Aurel Niculescu
9,654 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.
Goodwood SpeedWeek Ready to Start, But Without a New Record Attempt from VW ID.R
15 Oct 2020, 13:03 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / This year we've had many reasons to bemoan the current state of things, as the impact of the global health crisis has been devastating for the entire industry. Fans have been deprived of many events that were taken for granted, and nobody can ...
Unexpected Engine Swap, But This E30 BMW Does Have the Proper JDM / Euro Flair
15 Oct 2020, 11:28 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / A Bavarian premium automaker with a sporty flair and a knack for building some of the best inline-six engines in the world, BMW is not exactly the most frequent target for custom engine-swap projects. But never say never, because here we have a BMW...
VW's #MissionR to Start on November 4, It's the Mk8 Golf R, Not a Game
15 Oct 2020, 11:24 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The German automaker is diligently expanding the eight-generation Golf family these days. We just talked about the pinnacle of the front-wheel drive range and already we need to reset our sights on the potential flagship AWD version, the Golf R. An...
Audi TT RS “40 Years of Quattro” Has Collector Vibe for RS 3 Plus RS 5 Money
15 Oct 2020, 09:36 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The Ingolstadt-based automaker has been quite generous in terms of spicing up the sports car offer as of late. Its latest is now bringing on stage a new limited-edition series of just 40 examples of the Audi TT RS, called “40 years of quattro...
BMW Joins Expanding List of Automakers Recalling Electrified Cars Over Fire Risk
15 Oct 2020, 08:53 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / We have previously heard about the Blue Oval company having to issue a stop-sale request and prompt a recall across Europe and in the UK of the PHEV version of the Kuga / Escape SUV. Just the other day, we also discussed Hyundai’s own woes wi...
2020 SSC Tuatara Allegedly Snatches the Title of World's Fastest Production Car
15 Oct 2020, 08:01 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Just like with the lap times of various cars posted on the famous Nürburgring Nordschleife, there’s a little controversy going on about what carmaker holds the series-production car top speed record. Some say it’s the Koenigsegg Ag...
Refreshed 2022 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross Is First for Oceania, Second for U.S.
15 Oct 2020, 07:18 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / While many fans eagerly awaited the moment Mitsubishi would resurrect its popular Eclipse nameplate, the Japanese automaker played a trick on their expectations by presenting it as a compact crossover SUV instead of a proper sports car back in 2017...
2021 Bentley Flying Spur V8 Returns as a Driver's Limo
14 Oct 2020, 14:30 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / We have no idea if it’s the need for downsizing to lower emissions across the range or Bentley indeed faced a lot of requests for the V8 powertrain to reappear in the new generation Flying Spur, but the company has anyways made it available t...
2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1 Said to Have $52,915 Starting Price
14 Oct 2020, 13:01 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Well, we need to wrap up the Shelby GT350 chapter for good, because the newly announced Mustang Mach 1 is inching closer and closer to its U.S. market release date. If we are to believe the latest reports, the model will not only become available i...
Plug-In the Audi Q8 to Hybrid Duties and Expect 456 HP and 29+ EV Miles
14 Oct 2020, 11:46 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The Ingolstadt-based automaker is diligently completing the flagship SUV lineup with a new addition to the Q8 roster. The new model arrives in Europe, for now, as over in America it just brought the high-performance RS Q8. But, on this occasion, th...
KTM X-Bow GTX Blends Carbon Fiber Build With Jet-Fighter Details and Audi Engine
14 Oct 2020, 11:16 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Not long ago we saw Lamborghini’s Squadra Corse teasing the potential arrival of a speedster reinterpretation of the track only Essenza SCV12. The prototype was roofless, windowless, doorless and did not even feature a windscreen. Now KTM is ...
VW Golf GTI Clubsport Has Special Nurburgring Mode But Misses the 300 HP Count
14 Oct 2020, 10:03 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / What’s a new generation Golf without its go-faster GTI reincarnation?! And Volkswagen is already ready and willing to beef up the roster with the introduction of its new flagship version, the 300 ps (295.89 hp) VW Golf GTI Clubsport. Expect s...
Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series Hot Lap of Hockenheim Is Better Than 911 GT2 RS MR
14 Oct 2020, 08:55 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The German automaker has crowned the AMG lineup with the one model everybody was eagerly expecting – the GT Black Series. It’s almost 335,240 euros in Europe, a price clearly worthy of the flagship title. And by the looks of it, both th...
2022 Volkswagen Taos, the Fifth SUV in the U.S. Lineup, Is Also the Smallest
14 Oct 2020, 08:13 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / While you can still order a Beetle (including in Final Edition), an older Golf (hatchback, GTI, SportWagen, Alltrack – but none of them Mk8), the Jetta, Arteon, and Passat, Volkswagen is increasingly focusing on the crossovers and SUVs in the...
2021 Nissan Altima Kicks Off From $24,300, VC-Turbo Goes for $30,650
14 Oct 2020, 06:48 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Nissan’s top selling model in the sedan segment is entering the new model year with the same styling and interior setup, has two powertrain choices – including the brand’s innovative world-first variable compression turbo engine &...
2021 Ford Transit Ready to Work Hard, Play Even Harder in the United States
13 Oct 2020, 12:59 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The Blue Oval’s most renowned workhorse in America might be the F-Series, but the legendary Transit van – out there in the Pantheon of European deliveries for decades – has been steadily making a name for itself as well. So much s...
Want to Really See Inside an EV? Mercedes-Benz Presents the Transparent EQC
13 Oct 2020, 12:16 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Mercedes-Benz is all in favor of alternative mobility these days, as it’s looking to solidify its recent announcement of finally turning the EQ sub-brand into a fully-fledged range of very capable electric vehicles. But that’s not all, ...
Chevelle SS “War Machine” Swaps M134 Minigun for LS3 Power and Stealth Looks
13 Oct 2020, 11:44 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / There have been countless war machines created around the world, but we’re just going with the fictional James Rupert “Rhodey” Rhodes’ superhero armor reference just because we’re such huge Marvel fans. And now we also...
Mercedes-Benz EQC 4x4² Parties in the Wild With Portal Axles and “Lampspeakers”
13 Oct 2020, 11:28 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / While many people usually associate the German premium brand with absolute comfort and serenity first and foremost, the three-pointed star automaker has a habit of shining on quite a different variety of wheeled vehicles. You can have a Mercedes ha...
Honda Celebrates 30 Years of the NSX Sports Car in 30 Special Ways
13 Oct 2020, 09:18 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / It was 1990 when the Japanese automaker brought the fabled NSX sports car to life, both under its own brand and as an Acura in the United States. Part of the JDM-style popular car culture, the 30-year old two-seat, mid-engine model has gone through...