Archive for March, 2014
Guest Photographer at Morrie’s Luxury Auto
Mar 21st
Guest blog post written by: Joshua Duffy- The Art Institutes International Minnesota.
Escaping the wintry weather at the 12 Hours of Sebring
Mar 17th
2014 marked the 62nd running of the 12 Hours of Sebring, arguably the most grueling automotive endurance race on the planet. The race was the second round of the newly formed Tudor United Sportscar Championship, an amalgamation of the now defunct American Le Mans and the Grand Am endurance series’. The newly formed group brought together two groups in the interest of a unified series with increases competition. In doing so, much was required to make the different classes of cars on par with one another. The task was much easier said than done, but it appears that after round two things are lining up nicely. Unfortunately, other elements of the merger still need some work.
Race day was marked with sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-eighties. Not only was the weather great for racing, it was also a nice change for a winter-weary Minnesotan such as myself. If you’ve never been to Sebring, the first thing you’ll quickly learn that it is expansive, covered in sand, devoid of any elevation and packed with people. If you’re used to the wonderful amenities and facilities at a track like Road America, you’ll be largely disappointed with Sebring. The one thing the track does have is history. Originally an Air Force base, much of the course is made up of decades old concrete runways that really provide a beating for the cars. For this very reason, many teams see the race as the perfect training ground for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The saying goes, if you can handle 12 Hours at Sebring you will have no problem racing 24 hours at Le Mans.
Since the race falls right in the middle of spring break season, you’ll find two distinct groups of attendees. The first are octane-loving race fans decked out in their favorite teams colors and focused intently on the race. The second group consists of folks there for the party and seemingly unaware that a race is even underway. The latter group assembles compounds using some very ingenious engineering methods all in the interest of having a good time day or night. Many adorn crazy attire such as chicken suits, drive around in the tallest pickup trucks you’ve ever seen and play music that makes the un-muffled cars on the track seem quiet.
As already noted, it’s generally a healthy hike from corner to corner. It seems that every time we decided to move corners we’d arrive at the new corner to find an extensive full course caution period. The race was marked by over five hours of full course cautions. While there was a fair amount of carnage, the cautions periods were often over-embellished, lasting a good 30-minutes past when incidents were cleared. Many attribute this to the new ownerships desire to bunch up the cars and create “exciting” racing. As a longtime race fan, I can tell you these unnecessary cautions only throw off the rhythm of the race and frustrate teams and fans alike.
In the end, though, the race did make for some exciting racing across all four classes. Chip Ganassi racing won the top prototype class with their Ford Ecoboost Powered Riley Daytona Prototype. Core Autosport won the Prototype challenge series with their Chevy powered Oreca FLM09. The Porsche factory team took top honors in the production based GTLM category with their 911 GT3 RSR. Magnus Racing in their Porsche 911 GT America won the final class, GTD. Despite the caution period fiascos, the race was still marked with a lot of close racing and results that came down to the wire.
Luxury Debuts from the Geneva International Auto Show
Mar 7th
This year at the Geneva Motor Show Maserati wasn’t the only one with an exciting luxury debut. Lamborghini and Ferrari also introduced their newest models to the world and we wanted to give you automotive fans a little insight into what was released.
Lamborghini debuted the impressive 610-Horsepower Huracán which will be the companies most affordable vehicle on the market. You can expect to pay around $200,000 for this beautiful new sportscar, which is a replacement to the outgoing Gallardo.

Photo by: http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/auto-shows/2015-lamborghini-huracan-wake-up-call-supercar-world-geneva-motor-show-article-1.1710074
Under the hood this Lambo boasts a 5.2-liter v-10 with a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission and can reach 0-60mph in just 3.2 seconds! With top speeds reaching over 200 MPH, we know this will surely be a fun one to drive.

Photo by: http://news.boldride.com/2013/12/ten-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-lamborghini-huracan/41457/
The weight on this vehicle has been shed thanks to lightweight aluminum and carbon fiber materials throughout the design. Lamborghini CEO, Stephan Winkelmann, already confirmed that there have been more than 1,000 Huracán’s pre-ordered at this time.

Photo by: http://driving.ca/ferrari/california/auto-shows/geneva-motor-show/ferrari-california-gains-turbo-v8-at-geneva-motor-show/
Ferrari also stunned us with the beautiful new California T hardtop convertible that is 15% more energy efficient than the outgoing model. The turbocharged California can reach top speeds of 195 and travels from 0-60 in just 3.6 seconds! We expect pricing on the California to be around $187,000.

Photo by: http://cars.uk.msn.com/motorshows/geneva-motor-show-2014/ferrari-california-t-at-the-2014-geneva-motor-show-2?page=12
Stay tuned to the Morrie’s Luxury Auto blog for the latest info on all the exotic debuts from the Geneva Motor Show!
Maserati unveils Alfieri Concept at the Geneva Motor Show
Mar 5th
This year at the Geneva Motor Show Maserati unveiled their Alfieri concept which hints at a new design language that Maserati says will carry on to models in the future.
We’re not sure if this vehicle will go into production or not yet, and neither is Maserati. They are waiting to get more feedback on the concept before making that decision. “I sincerely can’t say that we’ll see this car in production in two years’ time, but I’m certain we’ll see something very similar,” said Lorenzo Ramaciotti, global head of design for Maserati’s parent company, Fiat.
The name Alfieri comes from one of the Maserati brothers who founded the company years ago. This concept is originally based on the GranTurismo chassis, with a bit of a shorter wheelbase that is 9.5 inches shorter. This concept is powered by the same 4.7-liter V-8 as the GranTurismo, but achieves 460 horsepower and 383 lb. ft of torque!
We’ll be sure to update you as soon as we find out more about this hot new concept vehicle from Maserati. Check back often for more info or head over to Morrie’s Luxury Auto website to check out some of the other great inventory we have on display!