猩氏車評—LFA

01-30

猩氏車評—LFA

充滿靈魂的大和至尊

The V10 engine in a Lexus LFA revs from idle to the red line in just 0.6 of a second.That』s so fast, the engineers had to fit a digital rev-counter because a conventional needle couldn』t keep up.

LFA的V10從怠速到紅線只要0.6秒。這種速度讓工程師必須用數字式儀錶盤，因為指針跟不上了

Toyota says that, for perfect handling, 52 per cent of the weight should be over the rear axle. As a result, the LFA』s radiators and battery are at the back. So, too, is the washer bottle.

豐田說，為了達成完美操控，後軸應該承載52%的重量。結果讓 LFA的散熱器和電池都在後方。洗滌瓶也是這種分配

It has a single-plate flappy-paddle gearbox. The changes are slow and savage. But each time it shifts cogs, it feels like Mr Muscle Man has walloped you in the back. With a sledgehammer. This gives drivers a sense that they really are in a racing car.

單離合撥片變速箱。換擋緩慢粗暴。但每次換擋，感覺就像大力水手舉起重鎚一發入魂。這讓司機感覺如同駕駛真的賽車

The body may look conventional, but there』s genuine aero here. As I discovered at Willow Springs in California recently, the faster you go, the more grip you have.

車身看起來很普通，但都有真正的空力效果。就像我近期在柳泉賽道（TG S19E02）發現的一樣，車速越快，抓地力越強

There are sound tubes that feed the roar of the engine』s induction directly into the cockpit. And there』s a woman in the boot who can find you the nearest Japanese/Euro fusion restaurant. I love the LFA a lot. So much, that I recently described it as the best car I』ve ever driven.

還有根軟管把引擎聲浪直接傳導進駕駛艙。後備箱里還有個歐日餐館的妹子。我對LFA的愛滔滔不絕，甚至讓她成為了我開過的最棒的車

Naturally, this caused both Hammond and May to scoff very loudly. Mainly because - as they kept pointing out - it costs ￡359,590. That』s nearly five times more than a Nissan GT-R which, if anything, is even more technical. It』s way more, too, than a Ferrari 458 or a Merc SLS. It is, they argued, a stupid price.

自然這讓鼴鼠船長BB好久。主要是因為—他們一直說—開價359590英鎊。這比GT-R貴了差不多5倍，那車還更高科技。這車也比458/SLS AMG貴許多。他們說，這車定價很蠢

But they』re wrong. Arguing that the LFA is too expensive is like arguing that, at ￡100 billion, the Mona Lisa is too expensive. Or saying that there』s no point buying a ￡20 million Henry Moore sculpture when, for just a fiver, you could buy a nice stone otter from an Oxfam shop.

但他們說錯了。說LFA太貴就像億萬英鎊買蒙娜麗莎太貴一樣，或者說因為救濟會能5英鎊賣你個破石頭，2000萬英鎊的亨利摩爾雕塑就毫無意義

With a car like the LFA, price is not relevant. Because it』s just a tech fest. A howling, thrusting, tyre-squealing arrowhead of industrial-grade showing off. It belongs in a collector』s climate-controlled garage, as an example of the moment. It is emphatically not a car you are actually going to buy and use. If you do, you may find that, from time to time, it』s a bit annoying.

LFA這種車，價格已經無關緊要。因為這是科技的盛宴。尖嘯衝刺響胎的工業炫耀集箭頭。理應住在收藏家空調恆溫的車庫代表所在的時代。這車重點不是拿來開的。因為開起來，時不時的，會有些煩人

Because, in among all the glorious detail and the sense it was designed by engineering psychopaths, there are some small issues. All of which reared their heads on a short trip to the pub last month.

因為在華光四射的細節與工程痴狂的設計下，還有點問題。上個月去小酒館跑一趟就感覺出來了

The increasingly earnest BBC news teams were advising motorists to stay at home and not go out unless the journey was 「absolutely necessary」. But it was necessary. I wanted some lunch. And anyway, it was a beautiful day. Not a cloud in the sky, and, on the ground, a light sprinkling of Jack Frost hardened snow.

敬業的BBC新聞團一直建議車主「不到萬不得已」不要開車。但這是必要的。我要吃飯。而且，天色正好。萬里無雲，路面一絲冰封的雪層

So, I climbed into the LFA and, 10 minutes later, with a cricked neck, a punctured lung and a twisted gut, I had managed to fasten the desperately fiddly seatbelt. Ten minutes after that, I had overcome the enormous turning circle by executing a 77-point turn, and was finally pointing in the right direction. But I wasn』t going anywhere, because the race-inspired tyres were struggling quite badly with the icy gravel.

所以我坐進LFA，在扭了脖子，頂我個肺以及愁腸百轉後，我終於繫上了累死人的安全帶。10分鐘後我適應了77點掉頭的巨型轉彎半徑，方向終於對了。但我走不了，因為賽車向的輪胎應付不了冰雪路面

I therefore undid the seatbelt, broke out the shovels, and the blow torch and the bits of sacking. And 10 minutes later, I was back in the cockpit, hungry from all the exertions and looking forward to my lunch. Ten minutes after that, I had done up the seatbelt again. And I was off.

