Ciprian Florea
7,288 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.
Supercharged 1942 Willys Pickup Gasser Shows Up on eBay
29 Jun 2013, 10:28 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Some of you may not have heard of the Willys Coupe built in the 1930s and 1940s, as the company is now long gone. But they turned out to become pretty famous and the same thing can be said about the pickup version. But not because they were outs...
Gulf-Liveried 1967 Ford Fairlane 500 Headed for 2013 SEMA
29 Jun 2013, 09:50 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / There's something about that Gulf Oil livery that makes people want it on their cars. It could be the fact that Ford and Porsche had a lot of success back in the 1960s and 1970s wearing the famed paint scheme or it's just about the two co...
Chevrolet Pledges Diesel Pickup Truck
29 Jun 2013, 09:18 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / With Ram having revealed the industry's first-ever diesel-powered light-duty pickup truck, it didn't take long for rivals from GM to confirm an oil burner version for their Chevrolet lineup. Speaking to Auto Guide, an engineer from Che...
Range Rover Sport Pike Peak Pace Car Unveiled
29 Jun 2013, 08:57 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Land Rover has revealed the Range Rover Sport pace car that will open the legendary Pikes Peak International Hill Climb this year. Already the fastest production SUV to ever climb the Colorado mountain, with a course time of 12m35.61s, the 2014 ...
Holden VF Ute Sets Nurburgring Lap Record for Pickups
29 Jun 2013, 08:39 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Holden's new VF Commodore-based Ute is the world's fastest "utility, pickup or any other commercial vehicle" on the Nurburgring, the Australian automaker has revealed. While it can hardly be described as a pickup truck, the H...
2014 Corvette Stingray Premier Edition Announced
29 Jun 2013, 08:19 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Chevrolet will begin production of the much-anticipated 2014 Corvette Stingray Coupe with a Premier Edition model built in just 500 examples, the automaker revealed today. The vehicle will be unwrapped at a launch party at the National Corvette ...
Ram Introduces First Diesel-Powered Light-Duty Pickup Truck
28 Jun 2013, 16:02 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / As promised back in February, Ram Trucks has revealed the first-ever Diesel-powered pickup truck. Introduced for 2014 model year, the new diesel Ram 1500 sports the company’s 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V6 also found in the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Ra...
Unique Cleveland-powered Shelby Going Up for Auction
28 Jun 2013, 15:45 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / A unique 1969 Shelby GT350 powered by a Cleveland 351 V8 engine will go under the hammer at a DE Foeller sale in Denver, Colorado, next month. Built along with two other similar test vehicles just before Shelby ended Mustang production in 1970, ...
2014 Ram 1500 Lineup Revealed
28 Jun 2013, 15:20 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Pickup truck manufacturer and Chrysler subsidiary Ram has unveiled the 2014 1500 model lineup. The new vehicle destined to rival Ford’s F-150 and GM’s Silverado/Sierra twins will hit the market later this year starting from $24,200 plus...
Morgan’s Iconic 3-Wheeler to Gain New Versions
28 Jun 2013, 14:56 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / British automaker Morgan is looking to extend it’s 3-Wheeler lineup, following the small vehicle’s success on the market. With 2013 sales expected to reach 600 units by the end of the year, the 3-Wheeler could surpass both traditiona...
2014 Citroen Grand C4 Picasso Unveiled
28 Jun 2013, 14:21 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / French automaker Citroen has unveiled the first details about the new 2014 Grand C4 Picasso. Able to offer seating for seven people, the new Picasso is underpinned by the EMP2 platform and weighs up to 110 kg (242.5 lbs) less than the outgoing ...
"Hate Tank" Roadrunner is One Mean-Looking Dragster
28 Jun 2013, 13:54 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The classic Plymouth Roadrunner was one of the greatest musclecars built by the Chrysler corporation. Introduced in 1968, the two-door coupe was not just an awesome road car, but also a famous NASCAR racer and drag strip contender. Aggressive by...
Father of the Trabant Dies at 91
28 Jun 2013, 13:13 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Dr. Werner Lang, the man behind the small and popular Trabant 601 two-door vehicle built in East Germany back in the 1960s, died at the age of 91 after suffering a heart attack at his home in Zwickau. Introduced in 1962 as an update to the initi...
Iconic James Bond Lotus Esprit “Submarine” Goes Under the Hammer
28 Jun 2013, 12:48 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / RM Auctions has revealed that the iconic 007 Lotus Esprit “Submarine” car used in the “James Bond - The Spy Who Loved Me” motion picture will be auctioned off in London in September. The fully functioning “submarine...
Volkswagen Polo R Rendered as Sedan
28 Jun 2013, 12:23 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / What’s better than a range-topping Volkswagen Polo R hatchback? You might be tempted to say the Polo WRC, but we were thinking about a Polo R sedan. You know, more power, more speed, more space!? But there’s no Polo R sedan on offer ...
New TVR Sportscars Coming in 2015
28 Jun 2013, 11:47 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Revived by new UK-based company owned by Les Edgar, TVR could be back on the sportscar market with new models in two years’ time. Speaking to Autocar, TVR boss Les Edgar said the company will develop brand-new vehicles that are likely to ...
Saleen Working on New Supercar, Performance EV
28 Jun 2013, 11:23 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / California-based sportscar and performance-oriented automotive parts manufacturer is developing a new generation of supercars as well as a high-performance electric vehicle, the company revealed earlier this week. Famous for its aftermarket Ford...
2014 Nissan Pathfinder US Pricing Announced
28 Jun 2013, 09:50 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Japanese automaker Nissan has released complete US pricing information for its 2014 Pathfinder SUV. On sale as we speak, the 2014 Pathfinder can be ordered for prices starting at $28,700 not including the $845 destination and handling fee. Upgra...
Smart ForTwo BoConcept Edition Goes on Sale
28 Jun 2013, 09:29 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / smart’s new fortwo BoConcept Edition, developed in cooperation with Danish urban interior design specialist BoConcept, goes on sale in Germany with prices starting at €14,490. The new special edition city car, which was previewed as a...
2015 Ford Mustang to Look “Hot and Stunning”
28 Jun 2013, 09:09 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The 2015 Ford Mustang is probably the greatest automotive saga this year. Mostly because of its new design, which is rumored to become more european and less classic. Obviously, Ford is still mum on details and the whole thing is frustrating to say...