autoevolution
 

Vlad Radu

1,110  ARTICLES

Personal motto:

“From success, you learn absolutely nothing. From failure and setbacks conclusions can be drawn. That goes for your private life as well as your career.” - Nikki Lauda

Contributor
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At age five Vlad built a car cockpit out of wood, carboard and an old Trabant steering wheel under his desk and dreamed about driving the world’s most exotic cars. He grew up watching Michael Schumacher become a legendary driver, falling in love with speed and all things Ferrari in the process.

In high school, he crashed a communist-era Dacia 1310 with no brakes into a military base’s fence and almost got arrested on terrorism charges but bribed the base’s sentinel with three packs of cigarettes and only got in trouble for ruining the car.

He then decided to put his passion for cars on hold and concentrate on playing professional basketball. Due to a lack of talent, size, and a serious injury, he was forced to abandon professional sports and take a job as a video game tester. It was during this period that he discovered a passion for reading and writing after finding Hunter S. Thompson’s Hell’s Angels on a park bench.

The author’s writing style was fascinating to young Vlad and he continued to read all his books while creating a blog where he wrote about controversial social issues, inspired by his favorite author.

Years later, he got back to his first passion, taking a job at a local car parts dealership. He worked his way up from the sales department to a successful regional manager position, but something was still missing.

His biggest dream was to write so, when Autoevolution approached him to become a member of the team, he quit his old job instantly, and has been passionately writing ever since.

When he’s not busy creating articles or playing with his two-year-old son, he can be found working on his old BMW 3 Series Wagon or shredding trails on a mountain bike he assembled himself.
The Forgotten Corvette ZR-12: Chevy's Experimental Antidote to the Viper's Lethal Bite
The Forgotten Corvette ZR-12: Chevy's Experimental Antidote to the Viper's Lethal Bite

28 Mar 2024, 15:11 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / After getting wind that crosstown rival Chrysler was developing a V10-powered sports car, Chevy responded with an experimental Corvette that could've made the Viper look like a threadsnake. After the exciting era of muscle car madness was c...

 
General Lee Charger: Remembering the Most Famous Muscle Car to Ever Star in a TV Show
General Lee Charger: Remembering the Most Famous Muscle Car to Ever Star in a TV Show

27 Mar 2024, 11:58 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / Dubbed General Lee, the four-wheel star of the Dukes of Hazzard TV show and subsequent feature film transformed the second-generation Dodge Charger into one of the most famous muscle cars ever built. A "role" in a successful TV show an...

 
5 of the Most Influential Turbocharged Production Cars
5 of the Most Influential Turbocharged Production Cars

26 Mar 2024, 23:05 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / These days, most ICE-powered cars on the road are equipped with at least one turbocharger, so let's boost our gearhead knowledge by remembering five of the most influential production cars that use this game-changing device. Powered by the ...

 
1936 Buick Century: The American Muscle Car's Long-Forgotten Grandfather
1936 Buick Century: The American Muscle Car's Long-Forgotten Grandfather

25 Mar 2024, 12:26 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / Nearly three decades before Pontiac introduced the GTO, Buick launched a mid-size model powered by a potent engine borrowed from its larger passenger cars. During the first half of the 1960s, multiple US carmakers began unleashing high-powered, ...

 
5 of the Quirkiest AMG Cars Ever Produced
5 of the Quirkiest AMG Cars Ever Produced

24 Mar 2024, 09:53 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / For nearly six decades, the current high-performance division of Mercedes-Benz has built many iconic cars. However, it also developed a handful of quirky vehicles. Today, AMG is responsible for building high-powered, road-legal Mercedes-Benz car...

 
5 Most Dominant Race Cars of All Time
5 Most Dominant Race Cars of All Time

24 Mar 2024, 09:39 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / For more than a century, motorsport has given us a long list of legendary race cars, of which some managed to dominate the competition in record-breaking fashion. Shortly after building the first self-powered carriages, people started racing an...

 
5 Greatest Muscle Cars Ever Produced by Buick
5 Greatest Muscle Cars Ever Produced by Buick

24 Mar 2024, 09:11 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / For the most part of its history, Buick has focused on building upscale vehicles. Nevertheless, during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, the GM division developed some exquisite performance-focused rides that became muscle car icons. Founded in 1899 ...

 
Spectre R42: The Forgotten GT40-Inspired, Cobra V8-Powered British Supercar
Spectre R42: The Forgotten GT40-Inspired, Cobra V8-Powered British Supercar

23 Mar 2024, 19:35 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / Over a decade before Ford launched the production version of the GT, a small British company developed a modern supercar inspired by the legendary GT40. Though it was developed in the 1960s, the GT40 remains the most famous American-built race c...

 
5 Greatest Renault Sport Road Cars of All Time
5 Greatest Renault Sport Road Cars of All Time

23 Mar 2024, 18:28 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / Though never as famous as BMW's M division or Mercedes-Benz's AMG, Renault's motorsport, performance, and special vehicles department has produced some legendary street-legal machies throughout its history. Founded in 1976 as Rena...

