Mark Potter
Posts by Mark Potter
Maserati takes Superstars Series title
Oct 25th
Truth be told, I hadn’t heard of the Superstars Series, which is similar to the German DTM, Japanese Super GT, and Australian V8 Supercars series. The competitive field is made up of naturally aspirated V8 two and four door cars like the Mercedes C63 AMG, BMW M3, Audi RS4, Cadillac CTS-V, Jaguar S-Type R, Porsche Panamera S, and Maserati Quattroporte EVO. The EVO is a specialty race version of the Quattroporte featuring the bad ass widebody setup you see above, in full race trim.
Driver Andrea Bertolini drove his Swiss team Maserati Quattroporte to the championship, after trailing by 20 points leading into the final races at Vallelunga. Bertolini is a driver and test driver for Maserati and Ferrari, and previously won the FIA GT series in the Maserati MC12 in 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2010 – the only Italian driver to have won four international FIA titles.
Here’s a rather raw video of some highlights from the race at Monza, earlier this year:
The Swiss team was founded in 2008, to kick off the Maserati Quattroporte Superstars project. Based in Switzerland, the team now consists of 13 people, with Engineer Giuseppe Angiulli acting as Technical Director. Giuseppe’s experience covers 5 years in F1, 2 years in Alfa’s DTM project, 2 years working for BMW Motorsport, and work on ALMS prototypes. He collaborated with Michelotto Corse in developing the Ferrari F360 and F430, and worked with team Villorba Corse’ F430 in the Italian GT series. He worked for Vitaphone racing for two years as Track Engineer while they competed in the FIA GT championship, running Maserati MC12s.
Here are some more photos of the fantastic Maserati Quattroporte EVO:
Lamborghini Gallardo Driven
Oct 5th
A week ago I had the opportunity to drive our 2008 Lamborghini Gallardo to shoot some video for the web. I’ve always liked the Gallardos, and this one certainly didn’t disappoint. It looks awesome in white (Bianco Mocerus) over black, and has some nice touches like the Callisto silver-painted wheels over red calipers, and clear engine cover. Add-in the E-gear transmission, leather touches in the cabin, suede sport steering wheel, power \ heated seats, navigation, and 6-CD changer, and you’ve got over $25k in options on this car. Can’t say I would have skipped any of them.
The driving experience is fantastic. The engine note is mean down low, and superb at high RPMs. Back in 2006 Lamborghini made some changes to the car which included a sportier exhaust system, with valves opening at high rpm, while maintaining a quieter note in town. They’ve also tweaked their E-Gear transmission over the years, and that was apparent driving this car. 1st gear engagement was smooth, even in sport mode, while the next 5 cog-swaps are dealt with how you expect them to be: Snappy when you’re driving hard, a bit more subdued when you’re taking it easy.
The suspension is surprisingly forgiving. Thanks to Minnesota’s notorious Winters, we can’t exactly brag about our road quality. Sure it’s still best to avoid the big potholes, but the average every-day stuff was soaked up without ruining my day. That is to say – you feel the bumps (you’re supposed to in a car that’s capable of nearly 200mph), but it’s surprisingly comfortable to drive.
In typical supercar fashion, the old Lambo stereo was not much worth mentioning. For 2008 Lamborghini added the onboard computer, a welcome addition. Flip down the screen and you can insert two SD cards full of MP3s. I had mixed success with the system. Most of my memory cards didn’t work. After searching the forums it seems it’s compatible with SD, but not SDHC cards. So you’re limited to under 2GB, which is something like 30 hours of music. In the real world I only got a 256MB card to work, with about 4 hours of music on it, but I presume a deeper dive into the owners manual would have solved my problems. The navigation is typical Audi, which is to say it works pretty well, but without the very-quick MMi interface it can be a little tedious to enter your destination.
