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.
Microlino Debuts New Isetta-Inspired EVs in Paris, Including Adorable "Beach Buggy"
18 Oct 2022, 09:07 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / It's been six years since Micro Mobility System first showcased the Microlino in 2016, and the battery-powered quadricycle is now a full-blown production model. It's already available in four different versions and the Swiss company intro...
1968 Plymouth HEMI Road Runner Is an All-Original Gem, Hides One Little Secret
17 Oct 2022, 20:13 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When it comes to classic cars, nothing beats an unmolested and unrestored survivor in terms of value and desirability. But such vehicles are hard to come by because only a few of them spent their lives as garage queens. And when they do show up for...
Big Barn Opens Up To Reveal Muscle Car Stash, Hot-Rodded 1956 Chevy Bel Air Included
17 Oct 2022, 16:00 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / There's no denying that the most spectacular classic car collections out there are made up of fully-restored, museum-grade vehicles. But as much as I love pristine-looking classics, I can't help but get excited whenever I see a hoard of d...
2023 Peugeot 408 Makes Global Debut in Paris, Parades Muscular Fastback Body
17 Oct 2022, 14:19 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Back in 2010, Peugeot gave the 308 hatchback a longer wheelbase and a trunk, shipped it to China, and called it the 408. Come 2022 and the French company has a brand-new 408 in showrooms. But it's not an update of the Chinese sedan. Instead, t...
Renault 5 EV Looks Cute in Paris, Still a Couple of Years Away
17 Oct 2022, 11:36 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / French automaker Renault brought quite a few vehicles to the 2022 Paris Motor Show, including an all-new Austral and a bunch of all-electric concepts. The 4EVER Trophy and R5 Turbo 3E are by far the most spectacular, but Renault didn't pass on...
Mercedes Unveils 2024 AMG EQE SUV, Its First High-Performance EV Hauler
16 Oct 2022, 19:40 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Mercedes-Benz has just introduced the EQE SUV, the all-electric crossover that expands the company's EQ lineup to no fewer than eight vehicles. As expected, the EQE SUV is essentially a bloated EQE sedan and an all-electric equivalent to the G...
Fabulous Mopar Collection Includes 12 Dodge Daytonas & Plymouth Superbirds, All for Sale
16 Oct 2022, 14:46 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Arguably the most radical muscle cars from the golden era, the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona and the 1970 Plymouth Superbird have become desirable collectibles. To the point where pristine examples fetch more than $1 million a pop at public auctions. ...
Unrestored 1954 Studebaker Champion Looks Amazing, Unexpected Surprise Under the Hood
15 Oct 2022, 20:19 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / One-owner classics are usually more desirable than those that have been passed around several times. And that's mostly because you know where they've been all this time, and they come with full documentation and service records. But are o...
Stunning 1969 Chevrolet Yenko Chevelle Is Rarer Than Hen's Teeth, Flexes 427 V8
15 Oct 2022, 11:14 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When talking about Don Yenko, we usually think about the 1969 Camaro that he created through Chevrolet's COPO ordering process. And that's alright because the Yenko Camaro is an incredible beast, perhaps just as exciting as the other COPO...
Rare 1951 Mercury M6 Truck Leaves the Barn After 50 Years, It's a Fabulous Survivor
14 Oct 2022, 12:13 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Phased out in early 2011, the Mercury served as the medium-price brand of the Ford Motor Company, bridging the gap between Ford and Lincoln products. So it's mostly remembered for its upscale automobiles and nameplates like the Cougar, Maraude...
Rare 1957 Pontiac Bonneville Looks Better Than New, Comes With Eye-Watering Sticker
13 Oct 2022, 20:46 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced as a stand-alone model in 1958 and built until 2005, the Bonneville is not only one of the most iconic Pontiacs ever made but also one of the company's longest-running nameplates. But the Bonneville story actually started before the...
1975 GMC Sierra Beau James Is What Luxury Trucks Looked Like 50 Years Ago
13 Oct 2022, 16:00 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Premium pickup trucks are doing better than ever today, with all major automakers offering well-trimmed, range-topping versions of their workhorses. Ford has the Limited, while Chevrolet offers the High Country. Ram's top-tier truck is also ca...
1966 Ford Mustang Junkyard Survivor Has a Unique Feature Enthusiasts Will Probably Hate
13 Oct 2022, 14:40 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Classic car junkyards are usually loaded with mundane automobiles, but sometimes people get lucky enough to unearth rare gems. This post is not about one of those prized collectibles, but it involves a pony car that sports a rather unique feature. ...
1970 Plymouth 'Cuda Sitting for 25 Years Ditched 440 V8 Power for a Cardboard Box
13 Oct 2022, 11:44 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Most classic cars that have been sitting for decades are usually of the barn find variety. And they're not only dusty but also quite rusty and in need of serious repairs to become road-worthy again. But other vehicles spend time in storage sim...
1970 Dodge Challenger Spent 46 Years in a Shed, It's a Rare Factory Sunroof Car
12 Oct 2022, 19:39 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1970, as insurance rates for muscle cars were going through the roof, the Dodge Challenger was surprisingly successful and moved almost 77,000 units in its first year on the market. Based on this number alone, it's anything but r...
This 1978 Plymouth Volare Is a NASCAR-Inspired Gem From the Malaise Era
12 Oct 2022, 17:46 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The mid-to-late-1970s was a sad time for performance automobiles. High-power big-block V8 became extinct due to stringent emission and fuel economy regulations, and most muscle cars barely exceeded the 180-horsepower mark. But that's not to sa...
1956 Chevrolet Tri-Five Dragster Spent 53 Years in Hiding, It's an Incredible Survivor
12 Oct 2022, 15:07 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When talking about cars that spent decades in storage, we usually think about derelict classics plagued by rust and covered in dust. Because that's how most automobiles emerge out of long-term storage. But you know what? It's not always l...
1953 Plymouth Camper Hiding in a Junkyard for Decades Is a Unique Homemade Contraption
12 Oct 2022, 10:06 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The 1950s gave us some of the most beautiful automobiles out there. I'm particularly fond of the big fins that came into fashion toward the end of that decade, but I also enjoy the much simpler designs of the early 1950s. But I also think that...
Alaskan Junkyard Is Loaded With Classic Trucks, Rare Military Haulers Included
11 Oct 2022, 16:59 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / If I had a penny for every car junkyard in the U.S., I'd probably have enough to buy a pristine 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air. Okay, maybe not quite that much, but you get the point. But while car junkyards may be common, scrapyards that focus on tru...
Rare 1955 Chrysler C-300 Last on the Road 50 Years Ago Begs for Restoration
11 Oct 2022, 14:59 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / First introduced in 1955, the Chrysler 300 "letter series" is famous for many things. For starters, it was Chrysler's first high-performance personal luxury car. But more importantly, it's often viewed as the nameplate that kick...