autoevolution
 

Aurel Niculescu

9,661  ARTICLES

Staff Writer
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Once upon a time there was a little boy that didn't know his age but dreamed of reaching high in the sky alongside the absolute best aviators. He was passionate about reading books (action and Sci-Fi), grew up with many great authors and soon discovered the mirage of cinema.

There he understood anything is possible if you work hard and passionately strive to follow your imagination. This is how at the age of 16 he managed to fulfill the first dream – flying alone in a glider plane. He was no Tom Cruise, of course, so young adulthood brought him back to reality.

With every kick in the familiar *utt comes a chance to step forward, so a seemingly unimportant ad in one of his favorite automotive magazines brought a dilemma - follow through with the current job or dare to achieve greatness by deploying (previously) unknown literary skills.

Since 2006, he’s been perfecting them at Automondial, Supercar, Cox, Autoshow, Autopro, Auto Motor & Sport, and more magazines plus their online versions. After driving some of the best and worst cars in Europe and around the world, he’s part of the autoevolution team, where he aims to develop his best-ever form.
Beastly Twin-Turbo 2,630-HP Dodge Viper Shows How It Exerts Street Supremacy
Beastly Twin-Turbo 2,630-HP Dodge Viper Shows How It Exerts Street Supremacy

17 Mar 2021, 13:15 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / We have seen many crazy and exotic rides featured in videos coming from That Racing Channel, so when they point out in the description that they're dealing with “one of the most insane street cars” they ever encountered, we’r...

 
AWE S-FLO Carbon Fiber Intake Suite Brings an Additional 15 WHP to 2020 GR Supra
AWE S-FLO Carbon Fiber Intake Suite Brings an Additional 15 WHP to 2020 GR Supra

17 Mar 2021, 12:14 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Bringing back to life the Supra nameplate with help from BMW was probably the right thing to do for Toyota, even though some diehard fans don’t like the Bavarian connections. Luckily, there’s no room for discrimination in the aftermarke...

 
Tuned Ford Focus Uses Precision NX2 Turbo to Stun Both Truck and Rival Hatch
Tuned Ford Focus Uses Precision NX2 Turbo to Stun Both Truck and Rival Hatch

17 Mar 2021, 11:11 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The fourth-generation Ford Focus has become a forbidden fruit in North America. The formerly popular series (remember the days when it was fighting for overall global nameplate supremacy with Toyota’s Corolla?) is limited to Europe, China, an...

 
Classic Recreations Now Makes the Original Ford Bronco a Coyote-Swapped Restomod
Classic Recreations Now Makes the Original Ford Bronco a Coyote-Swapped Restomod

17 Mar 2021, 10:15 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / With all eyes on the 2021 Ford Bronco revival, it’s no wonder the original 1966-1977 generation is also getting a lot of attention these days. That can only mean great things for anyone looking to secure a classic example, as increasingly att...

 
Toyota X Prologue Not EV Related, Gets Unveiled as Bold Next-Gen Aygo Preview
Toyota X Prologue Not EV Related, Gets Unveiled as Bold Next-Gen Aygo Preview

17 Mar 2021, 10:09 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Only last week, Toyota shared a first glimpse of the X prologue, a mysterious model teased as a major debut for the European market. Speculation about it being powered by electrons hasn’t panned out, and instead, our hunch about it being rela...

 
10-Mile 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby Super Snake Boldly Celebrates St. Patrick's Day
10-Mile 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby Super Snake Boldly Celebrates St. Patrick's Day

17 Mar 2021, 08:47 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Shelby American just announced the celebratory models for its 98th anniversary, and the stunning Super Snake Speedster is the major highlight of the pack. But just in case a limited series that runs up to 98 examples isn’t exactly collectible...

 
2021 Ram TRX Increases the Wow Factor With Help From Vossen Hybrid Forged Alloys
2021 Ram TRX Increases the Wow Factor With Help From Vossen Hybrid Forged Alloys

17 Mar 2021, 08:03 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Is there any other factory truck today that combines enormous power and advanced off-road capabilities to form one of the most anticipated vehicles of 2021? Don’t say the all-new 2021 Ford F-150 Raptor because we still don’t know the en...

 
Toyota GR Yaris Proves Its WRC Connections in High-Speed Snow Driving Lesson
Toyota GR Yaris Proves Its WRC Connections in High-Speed Snow Driving Lesson

16 Mar 2021, 16:20 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The fourth-generation Toyota Yaris not only adopted the TNGA platform (the GA-B version) along with a sportier demeanor, but it has also proved to be one of the most thrilling installments yet with help from the GR Yaris AWD pocket rocket. Jus...

 
2021 Ford Bronco First Edition No. 1 of 7,000 Is Here, Gets a Quick Walkaround
2021 Ford Bronco First Edition No. 1 of 7,000 Is Here, Gets a Quick Walkaround

16 Mar 2021, 15:34 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Originally revealed back in July 2020, the 2021 Ford Bronco has been one of the most eagerly anticipated vehicles of the year as well as one of the most elusive. It was only in January of 2021 that original reservation holders were able to convert ...

