Ciprian Florea
7,284 ARTICLES
Personal motto:
"If you can make black marks on a straight from the time you turn out of a corner until the braking point of the next turn, then you have enough horsepower." - Mark Donohue
You'll never catch him drooling over the latest supercar but he could spend hours talking about why he loves 1940s windshield visors, Mopars, and Studebakers. Naturally, most of his stories are about barn finds and rare classics.
He can give you several reasons why speed and power are more about motorsport than silly street wandering, and Can-Am machinery tops his ridiculously fast all-time favorite car list. He claims he could die happy after a Rattlesnake Raceway ride in a Chaparral and a cup of coffee with Jim Hall on the other side of the table.
Before landing on these pages, Ciprian's work has been published on outlets like TopSpeed, AmericanMuscle, and ThisWeekInMotors.
One-of-None 1969 Plymouth Road Runner Flexes Pink Paint, Unexpected V8 Under the Hood
26 Jun 2024, 20:25 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When it redesigned the Belvedere midsize for the 1965 model year, Plymouth decided it needed a more exclusive muscle car with premium features. The Satellite was born. Two years later, the company took things up a notch with the GTX. Sporting an ev...
Man Saves Pre-WW2 DKW From the Junkyard, Gets It Running After 60 Years
26 Jun 2024, 17:10 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When it comes to barn- and junkyard-found classic cars, we usually discuss vehicles with iconic nameplates. The reason is very simple: a 1969 Ford Mustang is more likely to be rescued than a 1960 Dodge Matador. What's a Dodge Matador, you ask?...
1968 Plymouth HEMI GTX Is a True Survivor With Original Paint
26 Jun 2024, 13:54 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Initially launched as a full-size car, the Plymouth Belvedere got smaller and joined the midsize market in 1962. Redesigned for the 1965 model year, the Belvedere spawned some of the most iconic Mopars from the golden muscle car era. The Satelli...
Forgotten 1963 Chevy Corvette Lost Its Most Iconic Feature, People Still Want To Buy It
25 Jun 2024, 15:26 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Launched in 1953, the first-generation Corvette remained in production for a whopping nine years. However, enthusiasts got a taste of the C2 a few good years before it arrived in showrooms. In 1959, Chevrolet unveiled the Sting Ray concept as a pre...
Abandoned Factory Is Packed With German Classics, Including a BMW 7 Series E23
25 Jun 2024, 14:07 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When talking about derelict classics, we usually think of junkyards and barns. However, many oldtimers spend their retirement on properties hidden from the public eye, which are generally owned by hoarders who don't want to let them go. This a...
1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Parked for 48 Years Is a Highly Original Time Capsule
25 Jun 2024, 11:59 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1955, the Chevrolet Tr-Five was one of the most revolutionary automobiles of its era. And in addition to being a pretty sight, it introduced Chevrolet's first mass-produced V8 engine. Offered in several body styles and three trim...
1968 Chevrolet Corvette Locked in a Basement Emerges With 1980s-Style Mods
24 Jun 2024, 20:31 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Chevrolet introduced the C3 Corvette for the 1968 model year. A notable departure from the C2, the third-gen sports car featured a sleeker body, a brand-new interior, and removable T-top roof panels. The engine lineup was mostly carried over. Chevr...
Man Buys Unused 72-Year-Old Rolls-Royce Crate Engine for Scrap Money, Gets It Running
24 Jun 2024, 13:40 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When talking about Rolls-Royce engines, we usually think about the company's old inline-six and V8 automobile units and the Merlin V12 aero powerplant. The latter is quite iconic, having powered famous WW2 fighters like the Spitfire, Hurricane...
1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Flaunts Rare Color Combo
24 Jun 2024, 11:45 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The early 1970s may have ended the golden muscle car era, but Detroit automakers were still battling for horsepower glory on showroom floors and race tracks in 1969. Ford, for instance, introduced three new performance-oriented Mustangs that year. ...
