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.
1964 Mercury Monterey Is an Unexpected Junkyard Gem With a Rare Feature
29 Jun 2023, 12:44 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When talking about mid-1960s American classics, we usually think about the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Corvette, and Pontiac GTO. And it makes sense since muscle cars started becoming popular around this time. But the truth is US dealerships were loade...
This 1943 Dodge WC62 Command Truck Is a 6X6 WW2 Relic That Still Runs and Drives
29 Jun 2023, 11:30 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The US produced a massive amount of military vehicles during World War 2. The light Willys MB Jeep and the GMC CCKW 6x6 are among the most celebrated, but carmakers like Dodge, Chevrolet, and Studebaker also rolled out utility haulers that helped t...
Extremely Rare 1941 Chrysler Thunderbolt Flaunts Ahead-of-Its-Time Features at Car Show
28 Jun 2023, 15:28 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Comprising only two vehicles, the 300 and the Pacifica, Chrysler's current lineup is sad, to say the least. But it wasn't always like that. Many decades ago, Chrysler was one of America's leading luxury car manufacturers and sold som...
1970 Plymouth HEMI Superbird Looks Like a Million-Dollar Mopar, but There's a Catch
28 Jun 2023, 13:13 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Designed after the Dodge Charger 500 failed to defeat the Ford Torino Talladega in NASCAR, the Daytona arrived in 1969 and became the first muscle car to reach 200 mph (322 kph). Due to NASCAR homologation rules at the time, Dodge built 503 street-...
1968 Plymouth Fury Abandoned for Decades Is a Mysterious Junkyard Gem
28 Jun 2023, 10:51 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / What's the first thing you think about when you hear the name Plymouth Fury? I bet it's Stephen King's "Christine," which featured a 1958 iteration of the full-size car. Well, the nameplate extends far beyond its role as an...
This 1970 Plymouth Superbird Is a One-of-None Head-Turner, Quite Expensive Too
27 Jun 2023, 16:01 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1969, the Dodge Charger Daytona tackled the muscle car market and NASCAR ovals as a radical rig with a sharp nose cone and a massive rear wing. It was followed in 1970 by the nearly identical Plymouth Superbird. Both cars were built i...
Richard Petty's 1987 Pontiac Grand Prix Comes Out of Storage, Flexes Iconic STP Livery
27 Jun 2023, 13:22 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When talking about Richard Petty, one of NASCAR's greatest drivers, we usually picture him next to a No. 43 Mopar. And that's not at all surprising, given that he spent 17 seasons with Plymouth and Dodge. But "The King" also rac...
Big Warehouse Opens Up To Reveal Secret Stash of Plymouth Superbirds, Ford Talladegas
27 Jun 2023, 10:09 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / In January 2023, we saw a massive collection of Dodge Charger Daytonas and Plymouth Superbirds cross the auction block. It included no fewer than 12 "winged warriors," and it raised no less than $6 million. It remains the largest collecti...
R-Code 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 Cobra Jet Checks All the Right Boxes
26 Jun 2023, 15:55 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Built from March 1964 until June 1973, the first-generation Ford Mustang remained in production for more than nine years. And impressively enough, Ford sold almost three million examples. As it was customary at the time, the pony car gained notable...
This 1957 Dodge Crusader Abandoned for Decades Is a Rare Canadian Gem
26 Jun 2023, 12:56 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / In the 1950s, it was common for American carmakers to sell unique models in Canada. Pontiac, for instance, had a long list of Canada-exclusive cars that included the Laurentian, Pathfinder, Strato-Chief, and Parisienne. All these cars were mainly C...
Unofficial 2024 Jeep Compass Pickup Truck Is Out for Ford Maverick Blood
26 Jun 2023, 11:00 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / It's been just a few days since Ram unveiled the Rampage in South America, and rendering artists have already designed all sorts of unofficial versions of the truck. We've seen EV and SUV variants, as well as a Peugeot 2008 with Rampage D...
1969 Pontiac Aztek Is an Awesome "What If" SUV With Chevy K5 Blazer Bones
25 Jun 2023, 12:02 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Built from 2000 to 2005, the Pontiac Aztek is one of the most controversial SUVs of the modern era. Often called "the car that killed Pontiac," "the worst vehicle ever built," or "the ugliest car in the world," it gets...
1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Gets Rescued After 35 Years in a Barn, V8 Comes Back to Life
24 Jun 2023, 19:00 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1955 as a replacement for Chevrolet Deluxe, the Tri-Five was a huge turning point for the company. Offered in about 20 trim and body style configurations and available with Chevrolet's first V8 in decades, it became a massive suc...
1970 Lancia Stratos Zero Comes Out of Hibernation, Still Looks Outlandish
20 Jun 2023, 12:43 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The 1970s are commonly known for the oil crisis and stringent emissions and fuel economy regulations. The decade also marked the end of the golden muscle car era in the US. In Europe, however, it spawned the "wedge design era" and some of...
1971 Dodge Challenger Parked for 40 Years Emerges With Unexpected and Rare Feature
19 Jun 2023, 12:15 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Most barn-kept cars emerge out of storage in bad shape and with mundane features. Some, however, come into the light as low-production gems with sought-after features. The 1971 Dodge Challenger you see here is far from rare, but it has a rare featu...
Abandoned 1972 Ford Gran Torino Springs Back to Life After First Wash in 20 Years
18 Jun 2023, 15:33 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Barn-found cars are cool and all, but the hard truth is that we can't save all of them. While some are indeed worth rescuing and restoring, most derelict classics are simply too expensive to be brought back to life. As a result, most of them e...
Rare 1970 Dodge HEMI Super Bee Looks Stunning in B5 Blue, Flaunts Numbers-Matching V8
17 Jun 2023, 13:18 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Born in 1968, the Super Bee was Dodge's alternative to the Plymouth Road Runner and the brand's most affordable muscle car. It was also one of the cheapest ways into HEMI ownership at the time. The Super Bee wasn't exactly popular...
Original 1970 426 HEMI Engine for Sale in Illinois, Costs More Than a Hellephant
16 Jun 2023, 15:13 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Are you currently working on an old-school Mopar project and looking to add the coolest Chrysler engine into the mix? You're in luck! An all-original, 1970 426-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) HEMI V8 is up for grabs in West Chicago, Illinois. But it�...
1951 Nash Airflyte Survivor Comes Out of Storage, Runs 0–60 MPH Test
16 Jun 2023, 13:54 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Nash Motors is one of those independent carmakers we don't hear about today. But that's not surprising given that it disappeared in 1954 following a merger with Hudson to form American Motors Corporation (AMC). But although it's been...
Triple-Black 1970s Plymouth Cudas Sitting for Decades Are Surprisingly Original
16 Jun 2023, 11:48 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The story of the Plymouth Barracuda began in 1964 when the pony car made its US debut a couple of weeks before the iconic Ford Mustang. But to many muscle car enthusiasts, however, the Barracuda tale didn't become interesting until 1969. That&...