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Dragos Chitulescu

1,630  ARTICLES

Personal motto:

Do, or Do Not. There is no try!

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I have been obsessed with cars and motorcycles for as long as I can remember. From agreeing with dentist appointments only in exchange for diecast cars, to buying diecast cars with my lunch money in elementary school, to spending hours and hours playing any video games with cars and bikes in it.

The Fast and the Furious series has had quite an impact on me back in the day, and Tokyo Drift made me realise that drifting would be one day a part of my life, and that I would also absolutely have to go to Japan and experience the amazing car scene over there for myself.

A few years later I was graduating from the MyWay Drift School in Hungary, and actively being involved in the professional drifting scene in Europe. Attending the SEMA Show for a few years in a row only added to my love for cars, and experiencing Japan first hand on two different occasions ultimately almost had me relocate so that I could go immerse myself deeper into the drifting scene.

Instead, I chose to follow up on two other dreams, and I ended up spending a good chunk of my life savings buying a rotary powered, 1991 Mazda RX-7 FC3S Turbo II, which I had been actively dreaming about for more than a decade. And because the love for two wheels never faded either, I even went on to ride a few race bikes around the local racetrack, alongside with buying a 1999 Suzuki SV650-S for daily adventures.

I have been actively working on various media projects, mostly revolving around motorsports since 2009, and joining Autoevolution has come as sort of a natural progression, as I aim to share my love for cars and motorcycles with the world and further experience more of what the automotive industry has got to offer.
1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1 Is a Fun Toy for Tsukuba in GT7
1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1 Is a Fun Toy for Tsukuba in GT7

30 Jun 2024, 17:28 UTC · By: Dragos Chitulescu / I went for a short, spirited drive in the RX-7 today. But it never feels enough if I'm not doing it at the racetrack. And I need more sideways action in my life. So what was I to do? I again powered up the PlayStation 5, thinking I'd u...

 
Custom Hot Wheels '69 Dodge Charger Is a Tiny Work of Art
Custom Hot Wheels '69 Dodge Charger Is a Tiny Work of Art

30 Jun 2024, 15:14 UTC · By: Dragos Chitulescu / My buddy Mike came to visit today. We tried to diagnose a boost issue on the RX-7, but something is amiss. It's moments like these that I wish I had the right skills to work on my car to make it run as smoothly as possible. I'll have ...

 
5 Hot Wheels Cars That Are the Ultimate Police Cruisers
5 Hot Wheels Cars That Are the Ultimate Police Cruisers

30 Jun 2024, 14:15 UTC · By: Dragos Chitulescu / Circa 10 years ago, I cruised down the Autobahn in Germany when a car suddenly flew past me. It then proceeded to move into my lane and slow down considerably. At that point, a set of rear lights revealed a message. I immediately understood it w...

 
1,400-HP BMW X3 M Drag Races an Audi R8, Guess Who Breaks Down
1,400-HP BMW X3 M Drag Races an Audi R8, Guess Who Breaks Down

30 Jun 2024, 12:57 UTC · By: Dragos Chitulescu / I sometimes wonder what people in the year 2124 will think about us. If YouTube is still around (presumably as a piece of history),will they laugh at all the silly things we're involved in today? Or will things change for the worse? And yes...

 
2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance Shows Off at Laguna Seca
2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance Shows Off at Laguna Seca

30 Jun 2024, 08:33 UTC · By: Dragos Chitulescu / I have something to confess. I have never driven or even been a passenger inside a Tesla vehicle, and I've never been a fan of the brand. But I'll test drive my first one soon, maybe next month. Even so, you'd be foolish to disreg...

 
1,000 BHP Toyota GR Yaris May Have Set a New World Record
1,000 BHP Toyota GR Yaris May Have Set a New World Record

30 Jun 2024, 07:12 UTC · By: Dragos Chitulescu / I'm trying to think about the fastest car I've ever experienced. It's either the Ferrari F12 TDF or Adam Frank's 1,000-hp BMW E46 drift car. Both of them had me pinned to the seat with no chance of touching the dashboard. The...

 
5 Hot Wheels Liveries That Need More Love
5 Hot Wheels Liveries That Need More Love

30 Jun 2024, 06:11 UTC · By: Dragos Chitulescu / Building a race car is not all strictly about performance. You can have the fastest vehicle out there, but it won't do you any favors if it looks boring. Using the right livery could have a big marketing impact on your development. Most of...

 
How Much Does Owning a 1991 Mazda RX-7 Actually Cost?
How Much Does Owning a 1991 Mazda RX-7 Actually Cost?

30 Jun 2024, 04:35 UTC · By: Dragos Chitulescu / Driving is a big part of my life. I have driven my family station wagon for almost 80,000 km in the past three years alone. But it's just one of over 20 or 30 different cars I have worked with during that period. Since 2018, I have probabl...

 
2025 Hot Wheels Super Treasure Hunt Rumor Mill
2025 Hot Wheels Super Treasure Hunt Rumor Mill

29 Jun 2024, 20:22 UTC · By: Dragos Chitulescu / The Internet is truly one of humanity's greatest achievements. Through it, we can keep in touch with people on the other side of the globe, find the latest information we need, buy stuff, and even make a living. Imagine being a Hot Wheels ...

