396 Speaker 1: as mindset, you know, that was that certainly took a 165 00:11:39,396 --> 00:11:42,276 Speaker 1: lot of determination to change. Twenty five years to get 166 00:11:42,276 --> 00:11:45,436 Speaker 1: certified as at Takumi, two years of arguing to get 167 00:11:45,476 --> 00:11:48,676 Speaker 1: the engineers back at Toyota City to tilt the LC 168 00:11:48,956 --> 00:11:53,596 Speaker 1: steering two degrees forward because the proposed steering wheel angle 169 00:11:53,716 --> 00:11:58,316 Speaker 1: just didn't feel right. Osaki San is a student of EI, 170 00:11:58,396 --> 00:12:01,276 Speaker 1: which is one of the Japanese martial arts. At one 171 00:12:01,316 --> 00:12:03,796 Speaker 1: point he took out his cell phone and showed us 172 00:12:03,796 --> 00:12:07,396 Speaker 1: the photos of him working with his instructor Ei is 173 00:12:07,436 --> 00:12:10,716 Speaker 1: the art of drawing a katan a sword in a smooth, 174 00:12:10,916 --> 00:12:17,516 Speaker 1: controlled manner. I A I EI. So listening there you go, 175 00:12:17,676 --> 00:12:21,996 Speaker 1: let's see that. Yeah, it's an art to basically sword 176 00:12:22,316 --> 00:12:26,236 Speaker 1: um um. So yeah, it's a form of art. Have 177 00:12:26,316 --> 00:12:35,996 Speaker 1: you been doing this six years? Then Osaki San went 178 00:12:36,076 --> 00:12:39,556 Speaker 1: into a long soliloquy about how similar the philosophy of 179 00:12:39,676 --> 00:12:44,436 Speaker 1: EI was to the philosophy of Lexus savagery and elegance, 180 00:12:44,636 --> 00:12:49,276 Speaker 1: abandon and control. Meanwhile, all I could think about is, 181 00:12:49,316 --> 00:12:51,956 Speaker 1: even though I've been a carnet all my life, I've 182 00:12:51,996 --> 00:12:54,876 Speaker 1: never driven with a race car driver on a closed 183 00:12:54,916 --> 00:12:58,796 Speaker 1: course before. I take that back. Once years ago I 184 00:12:58,836 --> 00:13:01,356 Speaker 1: did a bunch of slalom runs around traffic cones at 185 00:13:01,396 --> 00:13:07,996 Speaker 1: the Consumer Reports Test track, Consumer Reports, they test minivans. 186 00:13:08,716 --> 00:13:12,396 Speaker 1: This is the real deal. I'm in full nine year 187 00:13:12,396 --> 00:13:19,356 Speaker 1: old boy mode. Yeah, let's not been there. Lee. Let's see. 188 00:13:19,956 --> 00:13:24,636 Speaker 1: So this is a we got a what what models? 189 00:13:24,676 --> 00:13:27,076 Speaker 1: This is the twenty nineteen you say, dune in them? 190 00:13:27,076 --> 00:13:30,396 Speaker 1: What they do? Yet it's cosy and this is a 191 00:13:30,436 --> 00:13:33,476 Speaker 1: special edition we called Inspiration Edition. So you'll notice when 192 00:13:33,476 --> 00:13:36,196 Speaker 1: you get inside is a three color interior. Yeah, so 193 00:13:36,196 --> 00:13:39,996 Speaker 1: it's a white orange and navy interior. Um there's only 194 00:13:40,036 --> 00:13:42,116 Speaker 1: a few extra colors that work well with that combo. 195 00:13:42,196 --> 00:13:44,716 Speaker 1: Pearl white is one of them. And then the Inspiration 196 00:13:44,876 --> 00:13:47,596 Speaker 1: Edition in the US is also coupled with a luned 197 00:13:47,636 --> 00:13:51,156 Speaker 1: slip differential and some other performance features. So it's a 198 00:13:51,196 --> 00:13:53,956 Speaker 1: great handling, great driving, and beautiful style car. So this 199 00:13:54,076 --> 00:13:56,676 Speaker 1: is I'm forgetting it. This is the one with with 200 00:13:56,836 --> 00:14:01,436 Speaker 1: a this is the So this is a gas V eight. 