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.
1968 Plymouth GTX Convertible Flexes Rare Drivetrain Combo, Sounds Vicious
4 Jan 2023, 19:12 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When talking about rare Mopars, we usually think about HEMI-powered muscle cars from the golden era. And that makes sense because Chrysler didn't build all that many Gen-2 426-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) V8 mills. Introduced in race-spec form in...
Once a Pile of Junk, This 1962 Chevrolet Corvette Is Now a Piece of Restomod Art
4 Jan 2023, 15:17 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Built from 1953 to 1962 in a little more than 69,000 units, the first-generation Chevrolet Corvette is not an insanely rare classic overall. But it's highly desirable and Concours-ready examples can fetch six-figure sums nowadays. But only ...
This 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona Helped Fight Racism and Police Abuse in Los Angeles
3 Jan 2023, 18:47 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / In September 2022, Dodge unveiled the 2023 Charger King Daytona, a limited-edition muscle car. Part of the "Last Call" special editions that sent the four-door sedan into the history books, it's also a tribute to William "Big Wi...
Abandoned Property Hidden in the Woods Has a Yard Full of Classic Cars
3 Jan 2023, 14:44 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When talking about barn finds, we usually think of classic cars that have been pulled out of barns after a few decades. But the term is much wider now, to the point where it includes just about any automobile that has been left to rot for decades, ...
Jay Leno Drives the Troy Indy Special, a Tribute to the Super-Cool 1959 Troy Roadster
3 Jan 2023, 11:16 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Jay Leno has been running his "Garage" YouTube series for quite a few years now, and it's usually about iconic classics or the latest supercars. But from time to time, Leno uses his show to showcase lesser-known companies that build ...
The 1957 Chrysler Ghia Super Dart Is a One-Off Gem That Hides a Revolutionary Feature
2 Jan 2023, 18:20 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1955, the Chrysler 300 "letter series" is one of the greatest production cars from the era. Gorgeous, luxurious, and motivated by V8 engines that put it into muscle car territory, the "letter series" cars are also ...
Chevrolet Biscayne Makes Digital Comeback As Impala-Based Station Wagon
2 Jan 2023, 15:54 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1958 as a replacement for the 210, the Chevrolet Biscayne was the company's second least expensive full-size that year. However, when the base Delray was discontinued in 1959, the Biscayne remained Chevrolet's entry-level fu...
5 Iconic Cars That Need To Make a Comeback
1 Jan 2023, 16:00 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / 2023 is upon us and we're excited to find out what it will bring to the automotive table. Yes, we already know some of the cars that will debut this year but as it usually happens, we're in for a few surprises as well. Will we see any ...
Here's the Lotus Evija Doing Four-Wheel Burnouts, Because Why Not
1 Jan 2023, 10:00 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Unveiled in 2019, the Lotus Evija didn't make it into production until 2022, when the British carmaker rolled the limited-edition Fittipaldi version off the assembly line. But while most customers are still waiting for their all-electric super...
Tangerine 1978 Ford Mustang King Cobra Is the Definition of Malaise-Era Pizzazz
31 Dec 2022, 17:00 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When it comes to classic Ford Mustangs, no pony gets more hate than the second-generation model. Introduced for the 1974 model year and designed to meet then-new emissions and fuel economy regulations, the Mustang II is often labeled as ugly and un...
Unofficial 2023 Chevrolet Nova SS Is a Mild Camaro With ZL1 Cues
31 Dec 2022, 13:30 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Born in 1962 as the Chevy II, the Nova was GM's answer to the successful Ford Falcon. It remained highly popular until 1979, when it was replaced by the front-wheel-drive Citation. The Nova returned briefly from 1985 to 1988 as a subcompact ba...
1955 Buick Special Is an Unassuming Sleeper With a Big-Block Surprise Under the Hood
30 Dec 2022, 16:33 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in the 1930s, the Buick Special is not as iconic as the GSX, Riviera, or the Century, but it had an important role within the lineup as the company's entry-level model. And it's also the nameplate that introduced the modern Bui...
Once a Controversial Car, the 1963 Dodge Polara Is Now a Bold yet Elegant Classic
29 Dec 2022, 15:19 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Chrysler built some of the coolest cars out there in the late 1960s. Whether we're talking about the Dodge Dart and Charger or the Plymouth Barracuda and GTX, they all had the looks and the power to stand out in the crowded muscle car market. ...
This 1971 Pontiac T-37 Is a Forgotten Muscle Car That's Rarer Than Hen's Teeth
29 Dec 2022, 11:53 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When talking about Pontiacs from the muscle car era, we usually think about the GTO, Firebird, and Trans Am. The LeMans, Tempest, and the Ventura also get some credit among diehard fans, but there's at least one Pontiac that's been entire...
Stunning 1965 Chevrolet Corvette Fuelie Is What All Barn Finds Hope To Become
28 Dec 2022, 16:44 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1963 and built until 1967, the second-generation Chevrolet Corvette is the shortest-lived iteration of the American sports car. But that's not the only thing that sets it apart from the rest. Inspired by the 1959 Sting Ray con...
The Superformance Ford GT40 With Supercharged V8 Power Is the Ultimate Ferrari Killer
28 Dec 2022, 14:32 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Buying a classic car isn't overly difficult if the vehicle in question is not rare and expensive. However, getting a vintage race car is a different story. Because they're hard to find, collectors rarely let them go, and all-original exam...
This 1973 Ford Bronco Is the Shelby Truck That Carroll Never Built
28 Dec 2022, 11:59 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Revived in 2021, the Ford Bronco is once again one of the most desirable SUVs out there. It looks the part, it's off-road-capable, and unlike its predecessors, it's available in high-performance trim. Developed by Ford Performance, the Br...
Unassuming Porsche 930 Hides Formula 1 Engine Under the Hood, Still Street-Legal
26 Dec 2022, 17:00 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1975, the Porsche 930 was the company's first turbocharged sports car for road use. Originally conceived for homologation purposes, the 930 Turbo quickly became popular among car enthusiasts, prompting Porsche to permanently esta...
Faceless 1971 Chevrolet Corvette Drags First-Gen Mustang, There's No Contest
26 Dec 2022, 11:00 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / One thing that makes drag racing so awesome is that no matter how regulated it is, there's always at least one category or event that allows all sorts of cool vehicles to join in on the fun. This third-generation Chevy Corvette packing a turbo...
1957 Pontiac Bonneville Is a One-Year Wonder Loaded With Luxury Features
25 Dec 2022, 17:00 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / One of Pontiac's longest-running and most iconic nameplates, the Bonneville made its debut as a stand-alone nameplate in 1958 and remained in production until 2005. However, Pontiac began using the name a few years before it even considered a ...