Ciprian Florea
7,288 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.
1967 Ford Mustang in Frost Turquoise Is Pure Eye Candy, Not Much of a Muscle Car Though
6 Jun 2022, 19:41 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / What do you love most about the 1960s automotive-wise? Yes, muscle cars are high on my list too, but I also dig the cool colors that Detroit offered at the time. Ford's Frost Turquoise is among the hues that got me hooked, and this 1967 Mustan...
1961 Chevy Bel Air Was Left to Rot in the Woods, Comes Back to Life After 50 Years
6 Jun 2022, 16:09 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / It's 2022, and we find it strange that some classic cars have been abandoned for decades after only a few years on the road. But that's mostly because we're very fond of vintage vehicles nowadays. Back then, it wasn't unusual to...
Alcohol-Injected 1979 Chevy Malibu Hits the Drag Strip, 7-Second Insanity Ensues
6 Jun 2022, 08:40 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced as the top-of-the-line trim for the Chevelle in 1964, the Malibu was relegated to entry-level duty in 1974. Four years later, with the Malaise Era in full swing, the Malibu replaced the Chevelle to become a stand-alone nameplate. A hu...
Unofficial 2023 Jeep Comanche Is Here To Give the Ford Maverick a Hard Time
5 Jun 2022, 15:32 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Discontinued in 1988 after 26 years on the market, the Jeep Gladiator finally returned to showrooms in 2019. It remains the company's single pickup truck as of 2022, but what if the Toledo-based brand would decide to offer a second hauler? ...
This Kingsley Coach Motorhome Is a Luxury Lodge on Wheels With a Peterbilt Cab
4 Jun 2022, 15:00 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The recreational vehicle industry has evolved to the extent that you have dozens of vehicles of all shapes and sizes to choose from. Whether it's compact teardrop trailers or Class A motorhomes based on trucks or buses, there's something ...
This Super-Rare Porsche 718 RSK Shares a Cool Feature With the McLaren F1
3 Jun 2022, 14:09 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1957 as a replacement for the 550, the 718 became Porsche's vehicle of choice for endurance races like the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Targa Florio, as well as the European Hill Climb Championship. Tipping the scales at around...
This 1937 Packard Super Eight Drop-Top Is What Vintage Luxury Dreams Are Made Of
3 Jun 2022, 11:14 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Discontinued in 1958, Packard hasn't been around for more than 60 years as of 2022. Yet the brand is still remembered thanks to the luxury cars it built before going into financial trouble in the 1950s. The Super Eight is one of those nameplat...
Dodge Secretly Built a Durango Hellcat Redeye and You Can't Have It
2 Jun 2022, 20:19 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / In 2021, Dodge took the SUV world by storm with the Hellcat-powered Durango. The fun didn't last very long, though, as the company discontinued the high-performance hauler after only a few months on the market and 2,000 units sold. The decisio...
Abandoned, Mysterious Property Hides Big Stash of Classic Cars, Rare Gems Included
2 Jun 2022, 17:40 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Barn-kept classic cars emerge out of storage regularly nowadays, so it's not exactly news unless the vehicle in question is rare and valuable. However, stumbling upon a massive collection of abandoned cars isn't something that happens eve...
Chevrolet Monte Carlo on Massive Gold Wheels Hides Camaro Surprise Under the Hood
2 Jun 2022, 15:15 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1969 as Chevrolet's first personal luxury car, the Monte Carlo had a good couple of years on the muscle car market. But as power figures went down during the Malaise Era, the Monte Carlo evolved into a watered-down Buick Regal. ...
Abandoned Farm Is Packed With Classic Cars, Rare Gems Included
1 Jun 2022, 14:20 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Seen one too many U.S. junkyards recently? Well, this one's a bit different. Because it's not your average abandoned property littered with old, derelict cars. Yes, rusty American classics on a farm isn't big news, but this property ...
1972 Chevrolet Chevelle Comes Out of Hiding After 32 Years, Takes First Drive
1 Jun 2022, 11:26 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Seeing an old car being pulled out of long-term storage is one of the coolest automotive things out there. But it all becomes even better when the vehicle in question is fixed and put back on the road. Like this 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle here. Thi...
One-Owner 1964 Chevrolet Impala SS Is a Low-Mileage Gem, 409 V8 Still Roars
31 May 2022, 15:49 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced as a top-of-the-line full-size in 1958, the Chevrolet Impala needed only a few years to morph into a high-performance rig. It happened in 1961 when Chevrolet began offering the SS (Super Sport) package. Granted, the SS was mostly an a...
1972 Pontiac Firebird Drag Races 1970 AMC AMX, Can You Guess Who Wins?
31 May 2022, 11:09 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Produced from 1968 to 1970, the rather short-lived AMC AMX is not the kind of muscle car you see at the drag strip nowadays. The race you're about to see below includes one of those rare moments. A 1970 version, this AMC rocks a 390-cubic-i...
1946 Spartan Manor Is a Vintage Travel Trailer With an Exquisitely Modern Interior
30 May 2022, 20:50 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / As the recreational trailer market took off after World War II, many companies chose to abandon their previous endeavors to jump on the camper bandwagon. Spartan Aircraft was one of them. Led by wealthy industrialist J. Paul Getty, it morphed into ...
Mossy 1964 Dodge Dart Gets First Wash in 30 Years, It's Ready for the Rat Rod Life
30 May 2022, 16:00 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / It's 2022 and there are millions of classic cars rotting away in barns and junkyards. Are they worth saving? Well, let's say that maybe only one percent of them still have a shot at becoming road-worthy. But that doesn't stop enthusi...
1967 Pontiac GTO Spent 40 Years Buried in a Garage, Comes Back to Life
30 May 2022, 13:08 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / "Some cars are just too cool to be forgotten in storage," I've often heard muscle car enthusiasts say. I agree and I think that the Pontiac GTO is one of those cars. But like any other classic, the GTO is also a common barn find. Thi...
Stunning 1963 Dodge Polara Max Wedge Has an Important Message on Its Rear Window
30 May 2022, 11:17 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1964, the 426-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) Hemi V8 is now the most iconic and desirable engine ever produced by the Chrysler Corporation. But while enthusiasts are rushing to pay six-figure sums to buy Hemi-powered classic Mopars, the truth...
Freshly Restored, One-of-One 1967 Ford Mustang Looks Pretty in Pink
29 May 2022, 19:25 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Pink is not the kind of color you'd usually associate with muscle cars, but Detroit automakers offered this hue for quite a few years during the golden era. Mopar's Moulin Rouge/Panther Pink is the first that comes to mind, but Ford also ...
Dodge Ram Dakota Returns With Hellcat Engine in Sharp Rendering
29 May 2022, 15:55 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Rumored to return ever since it was discontinued in 2011, the Ram Dakota has yet to make a comeback, and the rumor mill has been rather quiet in 2022. But while it remains uncertain whether Ram will revive the nameplate or not, a new rendering give...