Check out this Lamborghini Gallardo for sale on our site: www.twincitiesluxuryauto.com/detail-2008-lamborghini-gallardo…
Overall this is a pretty fantastic supercar. With around 520 horsepower, a superb all-wheel-drive system, and E-Gear transmission – this is a shockingly easy car to drive. Certainly it’s fast enough to hurt you, but it’s not quite so eager to take your head off like a Ferrari 430 might do if you’re not careful. Just about anyone could get in this car and drive it fast, a trait lampooned by Top Gear a couple of years ago: (skip ahead 3 minutes)
Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale – making music
May 17th
The only thing that makes this better, is knowing I’ll get to hear it in person. We just ordered our only allotted MC Stradale.
Spring is Here
Apr 13th
You know it’s Spring when the shop is full of cool cars coming out of storage, and getting prepped for warm weather driving… More >
2011 Bentley Continental GT is TopGear’s Grand Tourer of the Year!
Jan 6th
Can’t say we disagree. Top Gear had this to say:
“”Aargh! A Camel!” is not what you want to hear while travelling at speed around a corner in a £130k GT. If you were to provide some sort of macabre menu of final phrases to hear before you die, it would also come very close to the bottom of my personal list, somewhere between “I think that’s poisonous” and “What are you doing with that hammer?” Nevertheless, here we are, my German friend Juergen and I, both trying desperately to push the brake pedal of the new Bentley Continental GT into and past the shag pile and regretting the car’s not-inconsiderable 2,350kg mass. To make matters even more bizarre, Juergen is a passenger. Juergen doesn’t even have a brake pedal. ”
via [TopGear]
source [Top Gear Magazine, Awards Edition]
Bentley Mulsanne High-Speed Testing
Mar 4th
AutoExpress was lucky enough to join Bentley engineers during some of their final testing of the new Bentley Mulsanne in South Africa.
From the article: “We’re travelling serenely down a dual carriageway, listening carefully for any rattles or squeaks from the car. There’s a faint hiss from the tyres touching the tarmac, a little wind noise coming from the wing mirrors, but that’s all. My chauffeur for the day looks over his shoulder: “Feeling comfortable?”
The driver is none other than Dr Ulrich Eichorn, Bentley’s engineering chief and the man behind the MkI Ford Focus and MkV VW Golf. Reclining in the sumptuous rear seats I stretch my legs out and watch some TV, while the South African landscape flies past the window. It’s an even more stunning sight that catches the eye though, the speedometer is registering 180mph, while the tachometer is settled at an unstrained 4,200rpm.
“Don’t worry, we have a special government-approved high-speed testing permit on the rear bumper – we’re allowed to drive at these speeds,” Eichorn assures me..”
Read the full article: [AutoExpress]
Bentley Superleggera Flying Star at Geneva 2010
Mar 4th
Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera has unveiled a shooting brake version of the Continental GT, custom built for an avid collector, and have announced they will build up to 20 examples. Carrozzeria has been better known for their work with Maseratis over the past few years, but according to AutoExpress this car has proven to be one of the favorites at Geneva this year.
This car is based on the Bentley Continental GTC Speed, with extensive modifications from the A-pillars back, including widening the rear bodywork, re-skinning the doors, and re-working the rear compartment to include two folding rear seats. With the rear seats folded flat, the car can hold about 42 cubic feet of cargo. Touring Superleggera claims that four sets of golf clubs can be accommodated with the rear seats up.
Touring Superleggera and Bentley Motors have developed a special mutual warranty program, which safeguards warranty clauses for both the basic car, and the transformation by Touring. The car will be serviced at Bentley dealers.
source: [Carrozzeria Touring][AutoExpress]
Our New Website is Live!
Feb 24th
Over a year in the making – our brand new website is now live!
Maserati of Minneapolis and Bentley Minneapolis have been combined under the parent brand of Twin Cities Luxury Auto, creating a store that will fill the exotic, luxury, and unique vehicle demand in the Twin Cities area, and across the country.
We strive to carry the finest and most unique vehicles on the market. Whether it’s an uniquely optioned Audi A4 Ultrasport, or a Ferrari 599, or your Bentley Continental Supersports dream car – you’ll find it at TwinCitiesLuxuryAuto.com. If we don’t have the perfect car for you – let us know – we can put our national network of car buyers to work finding just what you’re looking for.