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.
1963 Pontiac LeMans Is a Hurricane Ian Survivor in Need of TLC
5 Dec 2022, 21:16 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1961 as a top-of-the-line package for the Tempest, the Pontiac LeMans became a stand-alone model in 1963. When the Tempest line became a mid-size, so did the LeMans, sharing styling features and powertrains with the more iconic GTO. ...
1938 Diamond T Art Deco Truck Found in Nebraska, It's a 1-of-1 Whiskey Hauler
5 Dec 2022, 15:51 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / An independent company based out of Chicago, Illinois, Diamond T was founded in 1905 and built passenger cars until 1911. From then on, Diamond T shifted to truck production and became an important provider of medium- and heavy-duty haulers (includ...
Abandoned Repair Shop Has a Yardful of Derelict BMWs, Rare Gems Included
5 Dec 2022, 13:58 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When talking about derelict classic cars, we usually think about junkyards packed with vehicles waiting to be scrapped or parted out. But many vehicles are also waiting for a second chance on abandoned properties, like the repair shop you see here....
Ford's 50 Millionth Car Is a 63-Year-Old Galaxie That Still Looks Brand New
5 Dec 2022, 10:54 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Established in 1903, Ford is not only one of the oldest automakers out there, but it's also one of the most successful car companies. To the extent that it has already built and sold more than 400 million vehicles as of December 2022. Ford ...
1969 Dodge Charger Is a Mysterious B7 Blue Survivor With a Super-Rare Option
4 Dec 2022, 20:03 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / With more than 100,000 units sold, the 1969 Dodge Charger is the most successful iteration of the second-generation muscle car. As a result, it's not exactly rare either, but certain versions are harder to find than others. The Daytona is o...
Unofficial 2023 Chevrolet Montana RS Is a Modern El Camino Out for Maverick Blood
4 Dec 2022, 18:27 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The third-generation Chevrolet Montana recently made its official debut in Brazil, and it's quite different than its predecessor. Now, since it's based on the Tracker crossover, the compact pickup is 8.1 inches (205.7 mm) longer and was u...
1970 Dodge Charger Convertible That Shouldn't Exist Is Real and Awesome
4 Dec 2022, 13:23 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1966 as a premium-oriented fastback, the Dodge Charger morphed into a fully-blown muscle car toward the end of the decade. And it also became one of the most iconic rigs of the golden era thanks to performance versions like the R/T an...
1970 Lamborghini Espada S1 Is a Rare Italian Gem With a Chevrolet Secret
2 Dec 2022, 22:30 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Restomods are a great compromise if you want a gorgeous American classic with modern power and handling. And they've been around for decades now. But I bet you haven't seen too many Italian exotics with U.S.-made V8 engines under their ho...
This 1969 Dodge Charger 500 HEMI in Copper Bronze Is Rarer Than Hen's Teeth
2 Dec 2022, 16:29 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1969 as a homologation special, the Dodge Charger Daytona is arguably the most radical muscle car from the golden era (alongside its Plymouth Superbird sibling, of course). But it wasn't the first Mopar developed specifically for...
Dusty 1930 Plymouth Coupe Gets First Wash in 25 Years, Becomes a Stunning Survivor
2 Dec 2022, 14:21 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When it comes to Plymouth classics, we usually think about 1950s beauties like the Belvedere and Fury or golden-era muscle cars like the Barracuda, GTX, and the Road Runner. But the company's legacy extends beyond that. Granted, Plymouth ar...
Real Racing 3 Update Adds Ferrari Daytona SP3 and Iconic Supercars From the 1990s
2 Dec 2022, 11:19 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Real Racing 3 just got its final update for 2022, which adds four brand-new cars and will allow you to win existing vehicles that you don't already own. As usual, the update also includes a new seasonal round and a series of special and flashb...
Raven Black 1968 Ford Mustang GT/CS Is a One-of-One Gem Looking for a New Owner
1 Dec 2022, 20:18 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Redesigned for the 1967 model year, the first-generation Ford Mustang moved into 1968 unchanged save for a few safety enhancements and a new 302-cubic-inch (4.9-liter) V8. However, Ford came up with a new limited-edition Mustang that year, the Cali...
1968 Ford Mustang Kept in a Barn for 28 Years Is a Stunning R-Code Cobra Jet Survivor
1 Dec 2022, 15:42 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / With almost three million units sold from 1964 to 1973, the first-generation Ford Mustang is anything but rare overall. However, things change if we narrow it down to trims and high-performance versions because Ford built quite a few rare gems back...
This 1968 Chevrolet Corvette Barn Find Was Hidden for 40+ Years After a Police Chase
1 Dec 2022, 13:04 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When it comes to barn finds, most classic cars ended up in long-term storage simply because they crashed, they broke down, or their owners couldn't drive them anymore. Some, however, were parked for safekeeping. But this 1968 Chevrolet Corvett...
Plain-Looking 1979 Buick Century Is a Malaise-Era Sleeper With a Nasty V8
30 Nov 2022, 21:54 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When it comes to classic sleepers, there are plenty of factory-built models to choose from, especially from the 1960s and the early 1970s. However, the arrival of the Malaise era in 1973 put an end to unassuming automobiles with high-performance dr...
1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Is a Grabber Blue Survivor With Numbers-Matching Everything
30 Nov 2022, 20:26 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / A not-so-powerful pony car at its introduction in 1964, the first-generation Ford Mustang morphed into a fully-fledged muscle toward the end of the decade. 1969 was a particularly important year for the nameplate because that's when both the B...
1950 Hudson Pacemaker Hiding in a Garage Is a Stunning Museum-Grade Survivor
30 Nov 2022, 17:57 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When it comes to 1950s cars, we usually think about iconic nameplates like the Chevrolet Bel Air, Chrysler 300 "letter series," or the Cadillac Eldorado. But some lesser-known automobiles are just as cool design-wise and perhaps even more...
Watch a Million-Dollar 1956 Ferrari 250 GT TdF Get Pampered for Pebble Beach
30 Nov 2022, 15:18 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Seeing barn-found classics getting their first wash in decades is very satisfying. But nothing is quite as mesmerizing as seeing a very expensive vintage Ferrari getting prepped for a big car show. Especially if the car in question is an extremely ...
Elvis Presley's Last Cadillac Is a 6K-Mile, 45-Year-Old Time Capsule
29 Nov 2022, 16:59 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Dubbed the "King of Rock and Roll," Elvis Presley loved to sing and party. But he also loved Cadillacs. He bought his first Cadillac in 1955 and remained a loyal customer until he passed away in 1977. Sure, he owned other cars as well,...
Rough 1968 Ford Mustang Flexes Cobra Jet Vibes, Small-Block Surprise Under the Hood
29 Nov 2022, 14:31 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Classic Ford Mustangs are great platforms for restorations but things can get expensive if you want good results. But this doesn't mean that a derelict first-gen Mustang should remain in storage in the absence of restoration funds. This 1968 C...