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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.
GM Trademarks Zora Nameplate in Mexico, Potentially for 1,000-HP Hybrid Corvette C8
GM Trademarks Zora Nameplate in Mexico, Potentially for 1,000-HP Hybrid Corvette C8

3 Jul 2024, 14:14 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Born Zachar Arkus, the man known to history as Zachary Arkus-Duntov was instrumental in the evolution of the Corvette from a Euro-inspired convertible to a proper sports car that saw much success on the world's racetracks. The American enginee...

 
Toyota Recalls Lexus RX and NX Crossovers for Incorrectly Machined Front Headrest Stays
Toyota Recalls Lexus RX and NX Crossovers for Incorrectly Machined Front Headrest Stays

3 Jul 2024, 12:12 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Toyota Motors Engineering and Manufacturing has determined that 11,418 units of the RX and NX may have been produced with front headrests that may be inadvertently removed without pressing the lock release button. The problem stems from an error in...

 
Ford Recalls S550 Mustang Over Improperly Calibrated Steering Torque Sensor
Ford Recalls S550 Mustang Over Improperly Calibrated Steering Torque Sensor

3 Jul 2024, 11:12 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Ford Motor Company has identified a problem affecting certain 2022 and 2023 model year Mustang fastbacks and convertibles. According to Dearborn's favorite son, a steering torque sensor may not be calibrated properly, thus causing the stee...

 
AWE Launches Touring and Track Cat-Back Exhausts for the 2024 Acura Integra Type S
AWE Launches Touring and Track Cat-Back Exhausts for the 2024 Acura Integra Type S

2 Jul 2024, 21:12 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / AWE has turned its attention to the Civic Type R's fancier cousin with a pair of cat-back exhaust systems. Enter the Touring Edition and Track Edition, with both packing a full 3.0-inch frontpipe that will mate to the factory downpipe. Dyno...

 
Lamborghini Revuelto Acceleration Test Shows Impressive 0-60 Time
Lamborghini Revuelto Acceleration Test Shows Impressive 0-60 Time

2 Jul 2024, 20:16 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Brooks Weisblat of DragTimes recently had the opportunity to drive a Revuelto. As expected of Brooks, he squeezed out everything the 1,001-horse supercar could offer from a standstill, posting a best of 2.58 seconds to 60 miles per hour (97 kilomet...

 
Mercedes-AMG G 63 Drag Races BMW M3, It's Very Close
Mercedes-AMG G 63 Drag Races BMW M3, It's Very Close

2 Jul 2024, 19:14 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Tang and the CSL AutoTime crew are back with a fairly weird quarter-mile showdown between an F80-generation M3 and the W463-series G 63. Before going any further, it should be mentioned that CSL AutoTime presenter Tang modified his performance seda...

 
One-Off Pagani Huayra Epitome Flaunts Manual Transmission, Packs 852 Horsepower
One-Off Pagani Huayra Epitome Flaunts Manual Transmission, Packs 852 Horsepower

2 Jul 2024, 18:12 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / After the Imola Roadster, the Grandi Complicazioni division is back with a manual-equipped supercar that can only be described as peak Huayra because it's the only road-legal Huayra to feature a row-your-own transmission. Dubbed Huayra Epitome...

 
Bugatti Tourbillon Sales Invoice to Ukrainian First Lady Turns Out To Be Fake, Obviously
Bugatti Tourbillon Sales Invoice to Ukrainian First Lady Turns Out To Be Fake, Obviously

2 Jul 2024, 17:20 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / X misinformation and propaganda superspreader accounts with pro-Russia stances in regard to the Russian Federation's illegal war in Ukraine have failed to discredit the Ukrainian presidential couple yet again. It all started with a fake sales ...

 
Chevrolet Rolls Out L8P Crate Engine With Corvette-Style Camshaft
Chevrolet Rolls Out L8P Crate Engine With Corvette-Style Camshaft

2 Jul 2024, 16:12 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Chevrolet's Performance division has launched a new crate engine in the form of the L8P, namely a free-breathing small block that combines the best of both worlds. For starters, L8P is derived from the L8T truck motor of the Chevrolet Silverad...

 
BMW Starts Production of the New M5 in Dingolfing and the New 1 Series in Leipzig
BMW Starts Production of the New M5 in Dingolfing and the New 1 Series in Leipzig

2 Jul 2024, 15:11 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The BMW Group has announced that both the new M5 and 1 Series are in production at the Dingolfing and Leipzig assembly plants. The performance sedan and compact hatchback couldn't be more different under the skin, and the same can be said abou...