201 00:14:01,676 --> 00:14:04,956 Speaker 1: If you've never driven at full speed around a race 202 00:14:04,996 --> 00:14:08,836 Speaker 1: track before, let me explain a few things. Logically, you 203 00:14:08,836 --> 00:14:11,596 Speaker 1: would think it's a bit scary. Some of the curves 204 00:14:11,596 --> 00:14:14,796 Speaker 1: at Shimoyama are hairpins, and there's not a lot of 205 00:14:14,836 --> 00:14:18,276 Speaker 1: straightaways between them, so Asaki Song would come screaming out 206 00:14:18,316 --> 00:14:21,916 Speaker 1: of a curve, hit the gas, the LC bolts forward, 207 00:14:22,236 --> 00:14:24,396 Speaker 1: you get up, sometimes over one hundred pounds an hour, 208 00:14:24,596 --> 00:14:28,276 Speaker 1: and then right in front of you, almost immediately is 209 00:14:28,316 --> 00:14:32,396 Speaker 1: another curve, which in theory sounds a bit unnerving, except 210 00:14:32,956 --> 00:14:35,716 Speaker 1: first of all, there's a Takumi driver behind the wheel, 211 00:14:36,156 --> 00:14:42,076 Speaker 1: cool as a cucumber, in fact, giggling. And secondly, you're 212 00:14:42,116 --> 00:14:44,596 Speaker 1: in a sports car. I mean, if you were to 213 00:14:44,596 --> 00:14:47,756 Speaker 1: take an suv out on the Shimayama. Each of those 214 00:14:47,836 --> 00:14:51,596 Speaker 1: turns would be terrifying. That's because suv sit up high. 215 00:14:52,196 --> 00:14:54,236 Speaker 1: They have a high center of gravity, as much as 216 00:14:54,276 --> 00:14:57,676 Speaker 1: three feet in a big suv. At high speeds, an 217 00:14:57,756 --> 00:15:00,916 Speaker 1: suv would pitch violently to one side in a corner 218 00:15:01,076 --> 00:15:03,196 Speaker 1: like a ship in rough seas, and if you went 219 00:15:03,236 --> 00:15:06,236 Speaker 1: too fast, it could spin out or even tip over. 220 00:15:07,236 --> 00:15:10,836 Speaker 1: The center of gravity on Alexis LC, by contrast, is 221 00:15:10,836 --> 00:15:15,796 Speaker 1: super low even by sports car standards. Planted on those corners, 222 00:15:15,916 --> 00:15:19,276 Speaker 1: there was almost no body roll at all. We never 223 00:15:19,356 --> 00:15:23,396 Speaker 1: felt anything close to being out of control. There's a second, 224 00:15:23,676 --> 00:15:25,836 Speaker 1: more subtle thing, and for that we have to leave 225 00:15:25,876 --> 00:15:29,156 Speaker 1: shimo Yama for a moment. I promise will return back 226 00:15:29,196 --> 00:15:31,916 Speaker 1: to Toyota City and Muto San stick figure of a 227 00:15:31,996 --> 00:15:35,956 Speaker 1: driver because the way a car handles also comes down 228 00:15:35,996 --> 00:15:42,036 Speaker 1: to its center of gravity and our anatomy from the side. 229 00:15:43,076 --> 00:15:46,076 Speaker 1: So when we decide on the package, who first decide 230 00:15:46,116 --> 00:15:56,196 Speaker 1: on driver's position detailed point of the axel to your 231 00:15:56,316 --> 00:16:00,196 Speaker 1: hip point a heel point. To make a car handle perfectly, 232 00:16:00,636 --> 00:16:02,716 Speaker 1: you want the driver's hips to be as close to 233 00:16:02,716 --> 00:16:05,516 Speaker 1: the center of gravity as possible, so you feel like 234 00:16:05,556 --> 00:16:08,636 Speaker 1: the car is turning with you. Like, imagine for a 235 00:16:08,676 --> 00:16:11,316 Speaker 1: moment that you have to carry a fifty pound package 236 00:16:11,356 --> 00:16:14,396 Speaker 1: on your bicycle. You could put it in a basket 237 00:16:14,516 --> 00:16:17,316 Speaker 1: over the handlebars, but then the bike would be really 238 00:16:17,316 --> 00:16:20,156 Speaker 1: hard to control because the center of gravity, the bulk 239 00:16:20,196 --> 00:16:22,956 Speaker 1: of the weight would be over the front wheel way 240 00:16:23,036 --> 00:16:25,956 Speaker 1: ahead of your hips. But if you strapped those weights 241 00:16:25,996 --> 00:16:29,276 Speaker 1: around your waist, the bike would be much easier to 242 00:16:29,276 --> 00:16:32,236 Speaker 1: control because now all of that weight would be over 243 00:16:32,276 --> 00:16:36,356 Speaker 1: the center of the bike. During our briefing with Mutosan, 244 00:16:36,596 --> 00:16:39,476 Speaker 1: he talked about how hard Lexus worked to bring those 245 00:16:39,516 --> 00:16:43,836 Speaker 1: two points, hips and center of gravity as close as possible. 