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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.
Mercedes-Benz C 300 Recalled Over Improperly Secured Wire That May Overheat
Mercedes-Benz C 300 Recalled Over Improperly Secured Wire That May Overheat

24 Jun 2024, 13:02 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Mercedes-Benz USA has issued a recall for certain Mercedes-Benz C 300 sedans produced for model years 2022 and 2023 between June 24, 2021 and August 20, 2022. A grand total of 1,058 vehicles are recalled for an improperly tightened bolt. Said bo...

 
Mercedes Recalls Previously Recalled AMG Vehicles for Increased Risk of Thermal Overload
Mercedes Recalls Previously Recalled AMG Vehicles for Increased Risk of Thermal Overload

24 Jun 2024, 11:00 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Back in July 2022, Mercedes-Benz USA recalled no fewer than 16,475 vehicles over a routing deviation in the transmission wiring harness. Tension on the harness might cause the insulation to be pulled back, leading to a short circuit. In addition to...

 
Nissan GT-R Recaro Edition Drag Races Stage 2 BMW M340i xDrive, It's Really Close
Nissan GT-R Recaro Edition Drag Races Stage 2 BMW M340i xDrive, It's Really Close

23 Jun 2024, 12:04 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / CSL AutoTime has returned with a very close quarter-mile showdown between the Recaro Edition R35 and the pre-facelift M340i xDrive. However, the Bimmer is a bit more special than your usual six-cylinder 3 Series, for it features a Stage 2 tune with...

 
Old C 63 S Drag Races Four-Cylinder Mercedes-AMG C 63 S E Performance, It's Night and Day
Old C 63 S Drag Races Four-Cylinder Mercedes-AMG C 63 S E Performance, It's Night and Day

23 Jun 2024, 01:02 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Mat and Nicholas of carwow have recently pitted the old-gen C 63 against the 206 series, which is certainly going to spark debate among enthusiasts. Although the C 63 S E Performance is a much techier machine with ridiculously more peak torque on t...

 
Digitally Revived Nissan Maxima Flaunts New Qashqai Styling Cues
Digitally Revived Nissan Maxima Flaunts New Qashqai Styling Cues

22 Jun 2024, 01:02 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Once sold under the Datsun brand, the Nissan Maxima was produced over eight generations from 1980 through 2023. Originally a rear-wheel-drive sedan and station wagon, the Maxima switched to front-wheel drive in 1984 for the 1985 model year. Niss...

 
MG4 EV XPOWER Drag Races Ora 07 Performance, Loser Clocks 13.37 Seconds
MG4 EV XPOWER Drag Races Ora 07 Performance, Loser Clocks 13.37 Seconds

22 Jun 2024, 01:02 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Tang and company from Thailand's CSL AutoTime recently pitted two Chinese battery-electric vehicles against each other. Pictured in green, the MG4 EV XPOWER is a C-segment hatchback that features two iconic nameplates. MG used to mean small Br...

 
BMW Celebrates 25 Years of X5 With Silver Anniversary Edition, Only 1,000 Units Available
BMW Celebrates 25 Years of X5 With Silver Anniversary Edition, Only 1,000 Units Available

21 Jun 2024, 20:58 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / It's hard to believe that 1999 was the first year of production for the X5. Introduced for model year 2020 in the United States, the X5 celebrates a quarter of a century in this part of the world in the form of a special edition based on the x...

 
2024 Ford Mustang vs Camaro vs Supra vs Nissan Z Drag Race Is Anyone's Guess
2024 Ford Mustang vs Camaro vs Supra vs Nissan Z Drag Race Is Anyone's Guess

21 Jun 2024, 19:59 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Sam CarLegion has recently pitted the seventh-generation Mustang against one direct rival and two Japanese competitors. The pony car in question is a GT with the GT Performance Package, which adds $5,295 to the final price of the V8-powered model&#...

 
2025 Volkswagen Jetta Sedan Will Debut June 25 Alongside New Jetta GLI
2025 Volkswagen Jetta Sedan Will Debut June 25 Alongside New Jetta GLI

21 Jun 2024, 18:59 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Jetta came to be in 1979, primarily due to the limited success of the Golf in the United States. Sedans were far more popular than hatchbacks back then, hence the German automaker's decision to launch the four-door Jetta for model year 198...

 
2026 Mercedes-AMG C-Class EV Spied Testing at the Nurburgring With Mismatched Wheels
2026 Mercedes-AMG C-Class EV Spied Testing at the Nurburgring With Mismatched Wheels

21 Jun 2024, 17:59 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Stuttgart's favorite son has been recently spied testing a heavily camouflaged C-Class EV at the Nurburgring and on the public roads adjacent to the world's best-known circuit. Equipped with mismatched wheels featuring summer tires from t...

