autoevolution
 

Aurel Niculescu

9,644  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.
New Nissan Murano Meets With 2026 Armada in Imagination Land, Mistakes it For a Qashqai
New Nissan Murano Meets With 2026 Armada in Imagination Land, Mistakes it For a Qashqai

13 Jun 2024, 20:04 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Nissan is busy ending the development of ICE ideas or promising the next (R36) GT-R will be a bonkers supercar all over again. However, the rumor mill and the imaginative realm of digital car content creators have other plans. Indeed, the Japan...

 
Shelby American Travels to UK With Its New 830-HP Super Snake, Bites Hard on the Wallet
Shelby American Travels to UK With Its New 830-HP Super Snake, Bites Hard on the Wallet

13 Jun 2024, 14:22 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / London, UK-based 'high-performance vehicle specialist' Clive Sutton is responsible for making the travel arrangements, and wants its lion's share of the business when order books open this month. The S650 seventh generation 2024 ...

 
Volkswagen Feels as Fresh as a Summer Breeze With Its 2025 Model Year Lineup
Volkswagen Feels as Fresh as a Summer Breeze With Its 2025 Model Year Lineup

13 Jun 2024, 13:43 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Of course, this could all be easily considered a marketing ruse because the German carmaker isn't exactly a sales powerhouse in the United States – just 82k deliveries during the first quarter of the year. Naturally, the company woul...

 
Alpine A290: The Renault 5 EV's Hot Hatchback Cousin Goes Live With Up to 220 HP
Alpine A290: The Renault 5 EV's Hot Hatchback Cousin Goes Live With Up to 220 HP

13 Jun 2024, 11:40 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Previewed last year by the A290_β (A290 'beta'), this new Alpine is the new entry-level model in the range and the first member of the electric Dream Garage – and the company promises a new GT compact crossover SUV plus the all...

 
Digital Mid-Engine S650 Ford Mustang GT Widebody Hunts For C8 Chevy Corvette Prey
Digital Mid-Engine S650 Ford Mustang GT Widebody Hunts For C8 Chevy Corvette Prey

13 Jun 2024, 09:46 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Set for the official European premiere in front of the live audience gathered in France for the classic 24 Hours of Le Mans (the 92nd edition is slated for June 15 and 16), the $325k Ford Mustang GTD is again making the news headlines. We have ...

 
Toyota GR Crown Sport Feels Like a Wacky Hot SUV Virtual Idea That Might Just Work
Toyota GR Crown Sport Feels Like a Wacky Hot SUV Virtual Idea That Might Just Work

13 Jun 2024, 09:01 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Has everyone seen what the Japanese automaker Toyota is doing in America? They're basically overtaking the mid-size class with the determination of a barbarian conqueror. It all started with the introduction of the family-oriented, three-r...

 
New 2026 Cadillac Coupe de Ville Arrives in Fantasy Country With Retro-Futuristic Styling
New 2026 Cadillac Coupe de Ville Arrives in Fantasy Country With Retro-Futuristic Styling

13 Jun 2024, 07:40 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Vince Burlapp (aka vburlapp on social media or burlappcar.com) is a prolific virtual artist who loves to dream of all the latest models across the wide-ranging automotive realm – especially from Cadillac. This pixel master has a veri...

 
Iridescent Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 Races BMW and Two Audis, It's Hammer Time!
Iridescent Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 Races BMW and Two Audis, It's Hammer Time!

13 Jun 2024, 07:03 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The good folks over at the racing-focused ImportRace channel on YouTube are not at their usual venue - Island Dragway in Great Meadows, New Jersey. Instead, they're visiting MIR - Maryland International Raceway, not the former Soviet Union and...

 
2025 BMW 2 Series Coupe Arrives 'Refreshed' in America From $39,200 to Over $52k
2025 BMW 2 Series Coupe Arrives 'Refreshed' in America From $39,200 to Over $52k

13 Jun 2024, 06:28 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Right alongside the $65k (plus $1,175 for destination and handling) 2025 BMW M2 comes the regular 2025 BMW 2 Series with 230i and M240i variants – either with RWD or xDrive. BMW AG is having a fresh summer this year with the recent introd...

 
2026 Chevrolet Bolt Springs Into CGI Action as America's Most Affordable Electric Vehicle
2026 Chevrolet Bolt Springs Into CGI Action as America's Most Affordable Electric Vehicle

12 Jun 2024, 20:04 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / General Motors has an entire EV family brewing across many of its brands, and of course, the most substantial lineup is reserved for the Chevrolet brand. However, it also needs a great entry-level hook to thrive, not just survive. General Motor...