 
1957 Oldsmobile Super 88 Is a Fabulous Rocket V8-Toting Custom Convertible
1957 Oldsmobile Super 88 Is a Fabulous Rocket V8-Toting Custom Convertible

16 Mar 2021, 14:41 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / During the 1950s, cars were some of the most powerful, classic, and outlandish vehicles ever driven. Designs and capabilities were becoming more and more advanced by the year. It’s the decade when the ‘Vette was born and General Motors&...

 
1982 Ford Fairmont Running 8.6s on Turbo LS Swap Is the Ultimate Sleeper
1982 Ford Fairmont Running 8.6s on Turbo LS Swap Is the Ultimate Sleeper

16 Mar 2021, 13:49 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Of course, this isn’t just any old and rusty Ford Fairmont; it was initially called the “Fairmont 5” by its builders from Sloppy Mechanics. Now it has a new owner, new drivetrain components, and is ready for another shot at all-ti...

 
Fiat 500 EV Joins the Cryptocurrency Craze, Rewards KiriCoins for Green Driving
Fiat 500 EV Joins the Cryptocurrency Craze, Rewards KiriCoins for Green Driving

16 Mar 2021, 12:43 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Without much of an exciting car range except for the 500 series, Fiat is looking to entice customers any way it can. The latest idea comes in the form of an interesting program that will exclusively reward owners of the New 500 EV based on how sust...

 
LEGO 1967 Toyota 2000GT Virtually Comes to Life, Bewilders With Stunning Details
LEGO 1967 Toyota 2000GT Virtually Comes to Life, Bewilders With Stunning Details

16 Mar 2021, 11:22 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Back in the 1960s, something as exquisite and high-performance as the limited-series Lexus LFA was inconceivable from a Japanese automaker. But the limited-production 1967 Toyota 2000GT changed that perception with its timeless front mid-engine RWD...

 
GMC Wraps Extreme Winter Testing, Hummer EV Celebrates With Snowy Powerslides
GMC Wraps Extreme Winter Testing, Hummer EV Celebrates With Snowy Powerslides

16 Mar 2021, 10:41 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / General Motors is ready to double up its zero-emission Hummer EV series with the introduction of the SUV version on April 3rd. In the meantime, it also diligently takes care of the final touches needed before the pickup sibling can go into producti...

 
Mashing Up a Pair of R32s Together Brings Odd CGI Vibes of VW Golf, Nissan GT-R
Mashing Up a Pair of R32s Together Brings Odd CGI Vibes of VW Golf, Nissan GT-R

16 Mar 2021, 09:59 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Without a doubt, both the Volkswagen Golf Mk4-based R32 hot hatch and the third generation R32 Nissan GT-R high-performance coupe hold very special places in their respective series' heritage. Yet, somehow, we fail to see the value of having b...

 
Toyota GR Yaris Gets Virtual “Super Boosted” Treatment and a Vintage Livery
Toyota GR Yaris Gets Virtual “Super Boosted” Treatment and a Vintage Livery

16 Mar 2021, 08:48 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Over the years, the Japanese automaker has spectacularly broken with the tradition of building reliable but dull cars on several occasions. As far as performance vehicles go, we could name a few modern examples, such as the Toyota Supra, Lexus...

 
2022 Volkswagen Golf R Flexes Torque Vectoring 4Motion Drift Mode in the Snow
2022 Volkswagen Golf R Flexes Torque Vectoring 4Motion Drift Mode in the Snow

16 Mar 2021, 08:07 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / When it’s going to arrive stateside in late 2021, the brand-new 2022 Volkswagen Golf R probably won't have snow at its disposal, so the German company decided it needed to seize the low-grip moment. And what better way to steer our atten...

 
1971 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 Should Feel Right at Home on a Beach-Leading Trail
1971 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 Should Feel Right at Home on a Beach-Leading Trail

15 Mar 2021, 14:46 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Looking for something that would put to shame the beach-friendly 1970s Jeep CJ that once captured the imagination of every (young) ocean-loving automotive enthusiast, both in terms of reliability and capability? Then a deeply customized 1971 Toyota...

 
$350k 1989 Ford Ranger “Luxury Pre-Runner” Has a Big Block Off-Road Secret
$350k 1989 Ford Ranger “Luxury Pre-Runner” Has a Big Block Off-Road Secret

15 Mar 2021, 14:07 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Starting the video description of something like this build with “this is not your ordinary Ford Ranger” should qualify as the biggest understatement we’ve ever seen from Shawn Davis and his AutotopiaLA channel on YouTube. Fr...

 
Toyota's Electric SUV, Its First e-TNGA Model, to Go Live in Shanghai This April
Toyota's Electric SUV, Its First e-TNGA Model, to Go Live in Shanghai This April

15 Mar 2021, 12:34 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / In December 2020, Toyota held an encompassing event called the TME (Toyota Motor Europe) Kenshiki Forum. There, officials talked about various things, from the mission to “produce happiness for all” via the company's new business t...

 

Stories by Aurel Niculescu