Aurel Niculescu
9,164 ARTICLES
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.
2022 Range Rover Transforms Into Pickup Truck, Might Spite Cullinan and Bentayga
30 Dec 2021, 10:22 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Land Rover bragged about its 2023 Range Rover SV from Special Vehicle Operations having some 1.6 million possible configurations soon. Unfortunately, this pickup truck body form is not one of them. Heralded by many as the most iconic all-whee...
Kia K5 Morphs Into RWD Supercharged V8 Monster to Fight Hellcats for KDM Glory
30 Dec 2021, 09:45 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Many will agree that Hyundai and Kia are doing a swell job of standing out in the worldwide automotive crowd. And there is a virtual artist that even thinks “Korean domestic market is the next JDM.” With a twist. Timothy Adry Emma...
Lambo Huracan Gets Unofficial Second Generation Try-Out, Looks Sian-Sharp
30 Dec 2021, 09:05 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The latest and (arguably) greatest Lamborghini Huracan STO (Super Trofeo Omologato) is only just hitting the roads to try and impress reviewers, but already people are thinking about the future. Virtual artists, of course, also present the result o...
1952 Ford F-1 Went From Rust Heap to Black Boss 302CI Single Cab Racer-Cruiser
30 Dec 2021, 08:32 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Ford kicked off the saga of the legendary F-Series way back in late 1947 with the introduction of the “Bonus-Built” trucks. It was a short-lived first generation, through the 1952 model year, but also one to remember. Both for the...
Dodge Challenger SRT Demon Drags Suzuki Hayabusa, It's Not Even Wobbling Close
30 Dec 2021, 07:27 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Every passionate motorist knows very well that motorcycle fans and automobile enthusiasts have a bit of a rivalry going on. Hopefully, everything is always kept at a friendly (if competitive) level. People should always acknowledge the divers...
2021 Ford Bronco First Edition Is a “Brand New,” Vintage Lightning Blue 2-Door
29 Dec 2021, 14:03 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Soon after Detroit’s Blue Oval announced the availability of a 2021 Ford Bronco First Edition special model, reservations closed with all examples spoken for. Naturally, some were snatched just for profit. Ford aficionados have had a mo...
Fiat Landtrek Ultra Proposes French-Italian Defense Against Ranger/Amarok Attack
29 Dec 2021, 13:22 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Although only one of the siblings has already become official, the American/German 2023 Ford Ranger and VW Amarok pair already seem like a global mid-size pickup truck powerhouse. One that needs outstanding opponents. Anyone who regularly fol...
“House of Custom” Drive-In Diner Seems Perfect For CGI Hot Rods and Muscle Cars
29 Dec 2021, 12:17 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / For the military folk, R&R usually means rest and relaxation/recuperation /recreation/rehabilitation. For virtual artists, it might be a dreamy American drive-in diner. Modernized for the 21st-century customs. After previously taking us t...
Advan-Themed Chevy Camaro Is “D.3.A.D” For Purists, Kills Off Most 1980s Links
29 Dec 2021, 11:19 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Although – with few exceptions – no real-world cars must suffer the transgressions of automotive virtual artists, there is no way of really knowing when enough is enough. Although wearing an obvious moniker might be considered a good hi...
Widebody '68 Ford Mustang Cali Special Will Be Reborn in Barcelona, Not That One
29 Dec 2021, 10:45 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / When hearing the word Barcelona, people naturally tend to think about that special place in Spain of Gaudi and Leo Messi fame (among many other stunning highlights). But it’s hard for some to travel that far. For example, a widebody 196...
2022 Lexus LX Drops Land Yacht Act, CGI Slams Its Way Down the JDM Tuning Route
29 Dec 2021, 10:11 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Some automotive virtual artists are truly complicated personality figures. Even when their passion for a certain segment of the four-wheeled world is clearer than freshly laid-snow on New Year’s Eve. Musa Rio Tjahjono, the pixel master ...
Modernized Dodge Li’l Red Express Takes Over the Crimson Soul of a Ram 1500
29 Dec 2021, 09:31 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / For many, Christmas hasn’t gone after December 25th. Instead, its jolly old spirit can linger on in everything we do for a while. And that’s probably valid for automotive virtual artists as well. After all, why else would Jim &nda...
Toyota Tundra and Ford F-150 Off-Road Comparo Is Muddy and Rocky, Lots of Fun
29 Dec 2021, 08:50 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Slowly, but steadily, reviewers are getting their hands on both the third-generation 2022 Toyota Tundra and the legendary F-150. And what do they do with these trucks? Drag race them, of course. Frankly, a straight-line acceleration shootout ...
Dodge Challenger Scat Pack Drags Lambo Huracan, Absolute Destruction Ensues
29 Dec 2021, 07:52 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Over time, we have come to expect the unexpected when quarter-mile drag racing skirmishes are involved. But sometimes the surprise is that everything happened according to plan. Logic dictates one thing. When nimble AWD mid-engine supercars m...
C8 Chevy Corvette Rides on Turbine-Like Forgiatos to Look Fast When Standing Still
28 Dec 2021, 14:40 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / They say that GM’s mid-engine C8 Chevy Corvette Stingray has truly become a perfect blank canvas for making it your own. But the Los Angeles, California-based forged wheel experts from Forgiato have taken their sweet time before showing us a ...
2015 Corvette Z06 Convertible Is a One-Owner 7-Speed Wonder, Available Right Now
28 Dec 2021, 13:58 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Let’s be frank. The 2023 Chevy Corvette Z06 might be the absolute best version of “America’s sports car” ever made. At least until a newer, cooler C8 incarnation appears on the horizon. But not everyone wants to wait an &ldq...
2022 Lexus NM Gets Imagined as Premium 7-Seater Alternative For Toyota's Sienna
28 Dec 2021, 13:28 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Without a doubt, soccer mom jokes are slowly becoming outdated. After all, there are fewer and fewer MPVs out there to deliver the triggering factor. No worries, though, virtual artists have a solution. Because the entire automotive realm cur...
Tesla “CyberAutonomous” Probably Comes From a Not-So-Distant, Safe EV Future
28 Dec 2021, 12:43 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Although it’s going to be a while until Tesla Cybertrucks roam the streets flaunting not just the payload and towing capacity, but also a design that’s anything but humble, people are already envisioning the next step. One that has the ...
Nissan “400Z Shootingbrake” Logically Dwells Around a Premium Dream Estate
28 Dec 2021, 11:25 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / When Nissan finally introduced the seventh-generation Z Car, the Japanese company also confusingly dropped the numerical series designation, made famous by the previous iterations. But of course, old habits die hard. As such, one should not b...
Lambo Urus “Wagon” Feels Like a Slammed CGI Exercise of Super Grocery Getting
28 Dec 2021, 10:48 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / This month Lamborghini celebrated an important milestone: four years since the introduction of its Urus “super-SUV.” Better not rest on the laurels, though, because the competition is not sleeping either. The Sant’Agata Bolo...