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.
The 1969 AMC Super Scrambler Is a 562-HP Tribute to a Hurst Classic
16 Dec 2023, 20:50 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / 1969 was a great year for muscle cars. Ford introduced the Mach 1 package and launched the Boss 302 and Boss 429 homologation specials. Chevrolet rolled out the COPO Camaro in addition to the big-block rigs it already had in showrooms. Chrysler was...
Rare 1969 Dodge HEMI Coronet R/T Roars Back to Life After 37 Years in Storage
16 Dec 2023, 17:24 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When it comes to Dodge rigs from the golden muscle car era, the Charger, Challenger, and Super Bee usually take the spotlight. But the Coronet also played a key role in turning Dodge into a significant player in the 1960s high-performance car marke...
This 1958 Buick Century Is a Chrome-Laden Survivor With Big V8 Power
15 Dec 2023, 16:40 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1936, when Buick renamed its entire lineup, the Century spent its early years in showrooms as a mid-range model between the Special and the Roadmaster. While it shared the shorter wheelbase of the Special, the Century packed the more ...
This 1970 Plymouth Road Runner Hides a Rare Surprise Under the Hood
14 Dec 2023, 20:55 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / After introducing the slightly fancied-up Satellite in 1964, Plymouth decided it needed a B-body vehicle combining performance and premium features. And the GTX was born in 1967. One year later, the company launched a trimmed-down, more affordable ...
1965 Ford Mustang Convertible Shows Off Gorgeous Deluxe Pony Interior
14 Dec 2023, 14:07 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Arguably the most legendary automobile wearing the blue oval badge, the Ford Mustang has been in continuous production since March 1964. That's nearly 60 years as of late 2023. And even though the modern Mustang is better in every way, we'...
1957 Chrysler 300C Parked for 50 Years Is Amazingly Original
13 Dec 2023, 20:50 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / While the Pontiac GTO is usually credited for starting the muscle car movement, the concept can be traced back to the 1949 Oldsmobile 88. Not powerful enough for a muscle car? Well, then, we have Chrysler to thank for giving us the first production...
1971 Dodge Challenger Barn Find Emerges With Rare Color Combo and Cool Patina
13 Dec 2023, 19:17 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1969 for the 1970 model year, the Dodge Challenger was one of the last nameplates that joined the muscle car wars. And even though it was a bit late to the party, it morphed into one of the most iconic rigs of the golden era. Even ...
1967 Plymouth Barracuda Forgotten for Decades Is an Unexpected Junkyard Gem
13 Dec 2023, 16:42 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced for the 1970 model year and offered with the mighty 426 HEMI on the options list, the third-generation Plymouth Barracuda is arguably the most desirable iteration of the nameplate. But that doesn't mean the previous generations aren...
Once a Pile of Junk, This 1970 Plymouth Road Runner Is Now a Museum-Grade HEMI Gem
12 Dec 2023, 16:46 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Whenever I see a rusty classic in a junkyard, I think about how many decades it must have spent in that very spot. Because it takes a few good decades for a solid car to morph into a rust bucket. But that's not always the case. Some rigs need ...
Stunning 1964 Dodge Polara Gasser Is Ready To Go Wheels up Thanks to Massive HEMI V8
12 Dec 2023, 14:08 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1960, the Dodge Polara remained in production all the way through 1973. And even though it was around during the Detroit muscle car wars, the nameplate is rarely associated with high performance. And that's mainly because it spen...
Yellow 1983 Porsche 928 Is a Junkyard Gem in Desperate Need of Attention
12 Dec 2023, 12:32 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Car junkyards across the US are home to millions of classic vehicles as of 2023. Most of them are American-made, but you'll also find European and Japanese automobiles. You won't see too many Porsches, though. While there's no sho...
1971 Plymouth Road Runner California Survivor Flexes Rare Triple-Blue Combo
11 Dec 2023, 21:24 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Launched in 1968 as the company's entry-level muscle car, the Plymouth Road Runner was an instant hit. The nameplate moved 44,303 units in its first year in showrooms and a whopping 81,105 examples in 1969. But that didn't last long. As i...
Forget About the Chevy Nomad, This Green 1956 Ford Ranch Wagon Is Pure Eye Candy
11 Dec 2023, 15:26 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / It may seem hard to believe today, but there was a time when station wagons were in high demand. The 1950s, for instance, was a great era for grocery-getters. That's when Ford, GM, and Chrysler sold hundreds of thousands of units yearly. Wa...
1970 Plymouth AAR 'Cuda Lookalike Hides Something Mean Under the Hood
11 Dec 2023, 12:51 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Like most classic car enthusiasts out there, I'm a big fan of all-original rigs. And I like them even more when they're unrestored and unmolested. But originality is quite expensive when it comes to muscle cars from the golden era, and so...
Mysterious 1971 Dodge Challenger Claims One-of-One Special-Order Heritage
10 Dec 2023, 21:35 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced for the 1970 model year, the Dodge Challenger was a bit late to the muscle car party. Insurance rates were already high, and the government was working on strict emissions regulations. By 1972, Chrysler had already discontinued its high-...
This Low-Mileage 1965 Rambler Marlin Will Make You Forget About the Dodge Charger
10 Dec 2023, 17:22 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Widely recognized as a muscle car, the Dodge Charger made its debut in a different niche in 1966. Sure, the 426-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) HEMI gave the vehicle muscle car credentials, but Chrysler's goal was to deliver a premium-appointed fastbac...
1963 Plymouth Sport Fury Is Dressed To Impress, Packs Rare Max Wedge Setup
8 Dec 2023, 16:22 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / What's the first thing you think about when you hear the name Plymouth Fury? Is it Stephen King's best-selling novel "Christine" and John Carpenter's ecranisation? That's perfectly natural, but the Fury's legacy g...
This All-Original and Unmolested 1969 Dodge HEMI Daytona Is a Million-Dollar Gem
8 Dec 2023, 14:39 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Fitted with nose cones and massive wings, the Dodge Charger Daytona and Plymouth Superbird are arguably the most radical production models from the golden muscle car era. They're pretty rare, too, regardless of the drivetrain layout. The &q...
1956 Chevrolet 210 Shorty Is So Weird It's Actually Cool, Rocks Blown V8
8 Dec 2023, 11:29 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When it comes to modifying cars, shortening a vehicle by cutting out its midsection seems like a weird thing to do. But it used to be a thing back in the day. Why would anyone butcher an automobile to make it significantly shorter? Well, some we...
Hellcat-Swapped 1972 Dodge Challenger Waves Goodbye to Malaise-Era Past
7 Dec 2023, 16:55 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Some say the golden muscle car era ended in 1974 when Pontiac discontinued the GTO. However, the GTO was already a shadow of its 1960s predecessor. So when did muscle cars kick the bucket? Well, depending on who you ask, it's either 1972 or 19...