 
5 Rarest, Most Intriguing First-Generation Mustangs
5 Rarest, Most Intriguing First-Generation Mustangs

23 Mar 2024, 18:02 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / Built for nearly a decade, the continually improved first generation of the legendary pony car gave us some memorable Mustangs, and in this article, we're going to remember the five rarest, most intriguing of them all. Based on Ford's ...

 
Monteverdi High Speed: The American V8-Powered GT Created To Spite Enzo Ferrari
Monteverdi High Speed: The American V8-Powered GT Created To Spite Enzo Ferrari

22 Mar 2024, 14:53 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / One of the most underrated grand tourers of the 1970s, the Swiss-made, Italian-Bodied Monteverdi High Speed used a series of American V8s to persuade wealthy enthusiasts to choose it over a Ferrari. A little over a decade after it developed its ...

 
The Orbitron Story: How Ed Roth's Asymmetrical Work of Art Rose From Its Ashes
The Orbitron Story: How Ed Roth's Asymmetrical Work of Art Rose From Its Ashes

21 Mar 2024, 13:46 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / Built six decades ago by the one-and-only Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, the Orbitron is a priceless work of custom car art that has been found and restored after seemingly vanishing for decades. Born in Beverly Hills, California, in the spring ...

 
Deucari: The Story of the One-and-Only Ferrari V12-Powered Deuce
Deucari: The Story of the One-and-Only Ferrari V12-Powered Deuce

20 Mar 2024, 13:52 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / Built in 1979, this bright red '32 Ford looks like a flawlessly-crafted yet typical street rod. However, its powerplant is far from typical, as it used to belong to a Ferrari Daytona. Ever since hot rodding became really popular during the...

 
Howmet TX: The Forgotten American Race Car Powered by a Helicopter Engine
Howmet TX: The Forgotten American Race Car Powered by a Helicopter Engine

18 Mar 2024, 14:37 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / In the late 1960s, John Wyer's Gulf-liveried GT40s added two more Le Mans wins to the legendary American race car's resume. During the same period, another US-built sports prototype became fascinating for motorsport enthusiasts all across...

 
Fiat X1/9: The Affordable Mid-Engine Sports Car That's Still Addictively Fun Today
Fiat X1/9: The Affordable Mid-Engine Sports Car That's Still Addictively Fun Today

15 Mar 2024, 15:45 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / Forgotten by most sports car enthusiasts, the tiny but mighty X1/9 was designed by the man behind the Lamborghini Miura, featured a mid-mounted four-pot created by a former Ferrari engine wizard, and featured a near-flawless suspension system. F...

 
1973 Pontiac GTO: Remembering the Most Underrated Iteration of the Muscle Car GOAT
1973 Pontiac GTO: Remembering the Most Underrated Iteration of the Muscle Car GOAT

14 Mar 2024, 15:39 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / After two outstanding generations, the Pontiac GTO and many other iconic intermediates from the muscle car golden age morphed into underpowered disappointments. But while it lacked its predecessors' muscular styling and straight-line prowess, ...

 
Mitsubishi Concept-RA: The AWD, Diesel-Powered Gem That Should've Been the 5th Eclipse
Mitsubishi Concept-RA: The AWD, Diesel-Powered Gem That Should've Been the 5th Eclipse

29 Feb 2024, 13:26 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / Equipped with a torquey turbodiesel four-cylinder, all-wheel-drive, and active steering, this Japanese Audi TT slayer was one of those concepts that deserved a production run. During the last 20 years, carmakers from around the globe have showc...

 
5 Supercar Concepts From the 2000s That Should've Made It Into Production
5 Supercar Concepts From the 2000s That Should've Made It Into Production

28 Feb 2024, 23:35 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / A series of incredible supercars that are now automotive legends were produced during the 2000s. However, the list could've been bigger and more memorable if these fascinating concepts had made it into production.  The term "super...

 
5 Greatest High-Performance Pickups of the Muscle Car Golden Age
5 Greatest High-Performance Pickups of the Muscle Car Golden Age

28 Feb 2024, 20:26 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / Apart from coupes and convertibles, the muscle car era gave us some epic, passenger car-based pickups. During the 1950s, speed-addicted car buyers became more and more interested in factory-built performance. To oblige, American manufacturers...

 
Emme 422T: Meet the Weirdest High-Performance Car To Ever Don Lotus Badges
Emme 422T: Meet the Weirdest High-Performance Car To Ever Don Lotus Badges

28 Feb 2024, 13:40 UTC · By: Vlad Radu / Produced in Brazil nearly two decades ago, the 422T borrowed Lotus' lightweight philosophy as well as one of the S4 Esprit's engines. It aimed to challenge heavyweights like the BMW M5 or Mercedes E55 AMG, but it ended up being knocked ou...

 

Stories by Vlad Radu