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.
2025 Toyota Camry Starting MSRP Confirmed, It's More Affordable Than Equivalent 2024 Model
2025 Toyota Camry Starting MSRP Confirmed, It's More Affordable Than Equivalent 2024 Model

17 Apr 2024, 20:53 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Revealed in late 2023 with styling influences from the Prius, the ninth-gen Camry now has a price tag. As per Toyota's online configurator, the newcomer is $28,400 excluding the $1,095 freight charge as opposed to $26,420 for the 2024 Toyota C...

 
The 2024 Mercedes-AMG C 63 S E PERFORMANCE Retails at $83,900 in the US
The 2024 Mercedes-AMG C 63 S E PERFORMANCE Retails at $83,900 in the US

17 Apr 2024, 19:08 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / One of the most obnoxiously named cars in automotive history will arrive in dealerships nationwide this quarter. The 2024 Mercedes-AMG C 63 S E PERFORMANCE costs $83,900 before destination, which adds $1,150 to the final price. Except for a name...

 
NHTSA Upgrages Probe Into Inadvertent AEB Allegations From Honda CR-V and Accord Owners
NHTSA Upgrages Probe Into Inadvertent AEB Allegations From Honda CR-V and Accord Owners

17 Apr 2024, 18:08 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is aware of 2,876 reports involving vehicles with unique VINs from Honda owners alleging inadvertent activation of the Collision Mitigation Braking System. The federal watchdog asked American Honda...

 
Ferrari Spied Testing 812 GTS-Replacing Retractable Hardtop Convertible Grand Tourer
Ferrari Spied Testing 812 GTS-Replacing Retractable Hardtop Convertible Grand Tourer

17 Apr 2024, 16:59 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / At the beginning of May 2024, the Prancing Horse of Maranello will unleash the successor to the 812 Superfast. Internally referred to as F167 versus F152M for the outgoing series of twelve-cylinder grand tourers, the newcomer will obviously be offe...

 
Ford Recalls Maverick and Bronco Sport for Undetected Low Battery Charge
Ford Recalls Maverick and Bronco Sport for Undetected Low Battery Charge

17 Apr 2024, 16:07 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Ford Motor Company has issued a mammoth safety recall affecting 456,565 examples of the Maverick pickup truck and the mechanically similar Bronco Sport crossover. As it happens, the body and powertrain control modules may fail to detect when th...

 
2025 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera Caught With Production Exhaust Outlets
2025 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera Caught With Production Exhaust Outlets

17 Apr 2024, 00:09 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Aston Martin continues testing the successor of the DBS Superleggera at the Nurburgring Nordschleife. The carparazzi have recently spied the most production-spec prototype thus far, a superb-looking machine with quad exhaust outlets rather than a d...

 
World's First Twin-Turbo 2024 Corvette E-Ray Clocks 9s in the Quarter Mile on Stock Tires
World's First Twin-Turbo 2024 Corvette E-Ray Clocks 9s in the Quarter Mile on Stock Tires

16 Apr 2024, 22:49 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Roshan Poptani and the BoostDistrict crew turned a Corvette E-Ray into the world's first twin-turbocharged Corvette E-Ray in the span of two weeks. With little in the way of testing, the pictured sports car took to the Texas Motorplex for some...

 
2025 Lotus Eletre US Pricing Information Confirmed, Two Versions Available
2025 Lotus Eletre US Pricing Information Confirmed, Two Versions Available

16 Apr 2024, 21:40 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Revealed with much pomp in 2022, the Eletre is the very first Lotus to come in the form of a sport utility vehicle. It's also the first Lotus to be manufactured in China. Hailing from Wuhan, the Eletre will reach customers in the United States...

 
Alpine A110 RS Continues Testing, Le Mans 24 Hours 2024 Premiere Mooted
Alpine A110 RS Continues Testing, Le Mans 24 Hours 2024 Premiere Mooted

16 Apr 2024, 20:03 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / In production since 2017, the Alpine A110 harks back to the original from the 1960s with a four-cylinder engine and rear-wheel drive. A superb-looking berlinetta that also happens to be very light by modern sports car standards, the overly expensiv...

 
Stock Ram 1500 TRX Drag Races Hennessey H850 Cadillac Escalade-V, It's Not Even Close
Stock Ram 1500 TRX Drag Races Hennessey H850 Cadillac Escalade-V, It's Not Even Close

16 Apr 2024, 18:07 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Hennessey Performance Engineering recently introduced the H850 upgrade package for the Cadillac Escalade-V. Although it's not as impressive as the H1000 upgrade package, 850 ponies at the crankshaft are more than plenty in a full-size luxury S...

