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.
Found After 42 Years, This 1968 Buick GS 400 Is an Amazing Survivor With a Touching Story
14 Feb 2023, 21:05 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When classic cars come out of long-term storage, we usually end up seeing really nice survivors or vehicles that have succumbed to rust and rodent infestation. Both are cool to see as they emerge back into the light, but it's the survivors tha...
Aston Martin AMR23 Breaks Cover With Special "110 Iconic Years" Logo
14 Feb 2023, 14:50 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / 2023 is a special year for McLaren, which celebrates 60 years since Bruce McLaren established the now-iconic racing team. But it's also a big year for Aston Martin, which turns 110. And much like McLaren, Aston Martin celebrates the benchmark ...
McLaren Unveils 2023 Formula 1 Car With Anniversary Livery, Signs Rookie Driver
14 Feb 2023, 11:22 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / McLaren will tackle the 2023 Formula 1 championship with a brand-new livery and rookie driver Oscar Piastri alongside Lando Norris. Since 2023 marks the 60th anniversary of the team founded by New Zealand-born racing driver Bruce McLaren, both the ...
This Audi Quattro Paris-Dakar Prototype Is Actually a Range Rover in Disguise
13 Feb 2023, 21:22 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Now available in just about any Audi out there, the quattro four-wheel-drive system is a whopping 43 years old as of 2023. Believe it or not, its first iteration was introduced back in 1980. That's when the company also launched the Audi Quatt...
This 1969 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Is a One-Off COPO Gem With Racing Pedigree
13 Feb 2023, 15:55 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / In production since 1953, the Chevrolet Corvette is not only America's most iconic sports car, but also one of the most sought-after classics. And needless to say, the nameplate spawned quite a few gems that fetch six- or even seven-figure sum...
Forgotten 1974 Chevrolet Corvette Spent 34 Years in a Barn, Gets First Wash
13 Feb 2023, 11:30 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Ever seen a barn-kept classic car that's so dusty you can't tell what color it is? If you haven't, this 1974 Chevrolet Corvette is proof that 34 years' worth of dust and grime will turn any dark color into black. And yes, you�...
5 Cool Pontiacs You Probably Never Knew Existed
11 Feb 2023, 14:52 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Discontinued in 2010, Pontiac went into the automotive history books after a string of disappointing models and a flop called the Aztek. But the brand also left behind some of the greatest classics ever built in the United States. The GTO is obv...
Rare 1933 Ford Model 18 Pickup Gets Rescued After 45 Years in a Barn
10 Feb 2023, 18:32 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The world's first affordable automobile, the Ford Model T was sold in more than 15 million units for almost 20 years. Heavily outdated in 1927, it was replaced by the Model A. The latter remained in production until 1932, when Ford rolled out ...
Stunning 1966 Chevrolet El Camino Is a Role Model for All Barn Finds
10 Feb 2023, 15:13 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1959, discontinued in 1960, and then built again from 1964 to 1987, the Chevrolet El Camino changed quite a few platforms while in showrooms. Originally based on the Brookwood wagon, it was moved onto the midsize Chevelle model upon i...
Mysterious Abandoned Property Hides Big Stash of Classic Cars, Rare Gems Included
10 Feb 2023, 13:09 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Many enthusiasts claim that the golden era of barn finds has come to an end. But while that may be true for million-dollar classics of the Bugatti and Ferrari variety, barn finds are still a thing. Yes, most of them are not all that valuable, but h...
Hydrogen-Powered 1948 Chevrolet 3100 Is Proof That Supercharged V8s Don't Have to Die
9 Feb 2023, 15:18 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / With most carmakers inching closer to total electrification, it sure seems like the internal combustion engine is only a few years away from going into the history books. Yeah, small-displacement mills may live to see 2030. But most experts agree t...
These Fat-Bottomed Dragsters Will Satisfy Your Need for Gas-Guzzling Eye Candy
9 Feb 2023, 12:42 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Are you into 1960s cars with flashy liveries, raised front ends, and fat rear tires? Well, then you're probably a fan of vintage gassers. And if you are, you've come to the right place because you're about to get a lot of nostalgia e...
1972 Dodge Charger Parked for 30 Years Desperately Needs a 426 HEMI
8 Feb 2023, 20:33 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1966 as a somewhat luxurious fastback aimed at the Rambler Marlin, the Dodge Charger quickly morphed into one of America's hottest muscle cars. The nameplate soldiered on until 1978, spawning spicy iterations like the R/T and the...
Reporting for Duty: 1951 Nash Ambassador Is a Rolling Bathtub in Army Overalls
8 Feb 2023, 16:37 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Founded in 1916 by former General Motors president Charles W. Nash, the Nash Motors Company disappeared in 1954, when its merger with Hudson Motor Car Company created American Motors Corporation. Largely forgotten nowadays, Nash left many cool and ...
1961 Ford Fairlane 500 With Holman-Moody V8 Power Is a Moonshine-Running Sleeper
8 Feb 2023, 13:09 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Built from 1955 to 1970, the Fairlane is one of Ford's most iconic nameplates. And it also spawned a high variety of vehicles, ranging from stylish full-size sedans in the early years to muscle cars and even factory dragsters in the 1960s. An ...
Rare, Black-on-Black 1966 Dodge Charger Doesn't Need a HEMI to Stand Out
7 Feb 2023, 15:02 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Now considered one of the greatest muscle cars of the golden era, the Dodge Charger was actually much more than that when it arrived in 1966. Based on the Coronet but fitted with a fastback rear end and loaded with upscale features, it was more of ...
World's Rarest Dodge Viper Is a Lucky Prototype That Should Have Been Destroyed Years Ago
6 Feb 2023, 16:31 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The Chevrolet Corvette is arguably the most celebrated American sports car designed and built on U.S. soil. A game-changer when it arrived in 1953, it remained in production ever since, save for a brief hiatus in 1983. Then there's the Dodge V...
Rare and Unrestored 1969 Shelby Mustang GT350 Proudly Displays Battle Scars
6 Feb 2023, 13:09 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1965, the Shelby GT350 was the first Ford Mustang that came out of Carroll Shelby's shop. Followed by the GT500 and a few one-off cars, the GT350 soldiered on until 1969, when Shelby and Ford parted ways, but a few unsold models ...
1973 Mercury Comet Is an Unassuming Sleeper With a Nasty Surprise Under the Hood
6 Feb 2023, 10:20 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1959 as a competitor for the Rambler American, the Ford Falcon was the first compact marketed by the "Big Three" manufacturers. A year later, the Falcon spawned a second compact in the FoMoCo lineup, the Comet. Originally...
Unofficial 2023 Toyota FJ Cruiser Is a Two-Door Sequoia With TRD Pro Goodies
5 Feb 2023, 14:48 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 2006, the Toyota FJ Cruiser was discontinued in the United States after the 2014 model year. The SUV remained in production in Japan until early 2018, but Toyota only pulled the plug a few years later. Specifically, the FJ Cruiser sol...