Ciprian Florea
7,287 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.
Hennessey’s Extreme VelociRaptor SUV Showcased in New Footage
6 Jun 2013, 15:46 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced two weeks ago, the 2014 Hennessey VelociRaptor SUV was advertised once again by Houston-based specialist Hennessey Performance. Developed as a conversion pack for the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor pickup truck, the VelociRaptor has a starting...
eBay Find: Distorted Porsche 917 Replica
6 Jun 2013, 15:17 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / In case you haven’t heard about the Porsche 917, which is highly unlikely, all you need to know is that it’s one of Stuttgart’s most successful racing cars. Built in several versions, the 917 won the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice in t...
Drag Strip Wars: Big Block Camaro vs. Small Block Demon
6 Jun 2013, 14:26 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / There’s nothing like a good ol’ drag strip battle between two classic muscle cars. And that’s the exact reason you get to see such quarter-mile races in our news section. We love ’em! The latest drag race we’ve stum...
Porsche Stops Cayenne, Panamera Production Due to Flooding
6 Jun 2013, 14:02 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / German automaker Porsche stopped production at its Leipzig assembly plant today, after floods in the Czech Republic halted supplies. "We have a bottleneck in the supply of car bodies built in the Volkswagen plant in Bratislava, which are tr...
Corvette Z06 Destroyed by Oklahoma Tornado Still Runs
6 Jun 2013, 13:12 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Back in the day, Chevrolet was known for building some of the toughest cars drivers could buy. Now... well, not that much. However, some of their models are still impressive, and the Chevrolet Corvette is probably the most important vehicle of the ...
McLaren Earns 2013 International Engine of the Year Award
6 Jun 2013, 12:46 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / McLaren Automotive’s 3.8-liter twin turbo V8 engine has won the 2013 International Engine of the Year awards in the 3.0-liter to 4.0-liter category, becoming the first new winner of the prize for five years. Fitted in the 12C and 12 Spider...
Jay Leno Drives the Mormon Meteor at Bonneville Salt Flats
6 Jun 2013, 12:02 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Jay Leno is famous for a doing and owning a lot of things, but he is mostly known for his huge automobile collection, which gathers vintage, classic and modern vehicle alike. As we’ve already seen on his website, he drives them quite often...
Ram Reveals Unique Superman-Themed Power Wagon Truck
6 Jun 2013, 11:27 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Yesterday we were telling you about a partnership between Ram Trucks and Warner Bros for the upcoming “Man of Steel” motion picture, which will feature several vehicles provided by Chrysler Group. Following the release of the “...
2013 Buick Encore Earns High Safety Ratings, Fails Small-Overlap Test
6 Jun 2013, 10:54 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The new 2013 Buick Encores has earned a five-star safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and a Top Safety Pick rating from the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS). Buick’s subcompact SUV, sol...
2014 Chevrolet Impala, 2013 Cadillac XTS & ATS Recalled Over Brake Light Issue
6 Jun 2013, 09:51 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / General Motors has announced a recall for about 1,600 of its 2014 Chevrolet and 2013 Cadillac vehicles over a brake light issue. According to the company, the brake lights might flash on their own and could cause the cruise control to disengage as ...
Classic Mini Says Happy 50th Birthday to Porsche 911
6 Jun 2013, 09:33 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Not too many cars get to celebrate 50 years and still wear the same design cues. While the Porsche 911 made it half a century, other vehicles were dropped before turning 50. And one of those cars is the British Mini. Introduced in 1959 and disc...
Fiat Says No to Hydrogen-Powered Cars
6 Jun 2013, 09:15 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / While Hyundai has delivered its first 15 fuel-cell ix35 models in Europe, other automakers are not too ecstatic about developing hydrogen-powered vehicle. Including Italian giant Fiat, who says hydrogen power is not a viable long-term alternativ...
Is TVR Planning a Comeback?
6 Jun 2013, 08:37 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / British sportscar manufacturer TVR is no longer a presence in the automotive world since July 2012, when Russian owner Nikolay Smolensky put an end to car production after 65 years. The last time we heard about the Blackpool-headquartered compan...
Euro-Spec 2014 Toyota Corolla First Photo Leaked
6 Jun 2013, 08:15 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Set to be unveiled later today, the 2014 Toyota Corolla is in the spotlight for a few days now, after several teasers were published by the Japanese automaker the past two weeks. While we’re waiting the US-spec Corolla’s reveal in Ca...
Spyshots Confirm 2015 Mustang Will Have an Independent Rear Suspension
6 Jun 2013, 07:51 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / There’s been a lot of talk about the new 2015 Ford Mustang, including its Evos concept-inspired styling and the addition of a new turbocharged four-cylinder engine. Furthermore, rumors were also indicating that the sixth-generation pony will ...
2013 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder on ADV5.01 Wheels
5 Jun 2013, 16:46 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The guys over at ADV.1 Wheels don’t like to spend too much time doing nothing. This probably explains the huge number of supercars fitted with their rollers. The latest high-performance vehicle to gain a set of their ADV5.01 rims is the ne...
Shelby GT500 Super Snake by Ultimate Auto
5 Jun 2013, 15:57 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The Shelby GT500 Super Snake is an attention-grabbing musclecar by nature. However, there are people out there than can make the Super Snake stand out of its exclusive pack even more. One such company is Ultimate Auto, who recently unveiled thei...
Opel Astra GTC Gains 1.6 SIDI Turbo Engine
5 Jun 2013, 15:23 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / German automaker Opel has announced that its Astra GTC three-dour coupe will become available with the company’s new 1.6 SIDI Turbo engine. Already fitted on other Opel vehicles, the Spark Ignition Direct Injection unit develops 170 HP (12...
Ford Wins Engine of the Year Award for the Second Time
5 Jun 2013, 14:56 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Ford’s 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine has won the 2013 International Engine of the Year award for the second consecutive year. Moreover, the Blue Oval’s turbocharged mill achieved the highest score in the 15-year history of the prestigious a...
The LaFerrari We Can All Afford
5 Jun 2013, 14:18 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Unveiled at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, the LaFerrari is the most exclusive modern supercar to come out of the Maranello factory. Built in only 499 units, Ferrari’s first hybrid vehicle was an instant hit among wealthy enthusiasts. Despite...