Posts tagged video
Bentley Releases Details on the 2013 Continental GT Speed
Aug 24th
The 2013 GT Speed is the fastest production Bentley ever made with a top speed of 205mph. Orders are already being taken for the all-wheel drive performance flagship. The car is equipped with the iconic 6-liter twin turbo W12 engine and achieves zero-to-sixty in just 4 seconds. The Continental GT Speed model include exclusive 21-inch, ten-spoke alloy wheels and a dark tint to the lower grille. The interior of the car features perforated leather and metal detailing with a wide range of optional finishes. The GT Speed has been fitted with an energy recuperation system to optimize the use of the electrical system and the alternator so that energy is stored for use later. The 8-speed can now shift from eighth to fourth gear to gain faster acceleration. The enhanced steering and suspension changes on the vehicle included with the anti-roll bars are guided by new software to make the most out of Bentley’s fastest vehicle.
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.
Cars and Cafe July Video
Jul 22nd
Well, after some time off, Matt Desmond has returned to shoot the videos for Cars & Cafe. If you’ve seen any of his videos, you know they are top-notch, and really set our C&C event apart from anything else being done.
Remember you can pickup a copy of the 2008 Cars & Cafe videos in full HD quality, hifi sound quality, and some special bonus materials over at Matt Desmond’s site: www.middlepathproductions.com.
Cars & Cafe DVD now available!
Mar 12th
Matt Desmond has finally released the DVD for the 2008 Minneapolis Cars & Cafe season. These are the videos that were posted to YouTube & Vimeo, in their full-screen, unsuperdupercompressed video and audio presentations.
There is also a special surprise if you click the image of our dealership in the bonus materials section.
Pick up your limited edition copy here: http://www.middlepathproductions.com
The next Cars & Cafe is April 4th, 2009!
GranTurismo MC Corse In-Car Video
Dec 15th
I ran across this in-car video of the GranTurismo MC Corse testing at Monza on YouTube today and had to share:
Alfa Romeo 8c Competizione video
Oct 5th
The Alfa 8c Competizione has been unveiled in Paris with this accompanying video.
MC12 videos
Jul 3rd
Recently edo-competition took delivery of a customer’s brand new Maserati MC12. They modified the engine, gearbox, suspension, exhaust and brakes. This car is a daily driver and has been driven over 5000 kilometers in 3 months. Here is a very cool video of this MC12 being driven around Hockenheim racetrack.
Here are some more MC12 video links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yHzh6HZcBs (top gear)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlsLS7u7Oao (FIA-GT silverstone footage)
