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.
Lamborghini Urus Gets Production Green Light
12 May 2013, 15:17 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Showcased almost one year ago, the Lamborghini Urus SUV has been green-lighted for production. The announcement was made by the Italian automaker while celebrating its 50th anniversary. Speaking at a send-off dinner of the Grande Giro 50th anniv...
Hennessey's 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 Hits the Dragstrip
11 May 2013, 07:28 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Three days ago we showed you Hennessey's 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 putting its 650 HP on the dyno. The Texas-based specialist had no 0 to 62 mph (km/h) or quarter mile times to share with us, but their latest video reveals the SUVs drag st...
BMW Is the World's Most Poweful Car Brand, Says Forbes
11 May 2013, 07:18 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Famous American business magazine Forbes says BMW is the most powerful automobile brand in the world. The German manufacturer ranks ninth in the "World's Most Powerful Brands" standing. With a brand value of $26.3 billion and a br...
Cotton Owens’ Dodge NASCAR Hauler Shows Up on eBay
11 May 2013, 07:08 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / If you’re looking to buy something unique, then this is the right place to be. Now don’t be thinking about them Ferraris and Lamborghinis, we have some totally different for you: a Dodge truck. And not just any truck, but Cotton Owen...
C6 Corvette Under Investigation Over Faulty Headlamps
10 May 2013, 15:33 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened an investigation concerning 103,374 Chevrolet Corvette sportscars built from 2005 through 2007 over headlight issues. According to Detroit News report, the probation commenced...
Asia’s Most Expensive Car is a Toyota 2000GT
10 May 2013, 15:14 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1967, the superb Toyota 2000GT is regarded as the first true Asian-developed sportscar. Built in only 351 examples, the 2-door fastback is highly collectible and, as of last month, it’s the most expensive Asian production car. ...
Tesla Shares Up 24 Percent Following First Quarter Profit
10 May 2013, 14:51 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / With a first quarter 2013 profit of $11 million and a 99 out of 100 score from Consumer Reports, everything seems to work just fine for Tesla Motors. And good news keep pouring in for the EV manufacturer, with Tesla shares going up 24 percent. A...
Volkswagen Announces DSG Recall in Japan
10 May 2013, 14:30 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Volkswagen Group is recalling around 91,000 cars in Japan over potential DSG transmission issues that have already led to a massive recall in China, the world's biggest auto market. According to Automotive News, a company spokesman said tha...
2013 Honda Civic Sedan Earns Top NHTSA, IIHS Safety Ratings
10 May 2013, 13:29 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The new 2013 Honda Civic Sedan has received the highest possible overall safety ratings from both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Japanese company announced today...
1969 Ford Mustang Becomes... 1937 Cord 812
10 May 2013, 12:51 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / In case you’ve never heard about the Cord 812, it was a luxury vehicle sold with six different bodystyles starting 1937. Bearing a unique design, the Cord 812 could be had with a supercharger for a price around $2,500, pretty expensive when c...
Hyundai Goes Green with Photovoltaic Rooftop Powerplant
10 May 2013, 12:24 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Company announced that it will install the country’s largest rooftop photovoltaic powerplant at its manufacturing facility in Asan. As part of the company’s plan to expand the use of renewable ene...
Nissan Reveals Le Mans Nismo Driver Lineup
10 May 2013, 12:01 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Nissan has announced the driver lineup that will be racing a Greaves Motorsport Zytek-Nissan in the LMP2 class of this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. According to the company’s press release, the Japanese-badged race car will be driven ...
Nissan Working on Hybrid Race Car
10 May 2013, 11:38 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Japanese automaker Nissan is reportedly working on a hybrid race car that will be entered in next year’s famed 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race. According to Autocar, the new vehicle will be designed by Ben Bowlby, who also developed the...
2013 Shelby GT500 by Evolution Performance Runs Record 8-Second Quarter Mile
10 May 2013, 11:14 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Evolution Performance were the first to run a 9-second quarter mile with a 2013 Shelby GT500 in 2012. However, their record didn’t last too long, as Lethal Performance raised the bar from 9.95 to 9.39 seconds back in February. But that did...
Jim Clark Honored at Silverstone Classic
10 May 2013, 09:59 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Former British racing driver and double Formula One world champion Jim Clark will be honored during a special event organized during this year's Silverstone Classic. Scheduled on July 26, in the new Silverstone Wing building, the inaugural ...
Aston Martin’s Chief Vehicle Engineer Changes to Tesla
10 May 2013, 09:54 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / American electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors has announced that Chris Porritt, Aston Martin’s former chief vehicle engineer, has been appointed as the company’s new vice president of vehicle engineering. Porritt job at Tesla will ...
Jaguar Readying Super Stretched XJ for the Chinese Market?
10 May 2013, 09:12 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / British automaker Jaguar is reportedly working on a stretched wheelbase and raised roof version of its XJ full-size luxury sedan for the Chinese market. According to Car News China, a batch of images leaked from China’s patent bureau have ...
Aston Martin to Use Mercedes-Benz Engines?
10 May 2013, 08:28 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Aston Martin could use Mercedes-Benz engines and platforms for their cars in the future, as the British automaker is looking to sign a partnership with Daimler. According to Bloomberg, Daimler AG - owner of Mercedes-Benz - and Aston Martin are i...
John Lennon’s Ferrari Up for Auction
10 May 2013, 07:58 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Former singer, songwriter and Beatles member John Lennon had a pretty impressive collection of cars, including his famous psychedelic Rolls-Royce or the 1972 Chrysler Town & Country wagon. But the English artist didn’t start his drivin...
Bentley Announces Le Mans Limited Editions for Continental, Mulsanne
10 May 2013, 07:35 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / British automaker Bentley has announced the introduction of six “Le Mans” limited edition packages for the Continental and Mulsanne models. Developed to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race and the 10...