246 00:16:44,716 --> 00:16:52,716 Speaker 1: This is a twenty millimeter aviation almost same. How unusual 247 00:16:53,156 --> 00:16:56,436 Speaker 1: is that in a in a sportscar sometimes with a 248 00:16:56,516 --> 00:17:00,836 Speaker 1: two seater two hundred to three hundred millimeter gap. Oh well, 249 00:17:01,676 --> 00:17:04,156 Speaker 1: they got a three hundred millimeter gap down to a 250 00:17:04,276 --> 00:17:08,476 Speaker 1: twenty millimeter gap. Then I asked Mutosan why they couldn't 251 00:17:08,476 --> 00:17:11,876 Speaker 1: get that numbered down to zero? What was stopping you 252 00:17:11,956 --> 00:17:14,476 Speaker 1: for having the center of gravity and the hippoint be 253 00:17:14,596 --> 00:17:24,116 Speaker 1: absolutely perfect? I don't know. Does it bother you? Though 254 00:17:28,436 --> 00:17:30,716 Speaker 1: you didn't say no sleep was lost over you didn't 255 00:17:30,716 --> 00:17:33,036 Speaker 1: wake up in the middle of night saying, if only 256 00:17:33,116 --> 00:17:39,876 Speaker 1: it was perfect. He's lying, of course, he totally loses 257 00:17:39,876 --> 00:17:43,636 Speaker 1: sleep over those twenty millimeters. Then there's what happens to 258 00:17:43,676 --> 00:17:47,356 Speaker 1: your feet. In a typical small car, like a sports car, 259 00:17:47,676 --> 00:17:50,756 Speaker 1: the engine intrudes into the middle of the passenger cabin, 260 00:17:51,076 --> 00:17:53,356 Speaker 1: so you have to bring your ankles a little closer 261 00:17:53,396 --> 00:17:57,516 Speaker 1: together to account for the size of the transmission. Muto 262 00:17:57,596 --> 00:18:00,916 Speaker 1: San and his team didn't like that. It didn't feel 263 00:18:00,996 --> 00:18:04,076 Speaker 1: natural to them, so they pushed the engine just a 264 00:18:04,116 --> 00:18:07,716 Speaker 1: little bit forward and the front seats a little bit back. 265 00:18:08,276 --> 00:18:12,036 Speaker 1: They wanted to create more space in the footwell. Mutasan 266 00:18:12,156 --> 00:18:15,676 Speaker 1: drew the difference for us on the whiteboard. Two legs 267 00:18:15,716 --> 00:18:23,276 Speaker 1: angled slightly inwards, two legs extending straight. That's incorrect. How 268 00:18:23,316 --> 00:18:27,276 Speaker 1: subtle is the difference between correct and incorrect on foot position? 269 00:18:29,196 --> 00:18:35,196 Speaker 1: Twenty really made or two so maybe an inch? An inch? 270 00:18:36,116 --> 00:18:39,516 Speaker 1: Now would most of us even notice that smaller difference, 271 00:18:40,156 --> 00:18:44,356 Speaker 1: Maybe not explicitly, or at first, you wouldn't say to 272 00:18:44,436 --> 00:18:48,236 Speaker 1: yourself when you sit in an LCOH, the angles of 273 00:18:48,236 --> 00:18:51,636 Speaker 1: my legs feel just that much better. But there are 274 00:18:51,676 --> 00:18:55,156 Speaker 1: twenty or thirty subtle little variables like that, and when 275 00:18:55,236 --> 00:18:57,796 Speaker 1: you combine them all then you really can sense that 276 00:18:57,916 --> 00:19:01,796 Speaker 1: something's different. The point is that as Osaki San drove 277 00:19:01,836 --> 00:19:04,676 Speaker 1: around the Shima Yama, the way he sat in the car, 278 00:19:04,956 --> 00:19:07,436 Speaker 1: the way it felt to drive, the way I felt 279 00:19:07,636 --> 00:19:12,076 Speaker 1: as he careened around corner wasn't an accident. It was 280 00:19:12,076 --> 