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.
1955 Studebaker Champion Hidden in a Container Gets First Wash in 32 Years
27 Mar 2023, 15:36 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / As a classic car enthusiast, I get pretty hyped up whenever I see an oldtimer coming out of long-term storage. And that's regardless of whether it's an almost pristine, million-dollar Ferrari or a rusty and mundane Chevrolet. But it all g...
Duramax-Powered 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle Rocks 1,100 Lb-Ft of Torque, Driveshaft Goes Bust
27 Mar 2023, 12:38 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Whenever I see a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle, I immediately think about the mighty 454-cubic-inch (7.4-liter) big-block V8 that GM was offering at the time. Of course, the second-generation midsize was available with a long list of mills, including sma...
The 50 Best Chevrolet Models of All Time (No. 20 – 11)
26 Mar 2023, 17:00 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Established in 1911 by brothers Louis and Arthur Chevrolet and General Motors co-founder William C. Durant, Chevrolet became GM's high-volume, entry-level car division in 1918. The brand quickly morphed into one of America's greatest auto...
1936 Bentley Drophead Coupe Hidden for 50 Years Is an Incredible Barn Find
24 Mar 2023, 01:00 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / With hundreds of classic cars emerging out of long-term storage each year, barn finds are quite common nowadays. And the vehicles themselves are common too because we rarely see anything beyond mundane 1940s-to-1970s Chevrolets and Fords. But the 1...
Jay Leno Drives the 2023 Porsche 911 GT3 RS, Says It Feels Like an Ariel Atom
23 Mar 2023, 12:03 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Take a quick look at Jay Leno's car collection, and you'll immediately notice that the former TV show host is a classic rig enthusiast. And not surprisingly, his YouTube vlog is usually about old cars, whether we're talking about Due...
Mopar Junkyard Hidden in the Woods Is Dodge Challenger, Plymouth 'Cuda Heaven
22 Mar 2023, 15:41 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The junkyard is a great place to be if you need parts for an ongoing project, but it's a sad sight if you're into classic cars. Because scrapyards are usually packed with derelict vehicles that are simply way too expensive to restore. But...
Dodge Dealers Already Charging Ridiculous Markups for the 2023 Challenger Demon 170
22 Mar 2023, 13:14 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Dodge just unveiled the brand-new and wild 2023 Challenger SRT Demon 170 and prices are already going through the roof due to ridiculous dealer markups. While some dealerships are asking $50,000 above MSRP, others are charging more than $100K above...
Here's the 2023 Dodge Challenger Demon 170 Pulling Its First Public Quarter-Mile Run
22 Mar 2023, 10:55 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 2008, the third-generation Dodge Challenger is finally going into the history books at the end of the 2023 model year. And it's taking the company's high-performance V8 engines with it as Dodge moves into a new, all-electric...
Sassy Grass 1970 Plymouth GTX Flexes 500ci Stroker, Idles Like a Beast
21 Mar 2023, 21:38 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced for the 1967 model year as an upscale-trimmed version of the Belvedere, the Plymouth GTX was marketed as the "gentleman's muscle car." But even though it had a slightly fancier interior and came with more comfort features ...
Here's the 2023 Porsche 911 GT3 R Looking Awesome and Fast at Misano Circuit
21 Mar 2023, 18:11 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 2019, the 992-generation Porsche 911 has been around for almost four years as of 2023. It has already spawned GT3 and GT3 RS versions, as well as a 911 Dakar variant with AWD and increased ground clearance. The 992 is also a common si...
2023 Dodge Challenger Demon 170 by the Numbers: The Greatest Muscle Car of All Time
21 Mar 2023, 16:24 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Previewed by a few rather unusual teasers featuring leprechauns and cryptic messages, the seventh and final Dodge Challenger "Last Call" special-edition model turned out to be a huge surprise. That's because the company decided to se...
Rolls-Royce Says Goodbye to V12 Coupes With Limited-Edition Wraith Black Arrow
20 Mar 2023, 16:04 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 2013 as a sleeker successor to the Phantom Coupe, the Rolls-Royce Wraith is going into the history books in 2023 with a limited-edition version. Meet the Black Badge Wraith Black Arrow, which is also the last Rolls-Royce coupe powered...
1966 Dodge Coronet Emerges After Decades in Hiding, It's a One-Off "Mr. Norm's" Car
20 Mar 2023, 14:40 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / If I were to pick a favorite decade automobile-wise, I'd definitely go with the 1960s. That's when Ferrari and Lamborghini built some of its hottest supercars and Detroit rolled some of the most beautiful U.S.-made vehicles. But the 1960s...
LT5-Swapped Shelby Cobra Has Sacrilege Written All Over, but It's Ridiculously Cool
20 Mar 2023, 11:46 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Originally built by Carroll Shelby in the 1960s, the Shelby Cobra is commonly associated with Ford power. And for good reason, because Carroll used a trio of FoMoCo powerplants at the time. What's more, most continuation cars and unofficial re...
The 50 Best Chevrolet Models of All Time (No. 30 – 21)
19 Mar 2023, 16:16 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Established in 1911 by brothers Louis and Arthur Chevrolet and General Motors co-founder William C. Durant, Chevrolet became GM's high-volume, entry-level car division in 1918. The brand quickly morphed into one of America's greatest auto...
Rare 1968.5 Ford Mustang Coupe Flexes a Performance Option We All Love
18 Mar 2023, 12:28 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1964 as an affordable pony car with relatively powerful engines, the Ford Mustang morphed into a full-blown muscle car in the late 1960s. By 1968, the 289-cubic-inch (4.7-liter) small-block was joined by the 390-cubic-inch (6.4-liter)...
1957 Chevrolet 210 Hidden for Decades Is an Amazing Survivor With a Drag Racing Past
17 Mar 2023, 18:30 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Whenever I hear about cars being dragged out of long-term storage, I usually think about dusty carcasses consumed by rust. But I'm happy to admit it's not always the case. Fortunately, some oldtimers take long-term isolation better than o...
John Dodd's "The Beast," the Most Insane Road Car in Existence, Sells for Only $88,000
17 Mar 2023, 14:28 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Did you ever dream about owning the most ridiculous road-legal car out there? If you did, you just missed it because John Dodd's "The Beast" found a new owner at an online auction. And it changed hands for only £72,500, which c...
Ford Econoline "Starsky & Hutch" Is a Digital Muscle Van Out for GMC Vandura Blood
16 Mar 2023, 20:33 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Originally broadcast from 1975 to 1979, "Starsky & Hutch" became a popular TV series a few good years before I was born. But the 2003 video game and the 2004 film brought the show to my attention and I was hooked ever since. And, of c...
Vitamin C 1970 Plymouth Road Runner Hides a Nasty HEMI Surprise Under the Hood
16 Mar 2023, 17:07 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Originally conceived as relatively affordable and powerful automobiles, most muscle cars became more expensive by 1968 as automakers began adding more premium features. Following the introduction of the GTX as a rival to the fancied-up Charger in 1...