 
2025 Ferrari F250 Sketch Reveals Vision Gran Turismo Styling Influences
2025 Ferrari F250 Sketch Reveals Vision Gran Turismo Styling Influences

2 Jul 2024, 14:07 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Ferrari prepares to unveil the LaFerrari-replacing F250, whose actual name isn't currently known. As per the red invite box handed out by the Prancing Horse to prospective customers, the newcomer does hark back to the Vision Gran Turismo racec...

 
Old Mercedes-AMG E 63 Drag Races New C 63 and Tuned A 45, It Certainly Sounds the Best
Old Mercedes-AMG E 63 Drag Races New C 63 and Tuned A 45, It Certainly Sounds the Best

2 Jul 2024, 13:05 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The most affordable AMG with a proper AMG engine is the A 45 S. Powered by a hand-built turbo four-cylinder with a displacement of 2.0 liters rather than an AMG-enhanced mill for the A 35, the punchier sibling puts out a massive 421 pferdestarke an...

 
2026 Audi RS 6 e-tron Spied Towing, Shows 21-Inch Wheels Mounted With Pirelli Rubber
2026 Audi RS 6 e-tron Spied Towing, Shows 21-Inch Wheels Mounted With Pirelli Rubber

1 Jul 2024, 20:35 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The RS 6 was last redesigned in 2020 with MLB Evo underpinnings. Powered by the 4.0-liter TFSI V8, the outgoing RS 6 Avant will soon be replaced by the RS 7 Sedan and RS 7 Avant. You can blame Audi's electric vehicle wokeness for this peculiar...

 
Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut Snatches 0-400-0 KPH Record From Hybrid-Assisted Regera
Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut Snatches 0-400-0 KPH Record From Hybrid-Assisted Regera

1 Jul 2024, 19:07 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Back in May 2023, the Rimac Nevera smashed the 0-400-0 KPH record of the Koenigsegg Regera by 1.5 seconds. That would be 29.93 seconds from a standstill to 249 miles per hour and back to zero again, which is absolutely insane. Christian von Koen...

 
NHTSA Investigates Honda Over Recall Remedy for the Ridgeline's Failing Rearview Camera
NHTSA Investigates Honda Over Recall Remedy for the Ridgeline's Failing Rearview Camera

1 Jul 2024, 16:49 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Back in November 2022, the folks at Honda filed safety recall 22V-867 with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for the 2017 – 2019 Honda Ridgeline over a rearview camera tailgate wire harness that may break from simply opening ...

 
Certain Toyota Highlander SUVs Recalled Over Tires With Insufficient Load Rating
Certain Toyota Highlander SUVs Recalled Over Tires With Insufficient Load Rating

1 Jul 2024, 13:52 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The largest private distributor of Toyota automobiles in the world has issued a safety recall for 4,763 units of the 2021 through 2024 Toyota Highlander. Said vehicles feature 20-inch accessory tires with an insufficient load rating, which may lead...

 
VW Identifies Software Issue Affecting Golf GTI, Golf R, Atlas, Atlas Cross Sport Vehicles
VW Identifies Software Issue Affecting Golf GTI, Golf R, Atlas, Atlas Cross Sport Vehicles

30 Jun 2024, 08:12 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Volkswagen Group of America has issued a safety recall for 84,432 vehicles from the Golf and Atlas model families, with affected model years ranging from 2022 to 2024 and production dates from September 9, 2021 to March 16, 2024. The affected Golf ...

 
Nissan Recalls 2024 Frontier Over Ball Joint That May Separate From Lower Link
Nissan Recalls 2024 Frontier Over Ball Joint That May Separate From Lower Link

29 Jun 2024, 20:39 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The only midsizer that comes by default with six cylinders for 2024, the Frontier has been hit with a safety recall. According to Nissan, a little under 6,000 units were produced between January 29, 2024 and March 4, 2024 with an oversized ball joi...

 
2025 Toyota GR Supra Ditches Four-Cylinder Engine, Keeps Manual Transmission
2025 Toyota GR Supra Ditches Four-Cylinder Engine, Keeps Manual Transmission

28 Jun 2024, 20:58 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The fifth-generation Supra has entered the 2025 model year in the United States, where it's changed a bit from the outgoing Supra. Rather than $46,440 for the most basic of 2024 specs, the newcomer starts at $56,250 – sans destination ch...

 
Fisker Ocean Hit With Another Safety Recall, the Door Handles Can Stick and Fail To Open
Fisker Ocean Hit With Another Safety Recall, the Door Handles Can Stick and Fail To Open

28 Jun 2024, 18:07 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / As if filing for bankruptcy wasn't bad enough, Fisker has issued a new recall concerning the Ocean electric sport utility vehicle. It comprises 8,204 units in the United States or 12,523 if you further include Canada and European markets. ...

 

Stories by Mircea Panait