autoevolution
 

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.
Hyundai Ioniq 5 N Drag Races Lamborghini Urus, Internal Combustion Loyalists Won't Like It
Hyundai Ioniq 5 N Drag Races Lamborghini Urus, Internal Combustion Loyalists Won't Like It

8 May 2024, 19:07 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Hyundai's most powerful series-production vehicle is – no surprises here – an electric sport utility vehicle. Developed for driving fun rather than breaking records, the Ioniq 5 N is pretty fast in a straight line. Thomas and James...

 
1,043-HP Ford F-150 Raptor R Drag Races Ram 1500 TRX, Henessey's Truck Is Crazy Fast
1,043-HP Ford F-150 Raptor R Drag Races Ram 1500 TRX, Henessey's Truck Is Crazy Fast

8 May 2024, 17:05 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / When it comes to ridiculously powerful trucks, a couple of gas-guzzling dune bashers come to mind. The recently discontinued Ram 1500 TRX packs a 6.2-liter V8 topped by an IHI-supplied blower, whereas the Ford F-150 Raptor R is rocking a 5.2-liter ...

 
Bentley Retires W12 Engine for Ultra Performance Hybrid V8 Rated at Over 740 HP
Bentley Retires W12 Engine for Ultra Performance Hybrid V8 Rated at Over 740 HP

8 May 2024, 15:51 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Even though Audi was the first to use the Volkswagen Group's long-running W12 engine in the D2-series A8 back in 2001 , said powerplant is obviously associated with Bentley. First used by the British marque in the Continental GT, the twelve-cy...

 
2025 Volkswagen California T7 Camper Van Goes Live With Hybrid Oomph, MQB Underpinnings
2025 Volkswagen California T7 Camper Van Goes Live With Hybrid Oomph, MQB Underpinnings

7 May 2024, 19:52 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Closely related to Volkswagen's T7 Multivan, the all-new California has been revealed with much pomp and circumstance. It joins the Caddy California, the slightly larger California 6.1, and the Grand California. The latter is based on the Craf...

 
2024 Genesis G80 and G90 Luxury Sedans Earn Top Safety Pick+ Awards From the IIHS
2024 Genesis G80 and G90 Luxury Sedans Earn Top Safety Pick+ Awards From the IIHS

7 May 2024, 18:25 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Virginia-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has recently tested a couple of luxury sedans from the Hyundai-owned Genesis brand. Not surprising in the least, both the G80 and G90 have received the nonprofit's most coveted award fo...

 
Hennessey Dyno Tests VelociRaptoR 1000 Ford F-150 Raptor R, Supertruck Lays Down 783 WHP
Hennessey Dyno Tests VelociRaptoR 1000 Ford F-150 Raptor R, Supertruck Lays Down 783 WHP

6 May 2024, 23:12 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The S550-generation Shelby GT500 was discontinued after model year 2022 because of the F-150 Raptor R, which uses a slightly different setup from the Blue Oval's 760-hp muscle car. The biggest change is the 2.91-inch supercharger pulley as opp...

 
2024 Kia Sorento Earns Top Safety Pick Award From IIHS
2024 Kia Sorento Earns Top Safety Pick Award From IIHS

6 May 2024, 22:01 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The fourth-generation Sorento launched in the first half of 2020 for the 2021 model year. Kia refreshed the mid-size crossover in late 2023 for 2024, but alas, the hybrid and plug-in hybrid will reach dealers nationwide as 2025 models. Regarding th...

 
Lamborghini Confirms Hybrid Assistance for the Huracan's Heir, Will Debut Later This Year
Lamborghini Confirms Hybrid Assistance for the Huracan's Heir, Will Debut Later This Year

6 May 2024, 20:55 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / At the beginning of 2024, the Raging Bull of Sant'Agata Bolognese confirmed a plug-in hybrid Urus for model year 2025 as the replacement for the fossil fuel-only Urus S and Urus Performante. Under the Direzione Cor Tauri product strategy plan,...

 
Volkswagen Scirocco Mk4 Rendering Proposes ID. CODE Styling Cues for a Golf-Sized Coupe
Volkswagen Scirocco Mk4 Rendering Proposes ID. CODE Styling Cues for a Golf-Sized Coupe

6 May 2024, 19:56 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Originally produced between 1974 and 1992 on the A1 platform of the Golf Mk1, the Scirocco was revived in 2008 with A5 underpinnings from the Golf Mk5. Never sold in the US due to unfavorable USD-EUR exchange rates, the third-generation Scirocco le...

 
992 Porsche 911 Turbo Drag Races 2024 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 Coupe, It's Not Even Close
992 Porsche 911 Turbo Drag Races 2024 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 Coupe, It's Not Even Close

6 May 2024, 18:09 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Porsche's definition of a performance-oriented sports car is the 992-generation 911 Turbo. The closest rival from the folks at Mercedes-AMG GmbH is the 2024 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 Coupe, which is a completely different animal from the Neunelfer, s...