Rare 1977 Pontiac Cam Am Parked Under a Tent Begs for Total Restoration
23 Jun 2024, 20:05 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced for the 1964 model year, the Pontiac GTO went into the history books in 1974. It spent its last year on the market as a compact car. The nameplate did not return until 2004 when Pontiac used the badge on a Holden coupe. However, a short-...
Pewter 1971 Ford Mustang Boss 351 Is a One-Year Gem in Fabulous Condition
23 Jun 2024, 10:41 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1969 as a homologation special for SCCA Trans-Am duty, the Ford Mustang Boss 302 remained in showrooms for only two model years. But it turns out Ford was actually planning to offer a Boss 302 in 1971 as well. The company even produce...
1971 Plymouth Cuda Flexes Barn Dust, Rare Surprise Under the Hood
22 Jun 2024, 16:21 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Redesigned for the 1970 model year, the Plymouth Barracuda adopted Chrysler's then-new E-body platform (shared with the Dodge Challenger). The makeover resulted in the nameplate's best-selling year since 1967, at nearly 49,000 units, but ...
From EB 110 to Tourbillon: A History of Bugatti Hypercars
22 Jun 2024, 11:58 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Established in 1909, Bugatti became famous for luxury cars like the Type 41 Royale and Type 57 Atlantic and race-winning sports cars like the Type 35. Shut down in 1963 due to financial issues, the company was revived by an Italian entrepreneur in ...
Stunning 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Packs a Performance Option We All Love, Numbers Match
22 Jun 2024, 08:19 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1963, the second-generation Chevrolet Corvette was a game-changer. Designed by Larry Shinoda, the C2 was a notable departure from its predecessor styling-wise, sporting cues first seen on a 1959 concept car. The second-gen Corvette wa...
1960 Chevrolet Bel Air "Impalasaurus" Is a Wheelstanding 8-Second Monster
21 Jun 2024, 14:39 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The 1960 Chevrolet Impala is arguably one of the most iconic classic GM-made automobiles out there. It's drop-dead gorgeous, aged like fine wine, and it's quite the hot rod when equipped with the right powerplant. Chevrolet had already...
Rare 1969 Chrysler Newport Emerges After 40 Years, Is It Worth Saving?
21 Jun 2024, 13:35 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The Chrysler Newport was introduced in 1940. A wild-looking phaeton based on the Imperial Crown, the original Newport was built in just six units. Between 1950 and 1960, the name returned on two-door hardtop versions of various Chryslers, including...
This 1961 Taylor-Dunn Trident Is the Perfect Tiny EV for Neighborhood Jaunts
20 Jun 2024, 15:11 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When talking about three-wheeled vehicles, the Morgan Three-Wheeler is the first vehicle I think of. To me, it's one of the coolest sports cars designed in Britain. The Reliant Supervan also pops into my head, obviously due to its extended app...
Rare 1970 Plymouth AAR Cuda Is One Tiny Feature Away From Classic Car Perfection
20 Jun 2024, 13:59 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When it comes to SCCA Trans-Am homologation specials from the golden muscle car era, we usually think about the Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 and the Ford Mustang Boss 302. These cars were highly successful on the race track and moved thousands of units in...
The Mopar That Shouldn't Exist: Meet the World's Only 1966 Dodge Coronet 426 Wedge
20 Jun 2024, 11:45 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / In 1966, Dodge took the muscle car market by storm with the 426-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) HEMI. Developed specifically for racing, the mill found its way into production cars for homologation purposes. A legend was born. At the same time, Chrysler dis...
Rare 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Left To Rot in a Field Gets Saved After 30 Years
19 Jun 2024, 20:19 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in April 1964, the Ford Mustang had already spawned a pair of Shelby models and a performance-oriented GT version by 1968. The following year, however, Ford launched three more variants with a focus on performance. The 1969 lineup includ...