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.
Ford Posts Hybrid Vehicle Sales Record
31 May 2013, 09:35 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Ford Motor Co. recently announced it has surpassed its previous full-year hybrid vehicle sales record in just the first five months of 2013. With projected sales of 37,000 units through May, which translates into an increase of more than 375 per...
Sebastian Vettel Tries Out Renault Zoe, Twizy & Twizy F1
31 May 2013, 09:20 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Three-time Formula One champions and Red Bull Racing driver Sebastian Vettel was asked by Renault to drive its all-electric vehicle lineup, which includes the Zoe, Twizy and the Twizy F1 concept. The promotional event took place at Renault&rsquo...
Audi Working on Hydrogen-Powered A7
31 May 2013, 08:49 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / German automaker Audi is reportedly developing a fuel cell-powered version of its A7 five-door coupe. Although no details have been revealed, word has it Audi will begin testing the car near the end of the summer. Believed to be part of Audi&rsq...
Williams F1 Switches to Mercedes AMG Engines
31 May 2013, 08:18 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / FIA’s decision to give up on V8 engines in favor on more efficient turbocharged V6 mill has prompted team to reconsider their strategy starting 2014. After Toro Rosso announced they will drop Ferrari engines and switch to Renault, Williams F1...
Fiat Hunting $10 Billion Loan to Buy Chrysler
31 May 2013, 08:01 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Italian giant Fiat is reportedly looking to borrow up to $10 billion to buy the remaining stake of the Chrysler Ground and refinance the debt of both companies. According to The Detroit News, Fiat is negotiating with banks such as Bank of Americ...
Toro Rosso to Use Renault Engines
30 May 2013, 16:12 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Formula One team Scuderia Toro Rosso will be using Renault V6 turbo engines starting with the 2014 season, Renault chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn revealed. Owned by Red Bull, the Italian team switched from Ferrari, who has been supplying Toro Ros...
Porsche Macan to be Unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show
30 May 2013, 15:17 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Porsche Macan, the company’s first compact crossover SUV, will be unveiled at the 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show which is scheduled to take place in November. According to Auto Express, the Audi Q5-based Porsche will be set to be released in s...
Toyota Celica GT-Four - A Trip Down the Memory Lane
30 May 2013, 14:45 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Already a successful road car in the early 1980s, the Toyota Celica was about to become even more in 1990 thanks to its GT-Four high-performance pack. Created to compete in the World Rally Championship, the first-gen GT-Four ST165 brought Spanish d...
MINI Seeking Pikes Peak Glory with 900 HP “No Limit” Climber
30 May 2013, 14:19 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / British automaker MINI will be represented in this year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb by the “No Limit” racer which will be driven by French driver Jean Philipe Dayraut. Although it looks like a MINI Paceman, Dayraut&rs...
Former Stig Ben Collins Praises Toyota GT 86
30 May 2013, 13:46 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / While we’re not the only people that get excited while driving the Toyota GT 86, it seems that professional drivers seem to enjoy our beloved sportscar as well. And the latest connoisseur to join the group is Ben Collins, Top Gear’s for...
Next-Gen Dodge Journey to Arrive in 2016
30 May 2013, 12:50 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 2009 on Chrysler’s JC platform, the global Dodge Journey mid-size crossover SUV won’t get a second-generation model until 2016. According to Automotive News, the next-generation Dodge Journey is slated to arrive in 2016...
Audi Working on A3 MPV
30 May 2013, 12:29 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / German automaker Audi is reportedly working on an MPV version of the A3 Sportback model, with a concept car set to make its public debut sometime next year. This piece of information came to us via Auto Express, who has quoted the company&rsquo...
Drayson Racing to Make EV Land Speed Record Attempt
30 May 2013, 11:57 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Drayson Racing Technologies has announced plans to attempt to break the current FIA World Electric Land Speed Record for vehicles in the sub-1,000 kg (2,204 lbs) class. The attempt will take place on June 25 at RAF Elvington in Yorkshire, Englan...
Ford Ranger SUV Spotted Testing in Australia
30 May 2013, 11:36 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / While Ford Australia won’t be building new vehicles outside its current lineup, as it prepares for total production shutdown in 2016, the company’s local engineering is still working on future Blue Oval-badged cars. Ford’s late...
Aston Martin V12 Vantage S Makes Video Debut
30 May 2013, 09:58 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Earlier this week, British sportscar manufacturer Aston Martin unveiled its fastest and most powerful production vehicle to date: the V12 Vantage S. Surpassed only the exclusive One-77, the new Vantage delivers 573 hp and 620 Nm of torque for a top...
Scion iQ Is the Most Fuel Efficient Non-Hybrid
30 May 2013, 09:27 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Scion iQ, Toyota iQ’s US-built brother, is America’s most fuel efficient non-hybrid according to Auto Guide, who placed the three-door city car at the top of its most efficient non-hybrid vehicles Top 10 list. Thanks to its 37 miles ...
Classic Ferrari Racer Auctioned for $12.7 Million
30 May 2013, 08:59 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Classic Ferraris are like wine. They become increasingly popular and more expensive with time. And that’s why we’re not at all surprised that a 1953 Maranello-developed race car sold for a cool $12.7 million (€9.85 million) at a re...
Toyota Launches 2013 Prius Plug-In MPG Challenge
30 May 2013, 08:33 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The fact that Toyota is always friendly with environmentally-conscious drivers is no longer surprising. And, as always, the company is trying to make environmental education fun by introducing all sorts of challenges. The latest competition to b...
Ford Mustang to Join the V8 Supercars Series?
30 May 2013, 08:16 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Following last week’s announcement that Ford will be ending its production in Australia starting 2016, thus discontinuing the Falcon nameplate, t might be forced to start looking for a new vehicle to enter the popular Australian V8 Supercar S...
2014 BMW X5 Revealed
30 May 2013, 07:38 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / German automaker BMW has unveiled the all-new 2014 X5. Set to hit the market later this year, the third-generation Sports Activity Vehicle promises to set the new standard for luxury, versatility and driving dynamics. So what’s new on the ...