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.
One-Owner 1963 Plymouth Savoy Shows Off Super Stock Heritage, Max Wedge V8
7 Dec 2023, 13:58 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Initially introduced on a station wagon in 1951, the Savoy name received stand-alone nameplate privileges in 1954. That's when it became Plymouth's mid-range full-size car, slotting between the base Plaza and the top-of-the-line Belvedere...
One-of-None 1968 Dodge Super Bee Trickster Packs a Big-Block Surprise
6 Dec 2023, 21:59 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced for the 1968 model year, the Super Bee was Dodge's most affordable muscle car until it was discontinued at the end of 1971. But despite its low sticker, it was less popular than its corporate twin, the Plymouth Road Runner. While th...
Six-Wheeled 1971 Buick Electra Prototype Pops Up for Sale With Eye-Watering Sticker
6 Dec 2023, 15:03 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When talking about six-wheeled vehicles, we usually think about military and commercial trucks. These rigs can be traced back to the early days of the automobile. However, mainstream and tuning companies have also experimented with six-wheeled pass...
Forgotten 1966 Ford Mustang Gets First Wash in 44 Years, Becomes Beautiful Survivor
6 Dec 2023, 12:26 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / How long does it take for a neglected classic to become a rust bucket? Well, it pretty much depends on where it's parked. Full exposure to the elements will ruin it in just a few years, while a barn would provide better cover and prolong its l...
This 1958 Chevrolet Yeoman Is a One-Year Gem You Probably Never Knew Existed
5 Dec 2023, 16:30 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / In 1958, Chevrolet celebrated its 50th anniversary by introducing special-edition range-topping models for each division. Buick got the Limited Riviera, Pontiac launched the Bonneville, and Chevrolet introduced the fancied-up Bel Air Impala. Whi...
Unassuming 1971 Mercury Cougar Hits the Dragstrip With Hidden Mods, Runs 11s
5 Dec 2023, 13:16 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The jury is still out on which vehicle kickstarted the muscle car era. Some say it's the Pontiac GTO, while others point out the Chrysler C-300 and Rambler Rebel of the 1950s. I think we can trace everything back to the 1949 Oldsmobile 88. How...
1987 Oldsmobile 442 in Excellent Condition Packs Super Rare and Forgotten Option
4 Dec 2023, 20:07 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1964 as a competitor for the performance-oriented Pontiac GTO, the Oldsmobile 442 quickly became one of Oldsmobile's most successful nameplates. As a result, the company kept it in continuous production through 1980. Like most...
1969 Chevrolet Camaro Flaunts Rare Z11 Package and Flashy Orange Interior
4 Dec 2023, 15:56 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in late 1966, the first-generation Chevrolet Camaro remained in showrooms for three model years. And even though it was short-lived, it spawned quite a few iterations that are now highly sought-after. The COPO 427 twins are the rarest...
1970 Dodge Super Bee Has It All: Big-Block V8, 4-Speed Manual, High-Impact Color
4 Dec 2023, 13:24 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / What is the perfect golden-era muscle car Mopar? I'm pretty sure most answers would include the word "HEMI" in them, and I totally get it. The 426-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) HEMI V8 is not only the most iconic Chrysler engine ever, but i...
One-of-One 1970 Shelby Mustang GT500 Convertible Sells for Record Price
3 Dec 2023, 16:09 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The Carroll Shelby-Ford saga began in 1962 when the former race car driver installed V8 engines in the AC Ace. Carroll also helped Ford design the Le Mans-winning GT40. More importantly, the collaboration spawned a series of beefed-up Mustangs that...
1967 Chevrolet Impala SS "Fat Rat" Is a Bench-Seat Sleeper With a Big-Block Surprise
3 Dec 2023, 11:56 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1958 as a special anniversary model based on the Bel Air, the Chevrolet Impala was an instant hit. It also helped the company regain the number-one production spot against Ford. It became part of the regular full-size line in 1959 and...
1970 Plymouth 'Cuda Barn Find Is an Ultra Rare Prototype Awaiting Restoration
2 Dec 2023, 15:41 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Redesigned into a proper muscle car for the 1970 model year, the third-generation Plymouth Barracuda was pretty popular, with nearly 49,000 units sold. That's a lot of vehicles, but the 1970 run also includes a few rare gems that are highly so...
This 1971 Mercury Cougar XR-7 Is a Museum-Grade Classic With a Rare Feature
1 Dec 2023, 20:52 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in April 1964, the Ford Mustang became an instant hit, and the company sold more than a half-million units during the 1965 model year. As a result, Ford approved Mercury's request to join the pony car market. The Cougar arrived i...
This 1971 Ford Mustang Boss 351 Is a One-Year Gem With a Numbers-Matching Punch
1 Dec 2023, 15:35 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The "Boss" badge first appeared on the Mustang in 1969. That's when Ford introduced two homologation specials wearing this name: the Boss 302 and the Boss 429. The 302 version was developed specifically for SCCA Trans-Am racing. T...
Seemingly Abandoned Property Is Packed With Rare Classic Cars
1 Dec 2023, 13:57 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Today's classic car market is packed with restored rigs from all decades. And tens of thousands of them are crossing the auction block each year. However, millions of vehicles are still rotting away following decades of neglect. Most of the...
Rare 1938 Ford Convertible Hidden for Decades Emerges in Surprising Condition
30 Nov 2023, 20:11 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When it comes to Ford automobiles produced in the 1930s, it's the Model B that gets all the attention. It was the first Ford with a V8 engine (Model 18), and it's a common choice for hot rodders. But as much as I like this historically si...
Stunning 1961 Dodge Dart Pioneer Flexes Rare Long Ram Induction Setup
30 Nov 2023, 15:22 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Discontinued in 1976, the old Dodge Dart is mainly known as the company's bread-and-butter compact during the muscle car era. However, the Dart was downsized twice before it joined the said segment. The nameplate was initially introduced for t...
1969 Chevrolet Yenko Camaro Is a Rare Gem With 427 Corvette Muscle
30 Nov 2023, 12:29 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced for the 1967 model year, the first-generation Camaro lasted through 1969. And even though it was short-lived and a bit late to the pony car market, it became one of the most iconic Chevrolets ever made. The 1969 version is, in my view...
The 2024 BMW M Hybrid V8 Looks Like It's About To Swallow the Entire Le Mans Grid
29 Nov 2023, 20:30 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / In 2021, BMW announced its return to top-flight sports prototype racing after more than 20 years. The comeback happened in 2023 when the M Hybrid V8 joined the GTP class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship. But that's not the end of the line fo...
1950 Oldsmobile "Rocket" 88 Is an Unassuming Sleeper With a Big-Block Surprise
29 Nov 2023, 15:16 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1963, the Pontiac GTO is widely recognized as the first muscle car. However, some argue that the first muscle cars were built in the 1950s, and the GTO was only responsible for making the concept popular. Indeed, the first smaller ...