 
Tuned Cadillac Escalade-V Lays Down 695 Wheel Horsepower on the Hennessey Dyno
Tuned Cadillac Escalade-V Lays Down 695 Wheel Horsepower on the Hennessey Dyno

16 Apr 2024, 17:01 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Be it standard or long wheelbase, Cadillac's range-topping sport utility vehicle can be had with a choice of three powerplants, beginning with a torquey inline-six turbo diesel. Higher up the spectrum, customers are presented with either the 6...

 
2025 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Boasts New Infotainment, More Safety Kit, Two Battery Options
2025 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Boasts New Infotainment, More Safety Kit, Two Battery Options

16 Apr 2024, 15:58 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Pricier than both direct rivals from the Ford Motor Company and Stellantis, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter has entered the 2025 model year with even higher prices. The fossil-fuel range now starts at $50,900 sans the ridiculously high $2,295 destinatio...

 
Dodge Durango R/T Drag Races Acura MDX Type S, They're Worlds Apart
Dodge Durango R/T Drag Races Acura MDX Type S, They're Worlds Apart

16 Apr 2024, 14:59 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Which is quicker in the quarter mile between a Durango with the Eagle V8 and an MDX with the J30AC V6? Sam CarLegion is much obliged to answer that question with two drag races at Dunville Autodrome in the province of Ontario, Canada. Pictured i...

 
2025 Toyota 4Runner Gets Virtual Redesign, Double Handlebar Mustache Is No More
2025 Toyota 4Runner Gets Virtual Redesign, Double Handlebar Mustache Is No More

16 Apr 2024, 14:03 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Marouane Bembli, who is better known as The Sketch Monkey on social media, fired up the Photoshop suite in order to redesign the 2025 Toyota 4Runner. Best described as being a mild alternation of an otherwise great-looking sport utility vehicle, hi...

 
Ford Recalls Bronco Sport Fake Hood Scoop Because It May Detach While Driving
Ford Recalls Bronco Sport Fake Hood Scoop Because It May Detach While Driving

16 Apr 2024, 12:59 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Back in the olden days, hood scoops were – more often than not – functional. But when it comes to modern vehicles, hood scoops rarely serve a functional purpose. The Ford Motor Company's Bronco Sport 2021 – 2024 Air Desi...

 
2026 Mercedes-Benz C-Class EV Spied Again, Will Compete With BMW's New i3
2026 Mercedes-Benz C-Class EV Spied Again, Will Compete With BMW's New i3

15 Apr 2024, 23:28 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Due to reach dealers in the second half of 2025 for the 2026 model year, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class EV borrows exterior styling cues from both the mid-size EQE and the larger EQS. Also influenced by the forthcoming CLA EV, the newcomer will face sti...

 
2024 Ram 1500 TRX Successor Teased, 2025 Ram 1500 RHO Coming April 25 With TT I6 Muscle
2024 Ram 1500 TRX Successor Teased, 2025 Ram 1500 RHO Coming April 25 With TT I6 Muscle

15 Apr 2024, 22:28 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Ram 1500 TRX will be retired after model year 2024. Its long-awaited replacement is the RHO, which – as implied – means Ram High Output. One can also make a case for Rebel High Output, for the Rebel comes with the standard-output Hu...

 
2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 XRT Rugged Trim Level Spied Testing, Features All-Terrain Rubber
2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 XRT Rugged Trim Level Spied Testing, Features All-Terrain Rubber

15 Apr 2024, 21:07 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Hyundai brand's idea of rugged is XRT, a trim level introduced by the Santa Fe a few years ago. Now available on Santa Cruz, Tucson, and Palisade as well, the XRT grade will be expanded to the South Korean marque's electric vehicles later...

 
Alfa Romeo Milano Who? Italian Automaker Begrudgingly Renames Small Crossover
Alfa Romeo Milano Who? Italian Automaker Begrudgingly Renames Small Crossover

15 Apr 2024, 19:57 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Champagne is a type of sparkling wine exclusive to the Champagne region of the French Republic. There is a parallel to be made with Parmigiano Reggiano, an Italian cheese specific to the provinces of Parma and Reggio Emilia. The Italian Parliame...

 
2024 Ford Ranger Raptor Races F-150 Raptor 37, Should Have Stayed Put
2024 Ford Ranger Raptor Races F-150 Raptor 37, Should Have Stayed Put

15 Apr 2024, 18:58 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / For the first time ever in Raptor history, the Ranger Raptor is available stateside. Manufactured at the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne alongside the Bronco, the 2024 model year Ford Ranger Raptor features the same 3.0-liter EcoBoost twin-turbo V...

 

Stories by Mircea Panait