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Mircea Panait

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Personal motto:

"If in doubt, flat out." - Colin McRae

Senior Contributor
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Little did he knew back then, but a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO is what sparked Mircea’s interest for cars when he was just a kid. Despite studying mathematics and informatics in high school and economics in university, Mircea turned his passion for all things automotive into a job.
 
Interning for Top Gear was his first foray in automotive journalism, and not long after that, a full-time position was opened for Mircea to seal the deal. Just about three years later, autoevolution became his new home.
 
Especially interested in American ponies and muscle cars, Mircea also finds the Japanese domestic market appealing thanks to the quirkiness of kei cars. Full-size pickups like the Ram 1500 and off-roaders such as the Ford Ranger Raptor and Jeep Gladiator Rubicon are much to his liking as well.
 
A self-described master of pasta and an avid CCG player, Mircea’s past-time activities include playing his Epiphone Les Paul Special Vintage Edition electric guitar, discovering the wonders of the Carpathian mountains by foot, and driving to the Black Sea to get a well-deserved tan.
2025 Lancia Ypsilon HF Boasts 237-Horse Electric Powertrain, It's FWD Only
2025 Lancia Ypsilon HF Boasts 237-Horse Electric Powertrain, It's FWD Only

27 May 2024, 20:11 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Lancia has just revealed the all-new Ypsilon HF, but prospective customers will have to wait until May 2025 to place orders on the zero-emission performance hatchback. Twinned with the Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica Veloce and the Abarth 600e, this fe...

 
BMW Recalls X5, X6, X7, XM Over Safety Concern
BMW Recalls X5, X6, X7, XM Over Safety Concern

27 May 2024, 19:03 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Precisely 3,256 units of the 2025 model year BMW X5, X6, X7, and performance-oriented XM have been recalled for a noncompliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208, which regulates occupant crash protection. The reason behind this recall...

 
Porsche Recalls Certain 718 Sports Cars To Replace Transmission Shift Cable
Porsche Recalls Certain 718 Sports Cars To Replace Transmission Shift Cable

27 May 2024, 16:53 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / On their way out in Europe over new cybersecurity laws that come into effect in July 2024, the Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman have been recalled in the United States for a safety concern. Specifically, the safety clip on the PDK transmission&n...

 
BMW i4 M50 Drag Races MG4 EV XPOWER, Budget Electric Vehicle Clocks Just Over 12 Seconds
BMW i4 M50 Drag Races MG4 EV XPOWER, Budget Electric Vehicle Clocks Just Over 12 Seconds

27 May 2024, 16:02 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Previously marketed as the Mulan, the MG4 EV is a compact-sized electric hatchback that can be had in performance-oriented flavor. Dubbed XPOWER, said version is available in the United Kingdom at 36,495 pounds sterling or circa 46,630 bucks. Th...

 
VW Recalls ID.4 for Software Issue Affecting the Instrument Panel and Infotainment System
VW Recalls ID.4 for Software Issue Affecting the Instrument Panel and Infotainment System

27 May 2024, 15:06 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The ID.4 has been hit with a safety recall comprising 79,953 vehicles produced for the US market. A software-based issue may result in the infotainment system and instrument panel not booting up or sporadically resetting. The loss of rearview camer...

 
1,200-HP Ram TRX Races Bone-Stock Ford GT, Both Are Stupidly Quick
1,200-HP Ram TRX Races Bone-Stock Ford GT, Both Are Stupidly Quick

26 May 2024, 20:55 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The most powerful truck offered by the folks at Hennessey is dubbed Mammoth 1200, with the 1200 being the advertised power figure in mechanical ponies. The question is, can this Hellcat-engined supertruck hold its own against a proper supercar in t...

 
Kia Recalls 2022 Niro EV Over High-Voltage Battery Safety Plug That May Overheat
Kia Recalls 2022 Niro EV Over High-Voltage Battery Safety Plug That May Overheat

26 May 2024, 17:06 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Twinned with the original Ioniq series from Hyundai, the first-generation Kia Niro has been hit with a safety recall. According to Kia America, the high-voltage battery safety plug of certain 2022 Kia Niro EV models is prone to overheating, which m...

 
FL5 Honda Civic Type R Mugen Group A Kit Looks Wild, Promises 25 Percent More Downforce
FL5 Honda Civic Type R Mugen Group A Kit Looks Wild, Promises 25 Percent More Downforce

19 May 2024, 01:02 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The 2023 and newer Civic Type R is a pretty wild-looking hatchback by compact hatch standards. However, the company founded by Soichiro Honda's son and Masao Kimura has taken the FL5 to the next level with the so-called Group A kit. Focused...

 
Paragon Performance C8 Corvette Convertible Clear Engine Cover Options Sure Look Sweet
Paragon Performance C8 Corvette Convertible Clear Engine Cover Options Sure Look Sweet

18 May 2024, 01:02 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / If you want to make your C8 Corvette Convertible's engine bay look better than stock, the folks at Paragon Performance have three solutions in store, beginning with a clear engine cover from General Motors. Retailing at $1,150.63 on the Iowa-b...

