Aurel Niculescu
9,661 ARTICLES
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.
Opel GSe ElektroMOD Surprisingly Teases Upcoming Manta Electric Revival Project
15 Mar 2021, 12:07 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / We have seen a few European ideas among the many customization projects featuring Corvettes, Mustangs, F-100 trucks, and other American models. In addition, Singer’s Porsches immediately come to mind, and the recent Volvo P1800 Cyan is also i...
2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1 Brings Less Ponies to the UK, Costs More Than in U.S.
15 Mar 2021, 11:01 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / While it doesn’t exactly have the heritage of the Shelby GTs, Ford does explain its 2021 Mustang Mach 1 is the “most track-capable member of the Mustang line-up to ever grace UK shores.” It’s now available to order, and the ...
Land Cruiser and Defender Take On Colorado's Ironclads to Showcase Their Skills
15 Mar 2021, 10:21 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Ever since Land Rover finally brought the reinvented L663 Defender to market, people have been trying to figure out whether the iconic off-roader makes its heritage proud, and the technology and equipment warrant the move upmarket. So, what b...
TFL's Undisputed Off-Road SUV vs. Truck Battle Gets Kind of Settled in Moab
15 Mar 2021, 09:09 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Not long ago, we saw a trio of good folks over at the Fast Lane’s TFLoffroad channel (Andre Smirnov, Tommy, and Roman Mica) head out to the Moab, Utah trails alongside a six-pack of SUVs and pickup trucks. They were there for one simple reaso...
Modern but Virtual Reinterpretation of the BMW Italdesign Nazca Delivers It All
15 Mar 2021, 08:09 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Thirty years ago, BMW wasn’t all about scaring people off with its stubbornness to pursue a design language that doesn’t please anybody (except for the people that approved it). The Bavarians were even daring enough to let the studio ru...
Jaguar 60 Collection Owners Can Match Their Unique E-Types to Watches, Whisky
14 Mar 2021, 08:35 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The British automaker offers wealthy fans of the timeless E-Type the limited-edition "60 Collection" consisting of six pairs of coupes and roadsters styled to remind everyone of the two original units that made their debut at the 1961 Gen...
2019 Porsche 911 Speedster Has Delivery Miles, Up for Grabs in a Bespoke Yellow
14 Mar 2021, 07:35 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / With winter almost ready to retreat towards its icy domains, it’s time to start preparing for the sunny times ahead. And what better way to feel it’s all roses when you plan for a summer trip than knowing you’ll have an open-top c...
93-Mile 2016 Aston Martin Lagonda Taraf up for Grabs in UK, Is Actually LHD
13 Mar 2021, 09:35 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / When it was released more than five years ago, the Aston Martin Lagonda Taraf attracted quite a bit of controversy because of its design lines, super-saloon claims, and (above all) hard-to-swallow pricing. Costing around one million dollars, it nat...
$25 Spent for a Good Deed Could Also Land a Special Cunningham C8 Chevy Corvette
13 Mar 2021, 08:35 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Time and again, we have seen “America’s sports car” act not just as a catalyst for legendary action on the street or around racetracks but also for raising awareness towards important causes. Here’s another example involving...
HEMI-Toting 2013 Jeep Wrangler Looks Ready for a Truly Unlimited Sahara Outing
13 Mar 2021, 07:35 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / With all that is going around the world right now, we kind of lost track of our favorite off-road carpocalypse director from Hollywood. But, just in case George Miller decides to try and lure out Dwayne Johnson for either a new installment of ...
S197 Roush Ford Mustang Has Stick Shift Photo Finishes Against Golf and AMG E 63
12 Mar 2021, 17:04 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The beautiful world of night-time racing has yielded another exciting encounter. And, best of all, the skirmish took place exactly where it should, so everyone involved was as safe as possible. So, without further ado, let’s see how a tuned M...
Tired of Black MK IV Supras? Here's a V8-Toting 1992 Lexus SC400 For a Change
12 Mar 2021, 16:09 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Far from us the thought of trying to dethrone the MK IV Toyota Supra from its popularity pedestal, but let’s face it, great builds are hard to find, and when they appear, it’s usually a dealer trying to profit off the fame. So, as an al...
GM Targets Li-Metal Battery Innovations, Already Has 94 Patents in the Field
12 Mar 2021, 15:13 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The largest U.S. automaker has a comprehensive EV strategy that includes the newly revealed 2022 Chevy Bolt and Bolt EUV, the 2022 GMC Hummer EV, and many upcoming battery-powered models. The company wants to have a global EV range of 30 vehicles b...
1965 Shelby 427 Cobra “CSX 4602” Is a $475k Copper Mirror You Can Drive
12 Mar 2021, 14:23 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Carroll Shelby’s 427 Cobra has always been easy to replicate for pretty much obvious (and all the right) reasons. But every now and then, there’s a slight chance that a sequel is better than the original. And this time, we’re not ...
4.4s Run Paints a Quick Scene of Blown HEMI Madness for 1970 Plymouth Superbird
12 Mar 2021, 13:12 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Perhaps not as famous as its Dodge Charger Daytona counterpart, the short-lived 1970 Plymouth Superbird is still capable of all kinds of crazy associations. Anything related to the Wile E. Coyote nemesis will do but having both the Road Runner (the...
Jaguar Rekindles Fond Memories With "60 Collection" of Six E-Type Restomod Pairs
12 Mar 2021, 11:15 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Last summer, Jaguar teased classic car aficionados with the enticing perspective of bringing to life a pair of very special E-Types to celebrate the model’s 60th anniversary and its March 1961 presentation at the Geneva Motor Show. Jump forwa...
1978 Toyota FJ40 Made the Trip From Colombia to Live a Restored American Dream
12 Mar 2021, 10:15 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Toyota’s classic FJ40 Land Cruiser is one of those off-roaders that’s among the first called whenever there’s a need to cross a desert, snowy mountains, or luxuriant tropical forests. The latter was probably the case for this Colo...
California Startup Alpha Aims to Lead the EV Pickup Pack With the Small WOLF
12 Mar 2021, 09:24 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The first time we took notice of California-based electromobility startup Alpha Motor Inc. was last December, when the company unveiled the small ACE Coupe as a no-frills urban electric vehicle designed to “transform zero emission mobility.&r...
2022 Infiniti QX60 Teased Again, Brings Predictive AWD With Torque Vectoring
12 Mar 2021, 08:23 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / With so much snow this (almost) past winter, it’s no wonder automakers are doing everything they can to address concerns about whether seriously bad weather will hamper their vehicles' abilities to perform optimally. Case in point, the l...
Prices for the Dacia Spring, France's Cheapest EV, Start From as Low as €12,264
11 Mar 2021, 14:12 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Renault’s Eastern European subsidiary Dacia promised to make electromobility even more accessible for everyone once it starts deliveries of its first battery-powered model, the Dacia Spring. Now it’s time to find out the exact pricing, ...