Ciprian Florea
7,286 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.
Huge Farm Field Is Packed With Mopar Muscle Cars, Rare Gems Included
28 Aug 2023, 13:32 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Built in thousands or tens of thousands of units, many muscle cars from the golden era aren't rare by production numbers. But because many were wrecked and left to rot away in backyards, most nameplates are becoming increasingly harder to find...
Real Racing 3 Update Adds 2023 Formula One Cars
28 Aug 2023, 10:10 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Okay, Real Racing 3 fans, it's time for a new update! Available starting August 28 or 29, depending on your time zone, update 11.6 brings the entire 2023 Formula One lineup to the mobile racing game. That's ten cars and a brand-new series...
1971 Plymouth HEMI 'Cuda Looks Like a Million-Dollar Gem, but There's a Catch
27 Aug 2023, 11:26 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / While not quite as valuable as 1960s Ferraris, many of which are worth more than $10 million, some muscle cars from the golden era also fetch seven-digit prices at public auctions. The 1971 Plymouth HEMI 'Cuda Convertible is one of those cars....
Pontiac GTO Who? The Ultimate Guide to 1950s Muscle Cars
27 Aug 2023, 08:19 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a muscle car as "any of a group of American-made two-door sports coupes with powerful engines designed for high-performance driving." Other definitions claim that only midsize vehicles can be muscle ...
This 1968 Plymouth Barracuda in Ember Gold Is What All Barn Finds Hope To Become
25 Aug 2023, 15:31 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When it comes to the Plymouth Barracuda, everyone seems to be drooling over the third-generation model. And I can get that because the early 1970s 'Cudas are gorgeous, powerful, and highly sought-after. But this 1968 Barracuda in Ember Gold pr...
1951 Dodge Truck Abandoned for Decades Is a Rare Rescue Squad COE
25 Aug 2023, 14:23 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / A common body style since the early days of the automobile until the 1970s, the cab over engine (COE) truck is no longer popular in the United States. As a result, classic haulers sporting this layout are a very rare sight outside junkyards. And sp...
World's Most Expensive Chevrolet Corvette, a Holy-Grail 1967 L88, Is for Sale Again
25 Aug 2023, 10:53 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Built from 1962 to 1967, the second-generation Chevrolet Corvette is famous for many feats. It's the shortest-lived version of the iconic sports car, it was the first available with big-block V8 engines, and it spawned quite a few rare iterati...
One-Owner 1967 Plymouth GTX Parked for 47 Years Is Amazingly Original
24 Aug 2023, 16:34 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Classic cars that emerge from long-term storage are usually associated with severe rust damage, missing components, and replacement parts. But not all of them return into the light like this. Some are one-owner gems that are still 100% original. Th...
Rough 1969 Chevrolet Caprice 427 Flexes Super-Rare Factory Option
24 Aug 2023, 14:58 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1958 as a range-topping version of the Bel Air, the Impala was Chevrolet's first premium car. However, the nameplate's status as a top-of-the-line Chevy was cut short in 1965 when the company launched the Caprice. Fitted ...
1938 Chevrolet Master Abandoned for 50 Years Gets Rescued, Engine Refuses To Die
24 Aug 2023, 12:36 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / What's the oldest iconic Chevy you can remember? The Tri-Five, introduced in 1955, is probably a popular answer. As is the Deluxe series before that. But I think the Master is the first genuinely iconic Chevrolet. Introduced in 1933 as a re...
1970 Dodge HEMI Super Bee Is a Yellow Trickster With a Modern Surprise Under the Hood
23 Aug 2023, 15:22 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1968 as a lower-priced alternative to the GTX, the Plymouth Road Runner became an instant hit, selling almost 45,000 units in its first year in dealerships. This prompted Dodge executives to request a similar model based on the Corone...
1967 Dodge HEMI Coronet R/T Is a True Survivor in Incredible Condition
23 Aug 2023, 13:58 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced for the 1966 model year, the iconic 426-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) HEMI V8 remained in production until 1971. Officially rated at 425 horsepower, the Street HEMI found its way into a dozen Dodge and Plymouth muscle cars, creating some of the...
Abandoned Mansion Has an Iconic Rear-Engined Italian Classic Hidden in the Garage
23 Aug 2023, 11:55 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Abandoned classic cars are usually associated with junkyards, but some spend their retirement years in garages on properties that haven't been inhabited for decades. This mansion in southern France is one of those places. Documented by YouT...
Million-Dollar 1931 Duesenberg Model J Hidden For Decades Takes First Drive in 60 Years
22 Aug 2023, 18:54 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Remember the long-lost 1931 Duesenberg Model J that Doug Pray of the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Company unearthed in late 2022? The last time I told you about it, it was being prepared for its first public display in decades. Well, two weeks have passe...
Rare 1951 Daimler Barn Find Gets First Wash in Decades, Becomes Museum Exhibit
22 Aug 2023, 14:17 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Established in 1896 by H.J. Lawson, Daimler is one of Britain's oldest automakers. The company purchased the rights to use the Daimler name from Gottlieb Daimler and set up its manufacturing base in Coventry. Daimler was awarded a Royal War...
The 13 Ferraris That Sold for Over $67 Million Total at Monterey Car Week 2023
21 Aug 2023, 15:25 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut may be the world's most valuable car at $143 million, but Ferraris continue to dominate the classic car market with dozens of examples fetching millions at major auction events. The 2023 Monterey Car...
1971 Plymouth Cuda Convertible Is a Rare Barn Find With a Sad Story
21 Aug 2023, 13:05 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When it comes to the first-generation Plymouth Barracuda, there's no denying that the HEMI versions of 1970 and 1971 are the most desirable and expensive nowadays. And that's mainly because it's a rare gem. Plymouth sold only 666 uni...
1967 Ferrari 412 P Berlinetta Sells for $30 Million
21 Aug 2023, 11:13 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The 2023 Quail Auction at the Monterey Car Week saw no fewer than 109 cars go under the hammer. Eight of them found new owners for more than $1 million (including premium), while the top three consisted of race-spec vehicles. The auction's mai...
The 10 Greatest Fox Body Ford Mustangs Ever Made
20 Aug 2023, 09:01 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1979 and built for a whopping 14 year timespan, the third-generation Mustang is often regarded as the car that saved the nameplate. While it wasn't as powerful as the iconic first-gen pony, the Fox body Mustang delivered solid pe...
Vitamin C 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T SE Flaunts Rare V-Code 440 V8
19 Aug 2023, 15:09 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in late 1969, the Dodge Challenger was a bit late to the muscle car party. But that didn't stop it from becoming a legendary Mopar. The Challenger was quite popular in its first year on the market, moving almost 77,000 units. Far fr...