autoevolution
 

Aurel Niculescu

9,663  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.
2024 Lexus RC and RC F Add New Exterior Colors and Come With $100 MSRP Hike
2024 Lexus RC and RC F Add New Exterior Colors and Come With $100 MSRP Hike

11 Oct 2023, 12:36 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The luxury Japanese automaker also offers the Lexus Safety System+ 2.5 bundle as a standard feature across the 2024 RC and RC F range – so, now they're also a little bit safer, not just cooler. If you look at what's essential...

 
Tuned Porsche 911 Turbo S Races C8 Chevy Corvette and Ducati, Someone Gets Smashed
Tuned Porsche 911 Turbo S Races C8 Chevy Corvette and Ducati, Someone Gets Smashed

11 Oct 2023, 11:59 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Not long ago, the Chevrolet Corvette and Porsche 911 were flag bearers of two vastly different sports philosophies. Now, oddly enough, they are almost the same. America's sports car - the Chevrolet Corvette - was invented in 1953 as a c...

 
Hennessey's 1,000-HP Exorcist Chevy Camaro ZL1 Gets a 'Final Edition,' Demon 170 Trembles
Hennessey's 1,000-HP Exorcist Chevy Camaro ZL1 Gets a 'Final Edition,' Demon 170 Trembles

11 Oct 2023, 10:53 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The "world-renowned Texas-based hypercar manufacturer and high-performance vehicle creator," Hennessey Performance, has unleashed one last Camaro Exorcist version designed to exonerate GM fans of any and all Mopar Demons (170). Unf...

 
Revived Toyota Stout Arrives Rugged in Our Dreams to Brawl Mavericks and Santa Cruz
Revived Toyota Stout Arrives Rugged in Our Dreams to Brawl Mavericks and Santa Cruz

11 Oct 2023, 09:10 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Why do I say plural when referring to the Ford Maverick unibody compact pickup truck and singular when hinting at Hyundai's Santa Cruz? It's simple: I can't help but poke fun at the massive sales difference between them. And t...

 
2025 Chevy Malibu Doesn't Abandon Its Sedan Cause, Also Morphs Into a Two-Door Coupe
2025 Chevy Malibu Doesn't Abandon Its Sedan Cause, Also Morphs Into a Two-Door Coupe

11 Oct 2023, 08:05 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / These days, it feels like a deserted draught when traveling across the American sedan field. However, there's still a mainstream lone ranger patrolling the whereabouts in search of rivaling baddies. If you look at the Asian brands, the ...

 
Render: Tesla Model 3 "Super GT Hot Hatch" With Tri-Motor Setup
Render: Tesla Model 3 "Super GT Hot Hatch" With Tri-Motor Setup

11 Oct 2023, 07:17 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / As always, the American EV manufacturer Tesla is busy keeping the headlines. Not with the latest quirky ideas from Elon Musk because he's busy playing with his Twitter (or is it an 'X-rated') toy, luckily. Instead, folks are d...

 
Europe Is Lucky: America Is Only Getting Half of 2024 BMW X2 Powertrains and No iX2
Europe Is Lucky: America Is Only Getting Half of 2024 BMW X2 Powertrains and No iX2

11 Oct 2023, 06:40 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Surely enough, the Bavarians are using a 'skeleton crew' for the fresh range of the all-new 2024 BMW X2, at least during the initial market launch in America, where only two of four ICE-powered versions will be available. Also, there'...

 
Kia EV3 Naturally Follows After EV9, EV6, EV5, and EV4, at Least in Fantasy Land
Kia EV3 Naturally Follows After EV9, EV6, EV5, and EV4, at Least in Fantasy Land

10 Oct 2023, 21:04 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Just recently, Kia decided that it would plug into Electrify Expo Miami (October 14 and 15) to make sure that everyone will have the chance to see the upcoming all-new, all-electric, three-row EV9 SUV and also drive the Kia EV6, EV6 GT, and Niro EV...

 
2023 Chevy Corvette Z51 Drags Tuned BMW M5 Competition, the Result Is Surprising
2023 Chevy Corvette Z51 Drags Tuned BMW M5 Competition, the Result Is Surprising

10 Oct 2023, 12:49 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / There's an increasing shortage of cool passenger cars across the modern automotive industry's landscape, so it's time for celebration when two iconic nameplates from two different worlds collide. Or, if you're in America,...

 
Futuristic Chevrolet Silverado & HD Concepts Propose a Variety of Rugged Designs
Futuristic Chevrolet Silverado & HD Concepts Propose a Variety of Rugged Designs

10 Oct 2023, 10:53 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / If you are to look at the third quarter's sales report for the full-size pickup truck sector of the US car market, you could interpret it in two distinct ways. One, you could say the Ford Motor Company still makes the best-selling truck...