 
Newest Gran Turismo 7 Time Trial Feels Like Flying a Tie Fighter
Newest Gran Turismo 7 Time Trial Feels Like Flying a Tie Fighter

29 Jun 2024, 19:56 UTC · By: Dragos Chitulescu / My nephew celebrated his second anniversary this month. He's already into cars and bikes, but he gets anxious around me as we rarely see each other. But I'm sure we'll be best pals when he realizes we share a common passion. He is...

 
Latest GT7 Weekly Challenges Will Take You Up to 223 MPH
Latest GT7 Weekly Challenges Will Take You Up to 223 MPH

29 Jun 2024, 19:17 UTC · By: Dragos Chitulescu / Two months from now, I will be driving by FC RX-7 to the racetrack for its annual pilgrimage. I'm happy it's happening, but sad it can't happen more often. I think I might have to move to the racetrack. Until then, I discovered t...

 
Four New Hot Wheels Cars Which Are Bigger Than Usual
Four New Hot Wheels Cars Which Are Bigger Than Usual

29 Jun 2024, 15:54 UTC · By: Dragos Chitulescu / If you plan to start a model car collection, you must first make some important decisions. To get to that point, a list of questions needs answering. And it may not be as easy as you think. What scale are you interested in? What kind of cars do...

 
5 Hot Wheels Cars Mattel Hasn't Used in Years
5 Hot Wheels Cars Mattel Hasn't Used in Years

29 Jun 2024, 15:15 UTC · By: Dragos Chitulescu / Once you become a Hot Wheels collector, it's almost impossible to stop. Collectible after collectible, you'll soon find yourself in need of more space to store them all. And there's always something exciting to hunt for. Being par...

 
Hot Wheels Boulevard Set of Five Cars Will Sell Like Hot Cakes
Hot Wheels Boulevard Set of Five Cars Will Sell Like Hot Cakes

29 Jun 2024, 13:45 UTC · By: Dragos Chitulescu / I haven't bought a Premium Hot Wheels collectible in quite some time. Instead, I forgot my pledge to avoid purchasing more Mainline cars. But there's always time to change. In the next few days, I'll commit to a full day of unbox...

 
Six Audi R8 Line Up for a Family Drag Race, Care to Guess Who Won?
Six Audi R8 Line Up for a Family Drag Race, Care to Guess Who Won?

29 Jun 2024, 11:47 UTC · By: Dragos Chitulescu / Think about all of the great empires of the past. Each one reached a peak point and then started crumbling apart. It all reminds me of Asimov's Foundation, an excellent read if you're into Science Fiction, as I am. Times are changing,...

 
Driven: 2024 Mazda MX-5 Miata – Listen to Your Heart!
Driven: 2024 Mazda MX-5 Miata – Listen to Your Heart!

29 Jun 2024, 07:03 UTC · By: Dragos Chitulescu / I have practiced my Japanese daily since reading James Clavell's Shogun. I yearn to return to Japan someday, and I can't believe it took me 35 years to dive deep into Blackthorne's adventures. Coincidence or not, Mazda is also c...

 
McLaren P1 Undergoes Unthinkable Transformation in 100 Days
McLaren P1 Undergoes Unthinkable Transformation in 100 Days

28 Jun 2024, 10:18 UTC · By: Dragos Chitulescu / Can you remember what your life was like before the Internet? It's very hard for me to do so, as I've been here for 20 years. I have spent most of that time reading about and watching cars, motorcycles, and motorsports. Given my love f...

 
New Matchbox Collectors SLR McLaren Looks Like It Could Star in Tron
New Matchbox Collectors SLR McLaren Looks Like It Could Star in Tron

28 Jun 2024, 09:30 UTC · By: Dragos Chitulescu / I have been delaying my monthly diecast haul review for so long that it is now on its way to becoming a six-month analysis. To me, slowing down meant buying less than 50 new items overall for several months. And there's always room for mor...

 
New Hot Wheels NFT Nissan Skyline GT-R Could Cost $500 or More
New Hot Wheels NFT Nissan Skyline GT-R Could Cost $500 or More

28 Jun 2024, 07:55 UTC · By: Dragos Chitulescu /  Collecting Hot Wheels cars can easily become a full-time job. The only problem is that you'll only spend money instead of earning it. With so many updates coming out, few people can truly keep up with Mattel. That's why you need...

 
Temperature's Rising as Assetto Corsa Evo Is Set to Debut Soon
Temperature's Rising as Assetto Corsa Evo Is Set to Debut Soon

27 Jun 2024, 19:11 UTC · By: Dragos Chitulescu / Since my first computer in 1997, I have experimented with dozens of racing games. Today, I only play two regularly: Assetto Corsa and Gran Turismo 7. I spend so much time with the latter because I have a VR kit for it. Otherwise, it would be th...

 

Stories by Dragos Chitulescu