Ciprian Florea
7,286 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.
Here's the $30M Ferrari 250 G "Breadvan" Driven Hard at Circuit Paul Ricard
27 Dec 2023, 11:38 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Often mistakenly related to the iconic Ferrari 250 GTO, the "Breadvan" is, in fact, a heavily modified 250 GT SWB. But that didn't stop it from becoming one of the most legendary and expensive Ferraris out there. And it's one of...
The 1969 Dodge Daytona Is One American Classic You'll Want To Avoid Buying in 2024
26 Dec 2023, 17:15 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1969 as a homologation special for NASCAR duty, the Dodge Charger Daytona was sold to the public in just 503 units. Arguably the most radical production model from the golden muscle car era (alongside the 1970 Plymouth Superbird), the...
This Gold Leaf 1972 Plymouth Road Runner Is Rarer Than Hen's Teeth
26 Dec 2023, 11:59 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced for the 1968 model year as an entry-level muscle car, the Plymouth Road Runner was quite the popular rig in its first three years on the market. With more than 160,000 units delivered through 1970, the Road Runner surpassed the premium G...
Ford's Mustang Boss 302 Is the One Classic American Muscle Car You'll Want To Buy in 2024
25 Dec 2023, 19:24 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The Ford Mustang is arguably one of the most iconic American nameplates of all time. And needless to say, the first-generation version is among the most desirable classic muscle cars. But which one should you buy in 2024? If you're into the...
Gorgeous 1958 Plymouth Belvedere Flaunts Subtle Upgrades and Big-Block Surprise
24 Dec 2023, 21:06 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Plymouth first used the Belvedere name in 1951. It was a two-door pillarless hardtop version of the Cranbrook and the first Plymouth to have this body design. A response to the Chevrolet Bel Air and Ford Victoria, the Belvedere became a stand-alone...
1967 Chrysler Town & Country Defies Throw-Away Status With All-Original Everything
23 Dec 2023, 19:25 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When talking about the Chrysler Town & Country, we usually think about the minivan produced from 1989 through 2016. But this badge also graced a luxury station wagon for more than four decades. The nameplate harkens back to 1941 when it was ...
1972 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 With Only 7,700 Miles Is a Rare Time Capsule
22 Dec 2023, 15:00 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The 1969 COPO ZL1 may be the mother of all vintage Chevrolet Camaros, but the Z28 also holds a special place in my heart. Sure, it's nowhere near as potent and rare, but it's the perfect track-toy classic. Developed for SCCA Trans-Am homo...
1968 Ford Torino Cobra Jet Is a One-of-One Gem With an Emotional Story
22 Dec 2023, 12:37 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The Cobra Jet V8 is one of the greatest high-performance engines Ford created in the golden muscle car era. And the Ford Mustang and Shelby GT500KR are its most iconic recipients. But the mighty 428-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) mill wasn't restricte...
1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 Cobra Jet Is a Rare Gem in Special-Order Purple Paint
21 Dec 2023, 10:31 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Like most muscle cars from the golden era, the Ford Mustang was available in a wide range of flashy colors in the late 1960s. The 1969 palette is particularly interesting, thanks to hues like Calypso Coral, Gulfstream Aqua, Lime Gold, and Grabber B...
Low-Mileage 1971 Plymouth HEMI 'Cuda Needs a New Home, It's Worth a Fortune
20 Dec 2023, 22:09 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Even though Plymouth began dropping the 426-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) HEMI V8 in production cars as early as 1965, the Barracuda did not get it until the third-generation model arrived for the 1970 model year. Sure, the mill found its way into the ...
Barn Find Revival: 1978 Plymouth Trail Duster Roars Back to Life After 16 Years
20 Dec 2023, 16:45 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Plymouth is mainly known for full-size rigs like the Belvedere and Fury and muscle cars like the Road Runner, GTX, and Barracuda. But did you know that Chrysler's now-defunct division also built pickup trucks and SUVs? Plymouth joined the p...
1966 Chevrolet Nova SS All-Original Survivor Flaunts Battle Scars and Rare L79 V8
20 Dec 2023, 13:05 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Although the first American compact car, the Nash Rambler, arrived in 1950, the Big Three didn't join the segment until about a decade later. In 1959, Ford rolled out the Falcon, and Plymouth introduced the Valiant. Chevrolet also launched the...
Neglected 1970 Plymouth Road Runner Emerges With Burnt Orange Color Combo
19 Dec 2023, 20:55 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / With nearly 200,000 units sold from 1968 through 1971, the golden-era Plymouth Road Runner is decidedly rarer than most midsize nameplates sold at the time. At the same time, it's common enough that examples are still popping out of long-term ...
Ultra-Rare, Mint-Condition 1972 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Going Under the Hammer
19 Dec 2023, 15:29 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Built from 1967 through 1982, the third-generation Chevrolet Corvette was the longest-running iteration of the nameplate. And even though it spent most of its life as a Malaise-era rig, it was born in the golden era of muscle cars, so the early C3 ...
This 1972 Plymouth 'Cuda Is an Unassuming Sleeper With a Modern HEMI Surprise
19 Dec 2023, 14:04 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced for the 1970 model year, the third-generation Plymouth Barracuda gained full access to Chrysler's range-topping V8 engines. Sure, the 426-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) HEMI and 440-cubic-inch (7.2-liter) RB found their way into the previou...
This 1959 Edsel Villager Pickup Is a One-of-None Alternative to the Ford Ranchero
18 Dec 2023, 21:28 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Established in late 1956, the Edsel division was Ford's answer to mid-priced Oldsmobile and DeSoto products. But the company survived for only three years and went into the history books, leaving a $250-million hole in FoMoCo's budget. Ed...
Sassy Grass 1971 Plymouth 'Cuda Abandoned in the Desert Is a Sad Sight
18 Dec 2023, 17:20 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / While thousands of restored classic cars cross the auction block for six-figure sums each year, millions more are rotting away in junkyards across the US. Needless to say, most of them are mundane rigs that aren't worth restoring. However, ...
Up Close and Personal With "Grumpy's Toy X," the World's Nastiest Chevrolet Vega
18 Dec 2023, 14:19 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1970 as a replacement for the rear-engined Corvair, the Chevrolet Vega became an instant hit in the then-new subcompact market. The nameplate moved 277,705 units in its first model year on the market and peaked at a whopping 460,374 e...
Tiny 1963 Studebaker Zip Van Field Find Wants To Deliver Mail Again
17 Dec 2023, 16:50 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Studebaker is mainly famous for automobiles like the Avanti, Golden Hawk, and Champion. However, the company also built civilian pickups like the Transtar and Champ and military trucks like the US6. But did you know that Studebaker also made a tiny...
1948 Studebaker Champion Springs Back to Life After First Wash in 47 Years
17 Dec 2023, 13:51 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Seeing a very old car emerge out of long-term storage still in one piece is quite exciting if you're into barn finds. But you know what makes it better? Hearing the engine fire up again and seeing the entire car return to life after a proper f...