autoevolution
 

Aurel Niculescu

9,193  ARTICLES

Staff Writer
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Once upon a time there was a little boy that didn't know his age but dreamed of reaching high in the sky alongside the absolute best aviators. He was passionate about reading books (action and Sci-Fi), grew up with many great authors and soon discovered the mirage of cinema.

There he understood anything is possible if you work hard and passionately strive to follow your imagination. This is how at the age of 16 he managed to fulfill the first dream – flying alone in a glider plane. He was no Tom Cruise, of course, so young adulthood brought him back to reality.

With every kick in the familiar *utt comes a chance to step forward, so a seemingly unimportant ad in one of his favorite automotive magazines brought a dilemma - follow through with the current job or dare to achieve greatness by deploying (previously) unknown literary skills.

Since 2006, he’s been perfecting them at Automondial, Supercar, Cox, Autoshow, Autopro, Auto Motor & Sport, and more magazines plus their online versions. After driving some of the best and worst cars in Europe and around the world, he’s part of the autoevolution team, where he aims to develop his best-ever form.
Informal Porsche 911 Safari/Dakar “SUV” Was Almost a CGI Decade in the Making
Informal Porsche 911 Safari/Dakar “SUV” Was Almost a CGI Decade in the Making

22 Apr 2022, 10:43 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Porsche aficionados know very well that off-road 911 models have been covered with glory in the past. So, there is virtually no surprise the German automaker has been brewing revival thoughts. We might be on the cusp of seeing the birth of a ...

 
1,000-HP Widebody Lambo Aventador SVJ Packs Crazy, Digitally-Matched Rooftop Box
1,000-HP Widebody Lambo Aventador SVJ Packs Crazy, Digitally-Matched Rooftop Box

22 Apr 2022, 10:08 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Over in the real world, Lamborghini is diligently preparing not only the upgraded Urus super-SUV but also its next Performante evolutionary step. Alas, the virtual automotive realm still cannot get enough of their “oldies-but-goldies” A...

 
CGI-Lowered, Custom 2023 Kia Telluride Meets a Hyundai Palisade “Shadow”
CGI-Lowered, Custom 2023 Kia Telluride Meets a Hyundai Palisade “Shadow”

22 Apr 2022, 09:39 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Fans of popular mid-size South Korean crossover SUVs had a couple of reasons to rejoice at the 2022 New York International Auto Show: the upgraded 2023 Hyundai Palisade and updated 2023 Kia Telluride. Both act as the flagship SUVs for each co...

 
Widebody Polo Digital Project Goes Beyond Pocket Rocket With Audi R8 V10 Swap
Widebody Polo Digital Project Goes Beyond Pocket Rocket With Audi R8 V10 Swap

22 Apr 2022, 08:59 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Between Volkswagen’s Polo supermini and the Audi R8 supercar, there is a difference of more than three decades. Not to mention the rest of the distinctions and yet, somehow, they are now unified as one. Albeit, only digitally, unfortunately. ...

 
Slammed OBS Chevy C10 Seems to Be on Red, Gold, Carbon Widebody CGI Steroids
Slammed OBS Chevy C10 Seems to Be on Red, Gold, Carbon Widebody CGI Steroids

22 Apr 2022, 08:10 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Certain people are veritable “creatures of habits,” and that is valid across a multitude of domains. Including, without a doubt, the imaginative realm of virtual automotive artists. Some pixel masters function like clockwork and d...

 
“Targa” Chevy Monte Carlo SS Hides a Digital ZR1 Secret Under Transparent Hood
“Targa” Chevy Monte Carlo SS Hides a Digital ZR1 Secret Under Transparent Hood

22 Apr 2022, 07:25 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Some people have the fortitude to always do what they love, and sharing their passions with an entire world is just a natural step for them. Of course, we are talking about virtual automotive artists here. Take Jim, the pixel master better kn...

 
Mazda MX-5 Miata Doesn't Hide Its Turbo LS 8s Tricks, Drags Mustangs and 'Vettes
Mazda MX-5 Miata Doesn't Hide Its Turbo LS 8s Tricks, Drags Mustangs and 'Vettes

22 Apr 2022, 06:28 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Fans of quarter-mile drag racing always expect the unexpected, which is also one of the reasons so many people love this type of motorsport. So, is anyone surprised that a green little OG Mazda MX-5 Miata lovingly nicknamed “Turtle” is ...

 
2022 Ioniq 5 Drags Model Y and I-Pace, Tesla Remains EV King Even on a Rainy Day
2022 Ioniq 5 Drags Model Y and I-Pace, Tesla Remains EV King Even on a Rainy Day

21 Apr 2022, 20:56 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / A lot of new EV models are scheduled to arrive on the market soon but that does not mean the older, established stars will go down into the gentle rain without a fight. Even on a windy day... Sam, the host of the Sam CarLegion channel on ...

 
Serene 2024 Kia EV9 Design Gets Informally Compared With 2023 Palisade, Telluride
Serene 2024 Kia EV9 Design Gets Informally Compared With 2023 Palisade, Telluride

21 Apr 2022, 20:50 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Kia has big EV plans for the North American market. It recently committed to the battery-powered pickup truck and SUV segments, for example. But before we decide if they stand a chance at defeating the known Goliaths, let us do some virtually prosp...