我就解開安全帶，拿出鏟子，火棒和亞麻布。10分鐘後，我回到車內，費勁地被餓死。10分鐘後，系好安全帶，出發

To quench my thirst, I reached into the door pocket for a refreshing can of fizzy pop and took a slug. And then noted there was no cupholder. But that wasn』t the end of the world, because the Lexus has a fuel tank exactly seven per cent smaller than the fuel tank on a Zippo lighter.

為了解渴我開了罐汽水。然後發現沒有杯架，但得益於比打火機還小的油箱，我能停車喝水

I therefore grazed the nose going into the petrol station, undid my seatbelt, deposited the mostly full can of zesty drink in a bin, filled up with 0.3 litres of V-Power, got back in, and, after a brief 10-minute gap during which I did up my seatbelt, I dragged the low nose onto the road again. And set off.

我走向加油站，解開安全帶，把大半罐汽水扔掉，加上0.3升偉哥能量，上車，很快地花10分鐘系安全帶，我再次上路

Zigzagging furiously. Most odd. I』d driven this exact car before, in the summer, in Yorkshire, and it tracked straight and true. But since then, somebody in overalls has made a small change to the undersides - Tyres? Camber? - and as a result, it simply followed every small groove in the road, irrespective of what I did with the wheel.

憤怒地閃轉騰挪。奇怪的是，我夏天在約克郡開過同一台車，那時直爽而純真的感覺。但之後，有人可能改動過機械部件—輪胎？傾角？結果就是這車按著路上的起伏顛，我的操控無濟於事

To take my mind off the problem, I turned on the excellent Mark Levinson stereo and selected DAB. Which wasn』t working. And then it was time for some more petrol.

為了緩解一下問題，我打開超贊的Mark Levinson音響，選擇DAB。沒啥用。然後又是加油時節

After this and another punctured lung from doing up the seatbelt, the road opened out and I put the hammer down. Soon, I was doing 70mph, and my ears started to bleed. Because at this speed, the engine is howling at 3,000rpm. You crave a seventh gear in an LFA, but there isn』t one.

再一次爆肺地繫上安全帶，道路開闊，油門到底。很快就到了70MPH，耳朵開始流血。因為70MPH，引擎3000RPM，找著7檔的位置，發現根本沒有7檔

You also crave a bit more space in the boot. Because any suitcase has to be fitted in the space behind the seats. Which means you can』t see anything out of the rear-view mirror. Which is why I didn』t spot the approaching police car.

後備箱還能找到一點空間。因為任何尺寸的手提箱都只能放在后座，這讓你失去了後方視野。這讓我沒能看到駛來的警車

After a bit of finger-wagging, I set off once more with the radio crackling and the engine howling and the tyres following the grooves left by snowploughs. Until eventually, I ended up at the snowplough depot. This is where all LFA drivers will end up, if a man in an overall has been underneath with a spanner.Eventually, though, I made it to the pub where I had what had become supper, and I gave the LFA a bit of thought…

搖了搖手指後，我再次伴隨著收音機的音響，嘯叫的引擎和鏟過的的路面前進。直到我到達了除雪機倉庫。這讓LFA司機們走投無路，除非下來修車。最終我到達了晚飯的小酒館，再想了想LFA這車

With the possible exceptions of a V8 Ariel Atom or a Caterham R500, I cannot think of any car which makes going to the pub on a crisp winter』s day such a chore. For Willow Springs? Yes. For that road which twists up into the hills outside Palm Springs? Yes again. But for going from Chipping Norton to The Kingham Plough for some snails and mushrooms on toast? No. You』d be better off jogging. However, I will not change my mind about this car. I still believe it』s the best I』ve ever driven.

除了Atom V8或者R500這種車，沒有更多能讓冰天雪地去喝酒更紛繁複雜的車了。柳泉賽道？很好。棕櫚泉的山路？也很出色。但是從Chipping Norton去Kingham找點蘑菇啥的？不行。走路都比LFA好。然而，這不會影響我的判斷。我依舊認為這是我開過的最棒的車

Because, for just a few quid, you could buy a picture to hang over your mantelpiece. It might even be quite nice. But that doesn』t stop you dreaming about owning Turner』s priceless Rain, Steam and Speed.

因為幾塊錢都能找幅畫掛牆上。看起來不錯，但這不能阻止你對Turner的無價神作《雨霧速度》魂牽夢縈

It』s old. It』s cracked. It』s fuzzy and the insurance would be huge. But what would you rather have? That? Or The Crying Boy? Hammond and May would go for The Crying Boy. But I have a soul, which is why I wouldn』t.

這車老土，有缺陷。定位模糊不清，保險壕破天際。但你要的是這台大和至尊還是《哭泣的少年》？（GiovanniBragolin的名畫）鼴鼠和船長倆傢伙肯定拿那副破畫。但我追求真實的靈魂，所以我選擇大和至尊

翻譯：GearKnobs字幕組—進化世代（ALMF3512）