 
This 1999 Plymouth Prowler With Just 1,935 Miles Would Make a Fine Stand-Out Summer Ride
This 1999 Plymouth Prowler With Just 1,935 Miles Would Make a Fine Stand-Out Summer Ride

12 Jun 2024, 12:29 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Summer is already upon us, and if you're not fast enough, it might easily slip past your travel plans because it won't last forever. So, if you're in a hurry to find a quick and quirky summer ride, here's a Prowler idea. Pro...

 
2024 Toyota Land Cruiser on Hybrid Forged Aftermarket Wheels Looks Tastefully Menacing
2024 Toyota Land Cruiser on Hybrid Forged Aftermarket Wheels Looks Tastefully Menacing

12 Jun 2024, 10:53 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The aftermarket hybrid forged alloys came from Vossen's vast portfolio, measure exactly 22 inches in diameter, and are wrapped in fat off-road tires. Do you appreciate this all-black specification or not? The Japanese automaker Toyota has d...

 
What Mitsubishi Really Needs in America Is a Hero Model Like This CGI 'Kaminari' Project
What Mitsubishi Really Needs in America Is a Hero Model Like This CGI 'Kaminari' Project

12 Jun 2024, 10:16 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / We have said it and will hold ground on this assessment for a good while – Mitsubishi is a shadow of a shadow of its former self, at least in North America. The Japanese automaker currently sells the $16,695 Mirage hatchback and $17,795 M...

 
2025 Lincoln Nautilus Virtually Proves That Less Is More With CGI Shadow Line and New Rims
2025 Lincoln Nautilus Virtually Proves That Less Is More With CGI Shadow Line and New Rims

12 Jun 2024, 09:34 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Although in America, it has long foregone its passenger car legacy, Lincoln isn't doing so bad in terms of novelties – the 2025 Aviator mid-size luxury crossover SUV got thoroughly refreshed, and the slightly smaller 2024 Nautilus came t...

 
All-New MINI Cooper 5 Door Joins the Family With More Practical, Less Fun Body Style
All-New MINI Cooper 5 Door Joins the Family With More Practical, Less Fun Body Style

12 Jun 2024, 08:43 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The MINI brand is supposed to be fun, compact, and affordable - all these characteristics have faded away over time since BMW took over. However, that doesn't mean they're not trying to turn the tide around with the all-new Countryman or ...

 
2026 Toyota Celica Hybrid Digitally Returns to Life, Makes ICE Rumors True in Fantasy Land
2026 Toyota Celica Hybrid Digitally Returns to Life, Makes ICE Rumors True in Fantasy Land

12 Jun 2024, 07:29 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The Japanese automaker Toyota has a massive roster available in America – from the world's best-selling automobile (the Corolla series) to beloved crossovers and popular off-road SUVs or pickup trucks. It is well known that Toyota ha...

 
'Impalasaurus' Returns: Wild 1960 Chevy Bel Air With 632ci Still Drops 8-Second ETs
'Impalasaurus' Returns: Wild 1960 Chevy Bel Air With 632ci Still Drops 8-Second ETs

12 Jun 2024, 06:57 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The videographer behind the Race Your Ride account on YouTube brings us the short yet cool dragstrip story of a Chevrolet Bel Air monster from Byron Dragway in Illinois. They say that legends never die – they just transform. Well, so...

 
Mercedes-Maybach EQS 680 SUV Travels to the Land Down Under With a Humongous MRLP
Mercedes-Maybach EQS 680 SUV Travels to the Land Down Under With a Humongous MRLP

12 Jun 2024, 06:22 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The new all-electric Mercedes‑Maybach EQS 680 SUV is priced at AUD 328,607 (MRLP - Manufacturer's Recommended List Price) in Australia, which translates to $217,528, quite a bit more compared to the American MSRP of $179,900. Opulence know...

 
Next-Gen 2026 Porsche Cayenne Gets Imagined Quirky as a 7-Seater Electric SUV
Next-Gen 2026 Porsche Cayenne Gets Imagined Quirky as a 7-Seater Electric SUV

11 Jun 2024, 20:04 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The German sports car and SUV maker Porsche sells endless variants of the 911 but also has various other 'interests' with the Panamera line, the Macan and Cayenne crossover SUVs, the Taycan EV, or the baby 718 sports cars. Looking at ...

 
Hemi x Burnt Orange 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T Has the Beloved 426 V8, But There's a Catch
Hemi x Burnt Orange 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T Has the Beloved 426 V8, But There's a Catch

11 Jun 2024, 13:35 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Bullet Motorsports is a dealer located in Dania Beach, Florida - they are the current caretakers of this in-your-face orange-over-orange first-gen Dodge Challenger R/T equipped with the fabled 426 Hemi V8. Today, if you're lucky to find th...

 

Stories by Aurel Niculescu