 
Lambo Urus Flaunts Pearl Capsule, RS Edition Goodies to Make Cullinan Envious
Lambo Urus Flaunts Pearl Capsule, RS Edition Goodies to Make Cullinan Envious

21 Apr 2022, 14:34 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Lamborghini’s super-SUV, their best-selling model in the recent past, has only been around since the 2018 model year. But it was more than enough to fight for ultra-luxury crossover supremacy, including across the aftermarket realm. The...

 
Your Choice: 1996 or 2022 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S. They Have About the Same Price
Your Choice: 1996 or 2022 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S. They Have About the Same Price

21 Apr 2022, 13:52 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The natural order of things and logic might dictate the latest 992-generation, all-new zero-mile 911 Carrera 4S would be the saner option. However, do remember there is a caveat regarding the older 993 iterations. So, to anyone oblivious of t...

 
Red-Accented Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series’ FPC Howls Don’t Seem to Impress LA
Red-Accented Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series’ FPC Howls Don’t Seem to Impress LA

21 Apr 2022, 13:08 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / When people dwell around downtown Los Angeles, the largest city in California and a sprawling center for the nation’s car customization culture, sometimes it feels hard to impress them. Even when you throw out on the street a menacing superca...

 
2023 Lamborghini Stella Design Proposal Valiantly Imagines Next Hybrid Chapter
2023 Lamborghini Stella Design Proposal Valiantly Imagines Next Hybrid Chapter

21 Apr 2022, 12:29 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The Sant'Agata Bolognese-based exotic Italian automaker is on a big roll these days. It just reported that raging bull models sell like hotcakes, with the company posting record first-quarter deliveries. And it sure does not want to stop there...

 
Believe It or Not, the 2023 BMW 760i Looks So Much Better as a 7 Series Touring
Believe It or Not, the 2023 BMW 760i Looks So Much Better as a 7 Series Touring

21 Apr 2022, 10:53 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Following the introduction of its flagship G07 X7 LCI (Life Cycle Impulse) SUV and the Alpina XB7 sibling, BMW naturally doubled down on the split-headlight-inducing polemics with the seventh-generation 7 Series and its first-ever i7 battery EV com...

 
CGI-Reborn Pontiac GTO Has Orange Muscular Look to Make the Judge Proud
CGI-Reborn Pontiac GTO Has Orange Muscular Look to Make the Judge Proud

21 Apr 2022, 09:59 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / General Motors might have pulled the plug on Pontiac’s run across the real automotive world, but people still regularly dream about its models even more than a decade later. Some even do something CGI about it. GM founded Pontiac late i...

 
2023 BMW 7 Series and i7 Quick Makeovers Show Everyone Bears a Grudge Now
2023 BMW 7 Series and i7 Quick Makeovers Show Everyone Bears a Grudge Now

21 Apr 2022, 09:21 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Following the introductions of BMW’s X7 LCI (Life Cycle Impulse) and Alpina’s XB7 flagship SUV, there was only a (narrow) matter of time before more Bavarian heroes followed suit. And, of course, the seventh-generation 7 Series, plus th...

 
Nissan “400Z Cabrio” Looks Sporty and Posh, so Innocents Mistake It for a Miata
Nissan “400Z Cabrio” Looks Sporty and Posh, so Innocents Mistake It for a Miata

21 Apr 2022, 08:30 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Sugar Chow, the virtual artist better known as sugardesign_1 on social media, is one of those pixel masters that will easily have the uninitiated fooled into thinking his CGI creations are actually part of the real world. This is because...

 
Nasty 1977 Jeep CJ-5 Drags Hellcats, Civics, RS 3, GT500, It's Truly a Twisted Sight
Nasty 1977 Jeep CJ-5 Drags Hellcats, Civics, RS 3, GT500, It's Truly a Twisted Sight

21 Apr 2022, 07:03 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Some events are made for eternal quarter-mile drag racing glory, while others are just for plain old dragstrip fun. Well, there’s coverage of both types during the latest compilation from the Drag Racing and Car Stuff channel on YouTube....

 
Slammed, Widebody S13 Nissan Silvia Feels Like a Motivational Cyberpunk Restomod
Slammed, Widebody S13 Nissan Silvia Feels Like a Motivational Cyberpunk Restomod

20 Apr 2022, 21:34 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The last time we checked up on Artem Shkirenko, the virtual 3D artist better known as artshkirenko.3d on social media, he was dwelling around the still contemporary Rolls-Royce Wraith alongside a fellow CGI expert for a stunning valediction. ...

 
Deus Could Better Fulfill Vayanne EV Hypercar Promises With a Widebody DNA
Deus Could Better Fulfill Vayanne EV Hypercar Promises With a Widebody DNA

20 Apr 2022, 21:04 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / A lot of water will go under the EV bridge until the new battery-powered kid on the block Deus Automobiles will fulfill its pledges of zero-emissions hypercar glory. But at least they made the first official step and showed Vayanne at the 2022 NY A...

 

Stories by Aurel Niculescu