00:19:24,316 Speaker 1: a feeling engineered and created by the car's designers up 281 00:19:24,356 --> 00:19:27,476 Speaker 1: without any of the electronics. It's the end of our 282 00:19:27,516 --> 00:19:30,796 Speaker 1: test drive. I thought we were going really fast, but 283 00:19:30,876 --> 00:19:34,596 Speaker 1: Osakisan says that we had driven at about sixty percent 284 00:19:34,716 --> 00:19:40,116 Speaker 1: of our capacity because we had four people in the car, Osakisan, me, 285 00:19:40,476 --> 00:19:44,156 Speaker 1: the translator, and Jacob with his sound equipment. Now, who 286 00:19:44,156 --> 00:19:47,276 Speaker 1: wants to drive at sixty percent capacity? I want to 287 00:19:47,276 --> 00:19:50,396 Speaker 1: go faster, I want to drift, and to do that, 288 00:19:50,436 --> 00:19:53,756 Speaker 1: the driver has to turn off all the electronic monitors 289 00:19:53,756 --> 00:19:56,316 Speaker 1: that are built into modern cars to make them behave 290 00:19:56,676 --> 00:20:01,236 Speaker 1: like responsible citizens. So I'm asking can we turn them off? 291 00:20:01,996 --> 00:20:06,916 Speaker 1: Asaki San says that's not allowed. Basically it requires a 292 00:20:06,956 --> 00:20:11,116 Speaker 1: certain permit to actually drive around in that mode. So 293 00:20:11,276 --> 00:20:14,476 Speaker 1: you know, maybe we could try like in specific point, 294 00:20:15,196 --> 00:20:19,036 Speaker 1: but apparently today we basically obtain a permit to basically 295 00:20:19,156 --> 00:20:22,236 Speaker 1: run in like basically not to overlap the lanes, but 296 00:20:22,396 --> 00:20:24,476 Speaker 1: in order to do so with everything off, you kind 297 00:20:24,476 --> 00:20:26,876 Speaker 1: of need to use the full track, full width of 298 00:20:26,876 --> 00:20:30,596 Speaker 1: the track to cross over both lanes, so that apparently 299 00:20:30,756 --> 00:20:34,516 Speaker 1: requires a different permit application. He wasn't supposed to leave 300 00:20:34,556 --> 00:20:38,276 Speaker 1: tire marks. It's a brand new track, blah blah blah. 301 00:20:38,316 --> 00:20:41,836 Speaker 1: But then we kicked Jacob and his fancy recording equipment 302 00:20:42,236 --> 00:20:45,476 Speaker 1: out of the car, and Osakisan thinks about it a 303 00:20:45,476 --> 00:20:50,836 Speaker 1: minute longer, and he says, Okay, let's go for it, 304 00:20:50,876 --> 00:20:54,756 Speaker 1: because Lexus isn't supposed to be boring, not anymore, And 305 00:20:54,836 --> 00:20:57,156 Speaker 1: so I have something to boast about at dinner parties. 306 00:20:57,516 --> 00:21:05,116 Speaker 1: I record what happens next on my phone. Oh yeah, baby, 307 00:21:05,716 --> 00:21:09,636 Speaker 1: one of the top ten moments of my life. Oh wow, 308 00:21:10,956 --> 00:21:31,836 Speaker 1: serious drifting line. Yeah yeah, that's great. That was That 309 00:21:32,156 --> 00:21:35,596 Speaker 1: was fantastic. That was one of the most fun I've 310 00:21:35,596 --> 00:21:48,036 Speaker 1: had as a passenger in a car maybe ever. Go 311 00:21:48,196 --> 00:21:51,796 Speaker 1: and See is produced by Jacob Smith with Emily Rosteck 312 00:21:51,956 --> 00:21:56,876 Speaker 1: and Carly Migliari, edited by Julia Barton. Evan Viola composed 313 00:21:56,876 --> 00:22:00,436 Speaker 1: our theme music and mixed and mastered our episodes. Special 314 00:22:00,476 --> 00:22:03,836 Speaker 1: thanks to Jacob Weisberg had of fame, Paul Williamson, the 315 00:22:03,996 --> 00:22:08,596 Speaker 1: Mark Levinson engineers, and all the Lexus executives, engineers and 316 00:22:08,636 --> 00:22:13,436 Speaker 1: designer who participated in our recordings. Go and See is 317 00:22:13,436 --> 00:22:18,236 Speaker 1: a production of Lexus and Pushkin Industries. I'm Malcolm Rapin.