 
Ford Launches Nine-Seat Tourneo Custom, All-New Transit Custom Panel Van Also in Tow
Ford Launches Nine-Seat Tourneo Custom, All-New Transit Custom Panel Van Also in Tow

10 Oct 2023, 09:38 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / After initially unveiling the pair a few months ago, the high-tech nine-seat Tourneo Custom people hauler and the one-ton Transit Custom panel van workhorse are launching on the Old Continent, with first deliveries pegged for the fourth quarter of ...

 
Unofficially Redesigned 2025 Toyota Highlander Aims to Become the Best Mid-Size CUV
Unofficially Redesigned 2025 Toyota Highlander Aims to Become the Best Mid-Size CUV

10 Oct 2023, 07:51 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / While compact crossovers, full-size trucks, and large CUVs dominate the US market, mid-size high-riders aren't far behind the third place, and they might soon overtake the subcompact CUVs and mid-size cars. As such, it is no wonder that...

 
2025 Hyundai Santa Fe 'Night Edition' Thinks Black Fits Like a Charm in the CGI World
2025 Hyundai Santa Fe 'Night Edition' Thinks Black Fits Like a Charm in the CGI World

10 Oct 2023, 07:09 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Back in August, one of the major highlights of the automotive industry – alongside the 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser, 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ, and the entire Monterey Car Week – was also the global premiere of the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe in&...

 
Mysterious Mazda Concept Teased for the First Time Ahead of Japan Mobility Show 2023
Mysterious Mazda Concept Teased for the First Time Ahead of Japan Mobility Show 2023

10 Oct 2023, 06:35 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The premiere edition of the Japan Mobility Show 2023 is actually the 47th edition of the Tokyo Motor Show; JAMA (Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association) rebranded it to make sure it's more inclusive and attracts a broader range of visitors...

 
2025 Nissan Rogue Doesn't Go Villainous But Rather Stylish in Unofficial Renderings
2025 Nissan Rogue Doesn't Go Villainous But Rather Stylish in Unofficial Renderings

9 Oct 2023, 21:04 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Although the UAW strike cast a big shadow of doubt over the US car market recently, the new vehicle sales jump was undaunted and continued the positive trend into the third quarter of the year. That means even more deliveries for the top seg...

 
Tesla Model 3 and Y Drag Chevy Corvettes and Ford Mustangs. Someone Gets Smoked, or Not?
Tesla Model 3 and Y Drag Chevy Corvettes and Ford Mustangs. Someone Gets Smoked, or Not?

9 Oct 2023, 20:54 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / These days, it seems like passenger cars are going downhill, and EVs are the next great thing. So, it's always nice when the feud gets going at the racetrack, where everyone can prove their favorite's mettle. In America, it seems t...

 
Frauscher x Porsche eFantom Sports Boat Curiously Spills the Beans on Macan EV Tech
Frauscher x Porsche eFantom Sports Boat Curiously Spills the Beans on Macan EV Tech

9 Oct 2023, 12:53 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The first Frauscher x Porsche eFantom EV speed boat is ready to cast off, according to Frauscher Shipyard and the German sports car manufacturer, and it incorporates some of the well-kept secrets of the upcoming Macan EV into its powertrain. ...

 
Fully Redesigned 2025 Toyota Camry Shines Brightly in the AI-Designed Spotlight
Fully Redesigned 2025 Toyota Camry Shines Brightly in the AI-Designed Spotlight

9 Oct 2023, 09:12 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Currently, many automakers involved with the American car market are further distancing themselves from the passenger car sector or at least reinventing them with new body styles and a new lease of EV lifestyle. Ford has only been selling th...

 
C8 Chevy Corvette Z06 Drags Old Camaro and Modern Stingray, Doesn't Destroy Both
C8 Chevy Corvette Z06 Drags Old Camaro and Modern Stingray, Doesn't Destroy Both

9 Oct 2023, 07:39 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The last time I talked about the coolest Chevrolet cars on sale (ironically, they're also the only ones, if we don't count the $25k Malibu sedan) – aka the Corvette and Camaro nameplates – I didn't bring any good news. No...

 
2025 Ford Maverick Facelift Gets Revealed Early; Tremor Smiles From Behind the CGI Curtain
2025 Ford Maverick Facelift Gets Revealed Early; Tremor Smiles From Behind the CGI Curtain

9 Oct 2023, 06:56 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / With one major exception, Ford Motor Company doesn't have an easy life if we are to count just the Q3 sales results from some of its most important sectors like trucks and sports cars. For starters, the Dodge Challenger pony/muscle car ...

 

Stories by Aurel Niculescu