 
Chinese 2024 Ford Bronco Is Pricier Than US Model, 2.3L EcoBoost Will Have To Suffice
Chinese 2024 Ford Bronco Is Pricier Than US Model, 2.3L EcoBoost Will Have To Suffice

6 May 2024, 17:00 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Internally referred to as U725, the sixth-generation Bronco was revealed in June 2021 for the 2021 model year with Ranger  T6-derived underpinnings. Just under three years since Ford Motor Company unleashed the Jeep Wrangler-rivaling sport uti...

 
Porsche Taycan 4S Drag Races Budget Performance EV, the Underdog Puts Up a Good Fight
Porsche Taycan 4S Drag Races Budget Performance EV, the Underdog Puts Up a Good Fight

5 May 2024, 03:04 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The MG of 2024 is a very different company from the British automaker from the good ol' days. Owned by Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation since 2007, the storied marque specializes in affordable and electric vehicles. MG4 EV XPOWER is...

 
Liberty Walk Toyota Land Cruiser 300 Widebody Kit Will Set You Back $19,580
Liberty Walk Toyota Land Cruiser 300 Widebody Kit Will Set You Back $19,580

5 May 2024, 02:48 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Not all Liberty Walk body kits are created equal. The LB-WORKS LAND CRUISER 300 in the photo gallery, for example, is one of three series of body kits produced by the Japanese company. LB-Works means full body kit; LB-Performance stands for kits...

 
Dodge Demon 170 Drag Races 2013 Ford Mustang Super Cobra Jet, Instantly Regrets It
Dodge Demon 170 Drag Races 2013 Ford Mustang Super Cobra Jet, Instantly Regrets It

5 May 2024, 02:32 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / 2013 was the penultimate model year of the fifth-generation Mustang, which saw the 5.0-liter Coyote V8 of the GT gain 8 horsepower. The Cobra Jet, however, is a completely different animal from the series-production GT. Officially designated par...

 
Lancia Sports Car Rendering Proposes RWD Roadster With Italian-Japanese Mechanicals
Lancia Sports Car Rendering Proposes RWD Roadster With Italian-Japanese Mechanicals

5 May 2024, 01:22 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Remember Lancia? How about Lancia's final convertible? Two years before Fiat and Chrysler tied the knot to create Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, the Chrysler 200 Convertible spawned the poor-selling Lancia Flavia. Lancia presented convertible a...

 
Ram Trucks Australia Hits Milestone: 30,000 Full-Size Pickups Delivered Since 2014
Ram Trucks Australia Hits Milestone: 30,000 Full-Size Pickups Delivered Since 2014

5 May 2024, 01:02 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. was founded in 2014, the year FCA established Ram Trucks Australia. Now part of Stellantis, the automaker managed to deliver no fewer than 30,000 examples of the Ram P/U in Australia and New Zealand. P/U is Ram ver...

 
2024 Cadillac XT5 Recalled Over Driver Airbag That May Tear During Deployment
2024 Cadillac XT5 Recalled Over Driver Airbag That May Tear During Deployment

5 May 2024, 00:04 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The XT5 sold 26,808 units in the United States last year, plus 6,275 in the first quarter of the current year, putting it well behind the pickup truck-based Escalade as the second best-selling Caddy of the lot. Even though it started production mor...

 
Watch the 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray Clock 10.7s in the Quarter Mile on Factory Tires
Watch the 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray Clock 10.7s in the Quarter Mile on Factory Tires

4 May 2024, 19:18 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / GM says the 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray is the quickest Corvette of them all, for it needs 2.5 seconds to hit 60 miles per hour (97 kilometers per hour) and 10.5 seconds for the quarter mile. United States Navy Reserve officer and professional st...

 
Dodge Demon 170 Races Lucid Air Sapphire, Both Run 9s
Dodge Demon 170 Races Lucid Air Sapphire, Both Run 9s

4 May 2024, 18:18 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / As far as production muscle cars are concerned, nothing quite matches the Demon 170. But even with 1,025 ponies on deck, the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 fails to keep the Lucid Air Sapphire at bay in the quarter mile. Pictured at Bradent...

 
2025 Ford Maverick Facelift Spied With SYNC 4 Infotainment, Minor Styling Updates
2025 Ford Maverick Facelift Spied With SYNC 4 Infotainment, Minor Styling Updates

4 May 2024, 16:36 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Codenamed P758, the Maverick pickup truck rolled out in 2021 for the 2022 model year with a choice of 2.0-liter turbo and 2.5-liter hybrid powertrains. For 2025, a mid-cycle refresh is due with lots of small exterior styling updates and some tech-r...

 

Stories by Mircea Panait