Alex Bellus
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Posts by Alex Bellus
Bentley Debuts 550-hp Biturbo V8 Continental GT3 Race Car
Nov 9th
We haven’t even seen the new 2018 Bentley Continental GT in the metal yet and already the team from Crewe has assembled a beautiful GT3-class race car from the lightweight, aluminum bones set forth by the road car. Although most people would expect the racing version of the Continental to be making more power than its road-legal variant, at 626 bhp, the standard Continental makes significantly more power than allowed in the GT3 class. Instead, the new race car is fitted with a smaller 4.0-liter dry-sumped, bi-turbo, 4.0-liter V8 with 550 bhp on tap to replace the usual 6.0-liter bi-turbo W12.
To make the most of the smaller engine, the engineers at Bentley managed to strip 2,081 lbs out of the standard Continental, bringing total weight down to just around 2,866 lbs for the race car. Just think about that for a second… That’s over a ton of mass stripped from the street car through the use of carbon fiber, aluminum, titanium, and other exotic materials to make it eligible and competitive within its class.
Although Bentley will be campaigning two ‘works’ cars, Bentley will begin selling complete Continental GT3 race cars to privateer teams in June, 2018. The new Continental GT3 race car is currently undergoing testing and simulations to make sure it’s competitive for the European Blancpain GT Endurance Cup Series that kicks off at Monza in Italy on April 21st and 22nd, 2018.
MN C&C – September 2nd, 2017
Sep 4th
It was another perfect weekend for a car show and Minnesota Cars & Coffee did not disappoint! It was great to see everyone who came out to the show and visited our booth. Check out the photos below for our recap of the event.
MN C&C – August 5th, 2017
Aug 6th
This was such a fun event for us with some special guests at our booth including Doug DeMuro and Michael from Bring a Trailer. We also debuted a couple of new Morrie’s Heritage Car Connection cars such as our 16k-mile 2004 Honda S2000 and our 1970 Mazda Cosmo! It turned out to be a perfect day to see a bunch of fellow car enthusiasts. We’d like to thank everyone who stopped by our booth to say hi and we’ll see you next time on September 2nd!
2017 Maserati Levante Q4 – Where Performance and Luxury Meet Practicality
Jul 19th
It’s up for debate if the world really needed another luxury crossover but Maserati sure seems to be making some waves with their Levante. With striking looks and its unique Italian character, the Levante is doing its part to stand out in a sea of homogenous boxes on wheels. Maybe we can chalk it up to Italian flair, but Maserati doesn’t really know how to build boring cars. Instead of the usual melting jelly bean shape we’re used to seeing on modern crossovers, the Levante trades bulbous proportions for chiseled, aggressive bumpers and bold character lines. But of course the Levante the way it does; with roots firmly established in Modena, just down the street from the hallowed grounds of Ferrari, there’s some sports car DNA in every vehicle they produce.
Capturing Aston Martins with the 100MP Phase One XF IQ3
Mar 10th
Now unless you’re a camera nerd like me, you likely won’t have any idea what Phase One is or know what’s so special about their XF IQ3 cameras. But look at it this way – you could either buy a really nice, certified pre-owned Maserati Ghibli or a camera. That might sound crazy but depending on your needs, the camera might actually make sense. So, what is the Phase One XF IQ3 and what makes it cost more than your average car? Well, Phase One is a small camera company building some of the best high-end camera systems in the world for commercial photographers. Their camera systems are broken down into three main parts: a body (in this case, I was using the latest XF body), a lens (I tried out an assortment of their Schneider Kreuznach leaf shutter lenses), and a digital back (the IQ3 is their latest generation of backs which are available from 50 megapixels up to 100 megapixels). Altogether, the XF camera with the top-of-the-line 100MP IQ3 back, and a single lens from Phase One rings in a grand total of $48,990!
2017 Aston Martin DB11 Unveiling
Oct 14th
Last week we were fortunate enough to have the beautiful, all-new Aston Martin DB11 on our show floor for just a brief 24 hours. We invited a handful of our valuable Aston Martin customers to our store for a chance to see the future of the brand up close and personal. A few lucky people even had the opportunity to test drive one of only a handful of DB11s in the country. We can’t wait to start delivering the first DB11s to customers in the coming months.
Morrie’s Luxury Auto Trackday at Brainerd International Raceway
Oct 12th
We pride ourselves on offering great test drives to all of our customers and potential customers. While our usual test drive routes include a mix of city street and highway driving to give people a feel for how a vehicle might behave on a daily basis, exceptional vehicles call for exceptional test drives. And that’s precisely why we booked a day at Brainerd International Raceway: to give our customers and friends a chance to drive their own cars, as well as a hand-picked selection of our latest and vehicles flat-out on a race track. This time, we managed to bring the all-new Aston Martin DB11 up to the track, along with a pair of new Bentley Bentaygas – one to drive on the track, and another for the off-road course we had set up!
Despite chilly weather keeping temperatures in the low-40s, spirits were running high. After a great day of driving and being able to stretch the legs on a wide range of performance cars ranging from McLarens and Maseratis to Porsches and Lamborghinis, we were happy to see everyone leave the track with smiles on their faces. Stay tuned for more information about more track days like this next year and don’t forget to check out our photo gallery below.
A Show of Passion – Wheels of Italy 2016
Sep 20th
Every summer, I look forward to the Wheels of Italy show. It’s usually one of the last big car shows of the season and highlights all sorts of Italian cars, motorcycles, scooters, and bikes, as well as Italian culture in general. I think one the main things that draws me not only to the show, but Italian vehicles in general, is the passion that goes into them. While that passion is usually more obvious in older Italian cars than in newer, more mass-produced machines, it nonetheless serves as a foundation that binds all of these cars, new and old, together.
How to get the most out of your sports car: a Morrie’s Luxury Auto Track Experience
May 20th
When the weather gets nice and we all get the itch to take our sports cars out of the garage, it’s hard to go for a spirited drive and use your favorite cars as they’re intended without putting others in danger or drawing the attention of your friendly neighborhood traffic cop. And therein lies the beauty of the track day. We’re fortunate enough to have a world-class racetrack just two hours away at Brainerd International Raceway and that’s exactly where we headed recently with over 40 cars and their owners to let loose and enjoy pushing our cars safely at speed.
Given the great time everyone had, we’re already planning another session this fall. Stay tuned for more information if you’d like to join us next time!
