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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 Rolls-Royce Cullinan Facelift Spied Flaunting Subtle Updates
2025 Rolls-Royce Cullinan Facelift Spied Flaunting Subtle Updates

12 Dec 2023, 00:08 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Slotted above the Ghost ultra-luxury sedan, the Cullinan is the first-ever sport utility vehicle to bear the Rolls-Royce Spirit of Ecstasy. Some peeps describe it as blasphemy, although said folks ignore the fact that Rolls-Royce wouldn't have...

 
New Hyundai Kona Electric Finally Available to Order in the US, Offers 261 Miles of Range
New Hyundai Kona Electric Finally Available to Order in the US, Offers 261 Miles of Range

11 Dec 2023, 23:00 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Internally referred to as SX2, the second-generation Kona for the US market was revealed with much pomp at the New York International Auto Show back in April 2023. The lineup consists of the internal combustion-engined and the all-electric Kona, wi...

 
2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid Gets $28,290 Starting Price, Adds More Standard Equipment
2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid Gets $28,290 Starting Price, Adds More Standard Equipment

11 Dec 2023, 21:54 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Refreshed last year, the Sportage Hybrid enters 2024 with two mindful additions to the list of standard equipment. In addition to projection-type LED headlights, seat-mounted airbags for the second-row seats are standard equipment for the 2024 mode...

 
Mercedes-AMG GT 43 Spied With Less Visual Pizzazz Than V8-Powered GT 55
Mercedes-AMG GT 43 Spied With Less Visual Pizzazz Than V8-Powered GT 55

11 Dec 2023, 20:15 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Internally referred to as C190 for the coupe and R190 for the cloth-top convertible, the Mercedes-AMG GT rolled out in April 2014 for the 2015 model year. The second generation is an entirely different animal in more than one way, that way being th...

 
Ferrari SF90 Drag Races Heavily Tuned Lamborghini Huracan, Someone Jumps the Start
Ferrari SF90 Drag Races Heavily Tuned Lamborghini Huracan, Someone Jumps the Start

11 Dec 2023, 19:08 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Hoonigan crew is back with a thoroughly interesting pair of go-faster machines. The contenders are Ferrari's ridiculously capable SF90 Stradale and Lamborghini's aging Huracan, although only the Fezza is completely stock. Regarding th...

 
2024 Dacia Duster Cabrio 2-Door SUV Rendering Looks Exotic, Sadly Doesn't Make Sense
2024 Dacia Duster Cabrio 2-Door SUV Rendering Looks Exotic, Sadly Doesn't Make Sense

11 Dec 2023, 17:59 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Hungarian pixel artist X-Tomi Design returns with a two-door take on the all-new Duster. What's more, this design study also dropped the fixed metal roof in favor of an electrically operated cloth top. Said configuration isn't exactly ...

 
2024 Lancia Ypsilon Spied Inside and Out, Newcomer Twinned With Opel Corsa and Peugeot 208
2024 Lancia Ypsilon Spied Inside and Out, Newcomer Twinned With Opel Corsa and Peugeot 208

11 Dec 2023, 16:19 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / When Vincenzo Lancia was running the show, Lancia was a maverick of the automotive industry. His left-field ethos carried over to the big kahunas and engineers from the post-Vincenzo Lancia era. From the oh-so-pretty Fulvia to the purpose-built Str...

 
Suzuki Jimny Electric 4x4 Imagined With Three- and Five-Door Options
Suzuki Jimny Electric 4x4 Imagined With Three- and Five-Door Options

11 Dec 2023, 14:32 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Suzuki aims to achieve carbon neutrality in the European Union no later than 2050. That's more than a quarter of a century away from the present day, but as you're well aware, Japanese manufacturers are laggards in all things battery-elec...

 
Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Drag Races Lamborghini Huracan Tecnica, OG Puts Up a Good Fight
Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Drag Races Lamborghini Huracan Tecnica, OG Puts Up a Good Fight

10 Dec 2023, 16:04 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Aventador clearly isn't the Volkswagen Group's first Lamborghini, but it's the first Lamborghini to feature a completely different V12 from the Giotto Bizzarrini-designed masterpiece that served the Raging Bull of Sant'Agata...

 
ICE-Powered Chrysler 300 Prepares To End Production, New 300 EV Incoming
ICE-Powered Chrysler 300 Prepares To End Production, New 300 EV Incoming

10 Dec 2023, 14:40 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Chrysler 300 story began in the 1950s with the introduction of the 300-letter series for the 1955 model year. Though advertised as a personal luxury car, the C-300 was a wolf in sheep's clothing due to its 300-hp Hemi V8, namely the 331-ci...

