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.
The 1927 Peerless Model 6–90 Is a Forgotten Pre-WWII Luxury Rig
24 Apr 2023, 18:38 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When it comes to luxury cars, we now think about brands like Rolls-Royce, Bentley, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz. As for American-made rigs, we have Cadillacs and Lincoln, but many argue that these brands aren't as great as they used to be. Well, thi...
Huge Mopar Junkyard Is Loaded With Muscle Car Gems and Richard Petty Memorabilia
24 Apr 2023, 15:29 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / A classic car auction is usually the best place to buy a vintage muscle car. Such events are loaded with nicely restored examples from the golden era. But this also means that you need a fat wallet. If you're not looking to spend $50,000 to $1...
This Barn-Hidden Muscle Car Stash Is 1960s Chevrolet Bel Air 409 Heaven
24 Apr 2023, 11:43 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When talking about barn finds, we usually think about derelict classic cars that come out of storage after a very long time. But it's not always like that. Some so-called barn finds are actually unmolested survivors that enjoyed proper attenti...
The 50 Best Dodge Models of All Time (No. 50 – 41)
23 Apr 2023, 18:09 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Founded in 1900 as the Dodge Brothers Company, Dodge became a Chrysler division in 1928. Initially designated as a mid-priced brand above Plymouth, Dodge became a big player in the muscle car market in the 1960s. The company is also famous for i...
This 1972 De Tomaso Pantera Is a One-Owner Restomod With a Ford Mustang Secret
23 Apr 2023, 16:05 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Often called the golden era of automobiles, the 1960s gave us some of the greatest cars ever created. Whether we're talking about American muscle cars, Italian supercars, or British grand tourers, many rigs from this era are now highly sought-...
1969 Plymouth Road Runner Built by Father and Son Is a 10-Second Sleeper
23 Apr 2023, 13:30 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Redesigned in 1964, the Plymouth Belvedere line expanded to include three brand-new versions. And they all had a couple of things in common. They were only available in two-door body styles and were restricted to V8 powerplants. The Satellite arriv...
Unofficial 2023 Dodge Caravan Looks So Cool You'll Want To Buy One
22 Apr 2023, 19:13 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in late 1983, the Dodge Caravan kickstarted the minivan craze that took over the US until well into the 2000s. Come 2023, and the Caravan is no longer around, having been discontinued in 2020. But this isn't stopping rendering artis...
Mysterious 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle Could Be a Backyard Gem, Internet Detectives Needed
22 Apr 2023, 17:40 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1964 as an answer to the Rambler Classic and the downsized fourth-generation Ford Fairlane, the Chevrolet Chevelle morphed into a fully-fledged muscle car toward the late 1960s. Sure, the lineup still included sedans and wagons with i...
Long-Lost 1967 Shelby Mustang GT350 Found in Canada After 46 Years
22 Apr 2023, 12:43 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1965 as the first high-performance version of the Ford Mustang, the original Shelby GT350 remained in production through 1969. But despite the somewhat long run, Shelby and Ford built only around 7,100 examples, which makes this track...
MotoGP Star Jorge Lorenzo Collects His New Lamborghini Urus, Calls it "Discreet"
21 Apr 2023, 16:13 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Like most expensive supercars, Lamborghinis are usually favored by celebrities. The Urus is no exception, with notable owners like Donovan Smith, Jason Boham, 6ix9ine, and a very long list of soccer players. Former MotoGP racer Jorge Lorenzo has re...
1950 Willys Jeep Rescued From a Collapsed Barn Gets First Wash in Decades
21 Apr 2023, 14:06 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / If I had a dollar for every classic car rotting in a barn somewhere in the US, I'd surely have enough money to buy a 1970 Plymouth HEMI 'Cuda. Yup, there are millions of oldtimers waiting for a second chance at life. Sadly enough, most...
Real Racing 3 Adds BMW M3 GTR and Ferrari 296 GTB in New Update
21 Apr 2023, 10:32 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Hey, there, Real Racing 3 fans! Electronic Arts and Firemonkeys Studios are releasing a new update for the mobile racing game, and it includes a trio of cool new cars and new additions to the Exclusive Series. If you're a fan of modern Ferr...
Le Mans-Winning 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Revs Colombo V12, Sounds Vicious
20 Apr 2023, 14:45 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Having already won the 1972 World Sportscar Championship for Makes with eight consecutive wins, Ferrari chose not to contest the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the premier sports car class. This decision enabled French outfit Matra-Simca to score its first...
Trio of 1969 Dodge Super Bees Left To Rot in a Field Begs for Total Restoration
20 Apr 2023, 13:01 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1968 as a low-priced muscle car based on the Coronet two-door coupe, the Dodge Super Bee soldiered on for only four years on the market. Moved into the Charger lineup for 1970, the nameplate was discontinued at the end of 1971. Come 2...
Triple-White 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Parked for 41 Years Is Surprisingly Original
19 Apr 2023, 18:25 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Long-term storage isn't necessarily bad for a classic car. Take this 1970 Plymouth 'Cuda RTS show car, which emerged after 46 years as a pristine, low-mileage time capsule. But that's because it was stored in a nice garage. On the ot...
Fully Restored 1960 Chevrolet Corvette Flexes a Super Rare Option
19 Apr 2023, 15:43 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / While less desirable than some of the high-performance versions that hit the market in the 1960s, the first-generation Chevrolet Corvette is quite popular among classic car enthusiasts. The 1953 and 1955 versions are particularly sought-after nowad...
1970 Plymouth 'Cuda RTS Show Car Hidden for 46 Years Emerges As Low-Mileage Time Capsule
19 Apr 2023, 12:38 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Built from 1970 to 1974, the third-generation Plymouth Barracuda is now one of the most desirable classic Mopars. And if we add "HEMI" and "convertible" into the mix, we get some of the rarest Plymouths ever created. Sure, th...
1967 Chevrolet Corvette "Big Tank" Is Rarer Than Hen's Teeth, Also Worth a Fortune
18 Apr 2023, 10:51 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Launched in 1963, the second-generation Chevrolet Corvette introduced many firsts to the nameplate. It was the first to wear the "Sting Ray" badge, offer a coupe body, and feature a big-block V8 engine. Moreover, it was the only Corvette ...
Tiger Gold 1967 Pontiac GTO Buried in Trash Hides Bad News Under the Hood
17 Apr 2023, 14:11 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Launched in 1963, the Pontiac GTO is often credited as the first true American muscle car. While that might not be entirely accurate, no one can deny that the GTO is one of the coolest muscle cars ever produced. Born at a time when GM banned fac...
1934 Ford Brewster Hidden for Decades Is a Super Rare Time Capsule
17 Apr 2023, 12:04 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1932 as a replacement for the Model A, the Ford Model B did not look radically different than its predecessor. It was, however, a brand-new vehicle with a redesigned chassis. More importantly, Ford also introduced the Model 18, which ...