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.
Hydrogen-Powered Hyundai Tucson to Arrive in 2015
23 May 2013, 09:46 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / South Korean automaker Hyundai has announced plans to introduce a fuel-cell-powered version of its Hyundai Tucson compact SUV starting 2015. If Hyundai manages to pull this throw, it will become the first automobile manufacturer to mass produce ...
Tesla Repays DOE Loan Nine Years Early
23 May 2013, 09:27 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Electric vehicle automaker Tesla Motors announced that it has paid off the entire loan awarded by the Department of Energy (DOE) in 2010. By wiring the final $451.8 million yesterday, Tesla has repaid its whole debt, including interest, nine years ...
Ford to Shut Down Australian Production in 2016
23 May 2013, 08:50 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Ford Australia has announced that it will cease all manufacturing operations on Aussie land starting October 2016, leading to the loss of 1,200 jobs in Victoria, where the Broadmeadows and Geelong plants are located. The official announcement wa...
Lotus Exige S Roadster Pricing, Details Revealed
23 May 2013, 08:30 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Set to go on sale this summer, the Lotus Exige S Roadster is described as the fastest ever convertible built by the UK-headquartered manufacturer. Powered by the familiar mid-mounted 3.5-liter V6 and enhanced by a Harrop HTV 1320 supercharger, t...
2014 Chevrolet Spark EV Pricing, Lease Details Announced
23 May 2013, 08:01 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Chevrolet has announced pricing and lease information for the 2014 Spark EV. Priced from $27,495, the city EV can also be had for just $19,995 by customers that qualify for the full $7,500 federal tax credit. If you’re looking to lease one...
SRT Viper Coming to Europe
23 May 2013, 07:35 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The SRT Viper, one of the most acclaimed American performance sportscars, is about to become available in Europe as well... although not official. While Chrysler still doesn’t want to sell their V10-powered musclecar on the Old Continent, the...
Rare 1999 Saleen Mustang S351 Up for Auction on eBay
22 May 2013, 16:11 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Back in 1999, Saleen was offering its last units of the fourth-generation Ford Mustang-based S351. Enhanced with a Vortech supercharger, the machine was delivering 495 HP and 490 ft-lb of torque to any musclecar enthusiast willing to to pay the $55...
Mercedes E-Class Coupe, Cabriolet UK Pricing Announced
22 May 2013, 15:36 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / German automaker Mercedes-Benz has released complete pricing information for its E-Class Coupe and Cabriolet version in the United Kingdom. Part of the “most extensive model revision ever undertaken by Mercedes-Benz”, both the Coupe ...
Renault ZOE EV Convertible Rendered
22 May 2013, 15:12 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Recently presented with the “Technology Award” at the 2013 Fleet World Honours, the all-electric Renault ZOE seems to be on its way to great success. And if this really happens, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the French developin...
Holden Ute Goes Up in Flames During Insane Burnout
22 May 2013, 14:40 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Some say Australian motorheads are addicted to burnouts. Either that, or there’s nothing much else to do in the Outback. Whatever the case, we have stumbled on yet another insane burnout video featuring a... blown Holden Ute. We’re a...
Ford Racing Introduces New Pushrod Shortblocks
22 May 2013, 14:02 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Ford Racing Parts has announced the introduction of a new selection of shortblocks available in three different displacements, including 347 (5.7-liter), 363 (6.0-liter) and 427 (7.0-liter) cubic inch. The new shortblocks feature a SCAT forged s...
Jim Harbaugh to Pace Indy 500 in 2014 Corvette Stingray
22 May 2013, 13:43 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / General Motors has announced that the 2014 Corvette Stingray that will serve as pace car at the 2013 Indianapolis 500 will be driven Jim Harbaugh, the head coach of NFL team San Francisco 49ers. The former Indianapolis Colts quarterback is also ...
Kia Quoris Coming to US in 2014
22 May 2013, 13:09 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Kia’s Quoris full-size luxury sedan will be available in the United States starting next year, a company representative revealed last week. Set to tackle Hyundai’s Equus in North America, the Quoris will reportedly arrive in the US with...
2014 Toyota 4Runner Rendered as Pickup
22 May 2013, 12:47 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Unveiled at the 2013 Stagecoach Music Festival in April, the rugged 2014 Toyota 4Runner is ready to greet its US customers as a no-nonsense SUV in both 4x2 and 4x4 versions. In case you didn’t know, the 4Runner, which was introduced in 198...
2015 Subaru WRX Prototype Caught Testing
22 May 2013, 11:59 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Rumored to be unveiled at this year’s Tokyo Auto Show in November, the 2015 Subaru WRX was caught testing at the Mulholland Drive near Los Angeles. Posted on Youtube as a video that features a “mistery car” accompanied by a Jap...
US-European Free Trade Deal Backed by Automakers
22 May 2013, 11:38 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The Association of Global Automakers have announced their support for a free trade deal between the United States and the European Union that could phase out or even eliminate the 2.5 percent tariff on car imported in the US. The trade group tha...
SRT Viper Ready for Le Mans Comeback
22 May 2013, 09:49 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / As we told you back in February, SRT will make a comeback to the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans event with their new Viper starting this year. Already sitting on three consecutive GTS class wins in France, the 2013 Viper GTS-R is ready to fight for yet ...
IIHS Explains New Overlap Front Crash Tests
22 May 2013, 09:35 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) new small overlap front crash test has proven to be a difficult task for most automakers, with only a couple of vehicles managing score above the “Poor” mark. These harsh results...
4-Cylinder Engines to be 66 Percent of Market by 2020, Says Ford
22 May 2013, 08:53 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Ford claims that about 66 percent of all new vehicles will be powered by four-cylinder engines by 2020, due to more demanding fuel economy standards and rising gasoline prices. According to market researcher R.L Polk, the current four-cylinder s...
McLaren’s Porsche 911 Rival to be Powered by Honda Engines?
22 May 2013, 08:11 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Now this is an interesting and at the same time awkward piece of news. After announcing its Formula One comeback as an engine supplier for McLaren, Honda is rumored to work on a powerplant that will be fitted in the British company’s future e...