 
Mercedes SL-Based Mythos Speedster Will Debut Late 2024, Preview Scheduled This Summer
Mercedes SL-Based Mythos Speedster Will Debut Late 2024, Preview Scheduled This Summer

17 May 2024, 19:58 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Mercedes didn’t enjoy too much success with the first revival of Maybach, but once it became Mercedes-Maybach, the ultra-luxury marque started printing money for the German automaker. Stuttgart's favorite son will debut a new marque for ...

 
Tim Kuniskis Retires After Nearly 32 Years With Chrysler
Tim Kuniskis Retires After Nearly 32 Years With Chrysler

17 May 2024, 19:02 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Timothy Kuniskis joined Chrysler when America's third-largest automaker was known as the Chrysler Corporation. Almost 32 years later, the man who transformed the Dodge brand into the Brotherhood of Muscle is retiring. He will be replaced as ch...

 
The Acura ZDX Type S Is Pikes Peak International Hill Climb's First Electric Pace Car
The Acura ZDX Type S Is Pikes Peak International Hill Climb's First Electric Pace Car

17 May 2024, 18:02 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Remember the ZDX? Acura didn't sell too many of them. The V6-powered crossover sold in abysmally poor numbers, prompting the higher-ups at Honda to discontinue it after 2013. All told, 7,191 units were sold between model years 2010 and 2013. ...

 
2025 BMW M5 Sedan Prototype Spied While Charging, Will Debut Summer 2024
2025 BMW M5 Sedan Prototype Spied While Charging, Will Debut Summer 2024

17 May 2024, 16:15 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Scheduled for a July 2024 release, the next-generation M5 will be the first one to combine internal combustion with electric oomph. The plug-in hybrid setup is believed to be similar to that of the XM sport utility vehicle, as in twin-turbo V8 up f...

 
Kia Electric Pickup Truck Spied in the US With EV9 Front End and Santa Cruz Taillights
Kia Electric Pickup Truck Spied in the US With EV9 Front End and Santa Cruz Taillights

17 May 2024, 15:08 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Kia EV9 is the largest electric vehicle based on Hyundai's Electric Global Modular Platform. Slightly longer than the front-biased Telluride, the EV9 will soon get a pickup truck-bodied sibling. Spied by KindelAuto in the United States,...

 
Ford Urges EV Suppliers To Cut Costs Wherever Possible
Ford Urges EV Suppliers To Cut Costs Wherever Possible

17 May 2024, 14:13 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Many automakers have realized that EV demand is cooling off in favor of hybrids and plug-in hybrids. That is exactly the reason why General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Stellantis are pivoting toward HEVs and PHEVs to the detriment of EVs, which...

 
Ford CEO Doesn't Rule Out Mustang Sedan, Hybrid Powertrain Under Development
Ford CEO Doesn't Rule Out Mustang Sedan, Hybrid Powertrain Under Development

17 May 2024, 13:02 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / S650 is what Ford calls the seventh-generation Mustang, which is closely related to the S650 before it. For the S750, it was previously reported that Ford's pony car would transition to the GE2 platform of the next-generation Mustang Mach-E. ...

 
2025 MINI Countryman Recalled Over Armrest That May Detach When Airbag Deploys
2025 MINI Countryman Recalled Over Armrest That May Detach When Airbag Deploys

17 May 2024, 11:03 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Revealed in November 2023 as a 2025 model, the new Countryman has been hit with a safety recall. BMW of North America determined that the rear side door panel armrest support bracket may not have been fitted according to specifications by the suppl...

 
Paragon Performance Reveals How Much Power the C8 Corvette Stingray Makes With E85 Fuel
Paragon Performance Reveals How Much Power the C8 Corvette Stingray Makes With E85 Fuel

16 May 2024, 20:45 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The C8-generation Corvette Stingray uses a 6.2-liter small block that makes a respectable 490 horsepower and 465 pound-feet (630 Nm) as standard. Opting for the NPP exhaust system results in 495 horsepower and 470 pound-feet (637 Nm), but alas, you...

 
Here's Why the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Scored Marginal in the Moderate Overlap Crash Test
Here's Why the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Scored Marginal in the Moderate Overlap Crash Test

16 May 2024, 19:57 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has recently tested the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe, which did not get the nonprofit organization's Top Safety Pick+ award. As media relations director Joe Young explains in the video below, the reason for ...

 
This GNX-Style 1987 Buick Regal Is Actually a 1986 Chevy El Camino Under the Sheet Metal
This GNX-Style 1987 Buick Regal Is Actually a 1986 Chevy El Camino Under the Sheet Metal

16 May 2024, 18:26 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The good ol' Elky rolled out for the 1959 model year, and General Motors kept making the coupe utility through 1987. The final generation could be had with anything from a 3.3-liter naturally aspirated V6 to a 5.7-liter small block or a 5.7-li...

 

Stories by Mircea Panait