 
The Ferrari LaFerrari's Monocoque Costs Crazy Money To Replace, Are You Surprised?
The Ferrari LaFerrari's Monocoque Costs Crazy Money To Replace, Are You Surprised?

9 Dec 2023, 01:35 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Prancing Horse of Maranello produced only 710 examples of the LaFerrari between June 2013 and August 2018. Penned by the peeps at Centro Stile Ferrari under the direction of Italian automobile designer Flavio Manzoni, the KERS-infused hypercar ...

 
2025 Dodge Charger Unofficial Rendering Sports Circular Headlamps, Doesn't Look Half Bad
2025 Dodge Charger Unofficial Rendering Sports Circular Headlamps, Doesn't Look Half Bad

9 Dec 2023, 00:09 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / When YouTube informed me that Dodge published a new video titled "Think Twice," yours truly thought about two things. First and foremost, yet another ad that glorifies the third-gen HEMI in all its forms. And secondly, Think Twice is also...

 
Mercedes Recalls Blue-Painted Sprinter Vans Over Windows That May Detach
Mercedes Recalls Blue-Painted Sprinter Vans Over Windows That May Detach

8 Dec 2023, 23:03 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Daimler Vans USA has issued a safety recall for a handful of Sprinter vans produced for the 2021 – 2023 model years. The vans in question were sold under the Mercedes-Benz and Freightliner brands. To whom it may concern, the Freightliner vers...

 
Contrary to Rumors, the S650 Ford Mustang Won't Be Discontinued in 2028
Contrary to Rumors, the S650 Ford Mustang Won't Be Discontinued in 2028

8 Dec 2023, 21:00 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / There is a rumor doing the rounds on social media, a rumor according to which the seventh-generation Mustang will end production in 2028. Spoiler alert: don't believe everything you see on social media. It all started on November 30 due to ...

 
Porsche Recalls 718 Cayman and Boxster Due to Potentially Obstructed Center Brake Light
Porsche Recalls 718 Cayman and Boxster Due to Potentially Obstructed Center Brake Light

8 Dec 2023, 20:03 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / A model that still polarizes opinion, especially among 911 enthusiasts, the Boxster welcomed a coupe-bodied sibling in the form of the Cayman back in 2005. The boxer-engined sports car was downgraded to four-cylinder engines with the fourth generat...

 
New Chevrolet Bolt EV Coming 2025 With LFP Battery
New Chevrolet Bolt EV Coming 2025 With LFP Battery

8 Dec 2023, 19:17 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Marketed in Europe under the Opel and Vauxhall brands, the Chevrolet Bolt will end production on December 20, 2023 due to a multitude of reasons. First and foremost, it's definitely showing its age. Also worthy of note, General Motors muddied ...

 
Nissan Recalls Infiniti QX60 Over Incorrectly Adjusted Headlights
Nissan Recalls Infiniti QX60 Over Incorrectly Adjusted Headlights

8 Dec 2023, 18:06 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Originally known as the JX35, the QX60 went live in 2013 for the 2014 model year. A mid-size crossover twinned with the Pathfinder, the Infiniti-branded sibling has been hit with a recall over IPDM software that incorrectly adjusts the headlights d...

 
2024 Dacia Duster Pickup Truck Rendered, Base Spec and 3-Door SUV Join the Party
2024 Dacia Duster Pickup Truck Rendered, Base Spec and 3-Door SUV Join the Party

8 Dec 2023, 17:21 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Once a basic means of personal transportation, the Duster helped the Dacia brand enter the mainstream. Alternatively marketed as the Renault Duster and Nissan Terrano, the first generation rolled out in 2010 under project codename HS on the B0 plat...

 
2024 Mercedes-Benz GLE 450e Recalled Over Incorrect ESP Control Unit Software Version
2024 Mercedes-Benz GLE 450e Recalled Over Incorrect ESP Control Unit Software Version

8 Dec 2023, 16:06 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The GLE went plug-in hybrid a few years ago, but as expected, the original wasn't sold in the United States of America. Thankfully for prospective customers, that changed for the 2024 model year with the introduction of the GLE 450e. But alas,...

 
LaFerrari Successor Imagined With Ginormous Rear Wing, Real Thing Packs Turbo V6 Muscle
LaFerrari Successor Imagined With Ginormous Rear Wing, Real Thing Packs Turbo V6 Muscle

8 Dec 2023, 14:57 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Little did the Prancing Horse of Maranello know back then, but the Ferrari 288 GTO homologation special would kickstart a dynasty of high-performance road cars, beginning with the V8-powered F40 in 1987. Come 1995, this exclusive club welcomed its ...

 

Stories by Mircea Panait