 
Toyota Crown Rearview and Front Cameras May Fail Due to Water Ingress
Toyota Crown Rearview and Front Cameras May Fail Due to Water Ingress

21 Jun 2024, 13:57 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Toyota has identified a safety issue affecting 13,077 units of the Crown. Said vehicles were produced for the 2023 model year between February 2, 2023 and August 4, 2023 at the Japanese automaker's Motomachi assembly plant. Subject hybrid s...

 
Ford Recalls F-150 With Onboard Scales Due to Update That Disables the Reverse Lights
Ford Recalls F-150 With Onboard Scales Due to Update That Disables the Reverse Lights

21 Jun 2024, 13:08 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The Ford Motor Company has identified an issue affecting certain F-150 trucks produced for the 2021 model year. Said half-ton pickups are equipped with the available Onboard Scales feature, which – as implied – estimates the weight of t...

 
New Bugatti Tourbillon vs Chiron and Derivatives Comparison: Passing the Torch
New Bugatti Tourbillon vs Chiron and Derivatives Comparison: Passing the Torch

21 Jun 2024, 00:52 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Tourbillon isn't merely the successor of the hugely impressive Chiron. It's the first completely new Bugatti since the Volkswagen Group-developed Veyron from 2005, the first road-going production car with 1,001 ps (987 hp) at its disposal...

 
2026 Bugatti Tourbillon Reinvents the Hypercar With Unique V16 Hybrid Setup
2026 Bugatti Tourbillon Reinvents the Hypercar With Unique V16 Hybrid Setup

20 Jun 2024, 22:59 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Italian entrepreneur Romano Artioli reinvented the Bugatti marque at the beginning of the 1990s with the outstanding EB 110. Assembled in the Italian Republic, the brand's first modern production model set the course for the Ferdinand Piech-er...

 
2025 BMW X3 20 xDrive Added to the German Configurator With Underwhelming Looks
2025 BMW X3 20 xDrive Added to the German Configurator With Underwhelming Looks

20 Jun 2024, 20:07 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Over in the United States, the all-new X3 comes in either 30 xDrive or M50 xDrive forms, with prices kicking off at $49,500 and $64,100, respectively. Back home in Germany, the most spartan G45 available is dubbed 20 xDrive, and boy does it look st...

 
Blacked-Out 1969 Chevrolet El Camino Restomod Looks Killer, Packs LSA Muscle
Blacked-Out 1969 Chevrolet El Camino Restomod Looks Killer, Packs LSA Muscle

20 Jun 2024, 19:01 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The most collectible Elkys of them all come in the form of third-gen models, namely those produced for model years 1968 through 1972. Finding a mint 396-cube SS is harder than finding a needle in a haystack, whereas the 454-cube SS is – hands...

 
FK8 Honda Civic Type R Corsa Xtreme Exhaust Promise 9.5 More Decibels Over Stock
FK8 Honda Civic Type R Corsa Xtreme Exhaust Promise 9.5 More Decibels Over Stock

20 Jun 2024, 17:13 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Corsa Performance has rolled out a front pipe-back exhaust for the previous-gen CTR, which is referred to as FK8 by the folks at Honda. Priced at $1,714.99 with free shipping within one week, said tri-exit system is available with flat or slash tip...

 
2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Reveal Date Confirmed
2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Reveal Date Confirmed

20 Jun 2024, 16:11 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / GM's Chevrolet brand kicked off the video teaser campaign for the new Corvette ZR1 in April 2024. Two months later, the latest installment reveals that General Motors will debut its most powerful combustion-engined vehicle yet on July 25. ...

 
Bentley Rolls Out Mulliner Istanbul Silhouette Collection
Bentley Rolls Out Mulliner Istanbul Silhouette Collection

20 Jun 2024, 15:11 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Celebrating everything Istanbul, the Mulliner Istanbul Silhouette Collection is exclusively available through Bentley Istanbul. Three vehicles received Mulliner's very special touch, with said vehicles being the Bentayga Azure V8, Flying Spur ...

 
Three New Jeep Models Confirmed for US Lineup
Three New Jeep Models Confirmed for US Lineup

20 Jun 2024, 14:15 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / During the Stellantis 2024 Investor Day presentation, Jeep brand chief executive officer Antonio Filosa shared quite a few interesting tidbits about Jeep's future in the United States of America, beginning with the next-generation Renegade and...

 

Stories by Mircea Panait