But, did you know that manufacturers were starting to get in on the same game? Fake exhaust tips — one of STS’s new pet peeves. These tips are on performance cars and are designed to look flashy, while they aren’t even connected to the real exhaust pipe. Manufacturer’s explain this by talking about the flex of the exhaust pipe during driving, which would rip a connected tip out of a bumper. They also get hot enough to severely melt plastic. So, make ‘em all look like the Superleggera’s, they seem to work and that’d be ok with me! Here’s a few examples, and counter-examples, to show what we’re talking about.

The Culprits

The Lexus IS-F
This was the most publicized example of exhaust pipe fake-ness. The quad pipes, dual stacked, looked great from a distance. And the IS-F has the capabilities to deserve some man-tastic exhaust. But, Lexus, in a blatant cost-cutting and looks-enhancing measure, didn’t even connect the pipes. The chromed oval tips are just sitting in the bumper, empty as Paris Hilton’s head.

There’s a little bit of debate about whether the problem was only on pre-production models and whether it was corrected on the production version. Here’s the down low: the pre-production IS-F’s had placeholders on the top, and were only running twins. For the final car they do infact have four pipes, but while the tips are oval and large the pipes are weedy and circular with a large gap in between — and don’t even line up. Cool Lexus. Real cool.

Audi R8
A great car, ruined by some fake tips. At least these have pipes of equal shape, and they line up well. But, even if it isn’t very noticeable, they’re still disconnected. And we don’t like disconnected.

Ferrari F430 Scuderia and California

 These even had me fooled.  200k should at least buy you some genuine  metal pipes…but no.  Not only are the California and Scud’s exhausts  fake, they make me want to cry.  Its a tragedy that such fine machines  should be entirely ruined to win the proverbial dick-size competition. If I were shelling out enough for a small house, I’d be willing to throw in a few more g’s for genuine exhausts. It would be like a dating a supermodel only to realize she’s made of silicone.

The California I understand to a degree.  It’s a grand tourer – a bit more style than substance.  For the Scud there’s no excuse though.  It’s supposed to be the balls-to-the-wall track tuned decathlete of the bunch.  If you bought the car to go fast around a track, why make all the other drivers behind you suffer as they stare at your pitifully fraudulent exhausts.

Questionable

Bugatti Veyron
Ah, you may think, deception! And yes, in fact, you have been decieved. But not in the typical way. Not in a Lex-ian fashion of adding additional ‘bling’ exhaust pipes. Rather, Bugatti has hidden two more away! Stuck in the rear venturi, and barely visible in the picture below, these two vent the enormous volume of hot exhaust gasses from the quad turbo W16. Super tight.

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Lamborghini LP640
An interesting case — the picture below shows the setup. This one, we decided, passes our test; but just barely. Here’s why: the pipes are directly connected to the single large exit. Though the diameter increases, that can be easily explained by the technical impossibility of running a single gigantic pipe from the exhaust manifold. LP640, and the Reventon as well, you’re good to go.

The Role Models

Corvette ZR1
Who says American car companies don’t make cars people want?  Here’s what exhaust pipes for real men looks like, and I want them.  They’re big, they’re glorious, and yes, they’re very real. 

Lamborghini LP560-4 and Gallardo Superleggera

You may have thought of Lamborghini as the flashy exotic to Ferrari’s functional and technical brilliance.  After all, Lamborghini has never in its history run a factory racing team, while Ferrari has arguably the best racing pedigree in all of car-land.  You’d be at least a little wrong, in this case it’s the Lamborghini’s with the technical accuracy and the Ferrari’s with the form-over-function design. Another example of great exhausts; they look purposeful, and are, most importantly, genuine. Keep up the good work Lambo.

For a few more, hit up the link below: