“It was born in hell – a lot of rusty steel slammed to the ground, a wooden steering wheel channeled and chopped – right to the top and running cool, with a bad big block.”
Some cars have attitude. Others, an aura. But few possess the almost supernatural presence of the Rockabilly Freakout – a 1949 Mercury Coupe that could have as easily been conjured up in the fires of hell as it was crafted in an Austrian hot rod shop.
This kustom Merc is an unholy blend of rockabilly culture, hot rod brutality, and Karl Büche‘s dream come to life. At its core, the Rockabilly Freakout embodies raw power and aggressive style – you could easily imagine it tearing down Route 666 on a one-way ticket to hell.
It all began when, at 13, Karl was captivated by Bill Haley’s ‘Rock Around the Clock’ blaring from a jukebox during a street party in his small hometown near Linz. That sound, paired with the imagery of 1950s cars, bikes, and fashion, ignited a lifelong love affair with rockabilly.
“I just think it’s the coolest way a man can express himself,” Karl says. “The clothes, the haircuts, the bikes, the cars, the music, the attitude – all of it. It caught my attention, and it never left.”
Karl’s teenage obsession with rockabilly culture led him to embrace the second wave of ‘Neo-Rockabilly’ and ‘Teddy Boys’ culture and eventually buy his first Harley-Davidson motorcycle at 21. But as much as he loved his stripped-down Harley, the dream of owning a kustom Mercury lingered.
In 2015, after visiting an American car dealer with a friend, Karl decided it was time to build the car of his dreams – a slammed, chopped, menacing Merc.
In Austria, if you’re building a car as extreme as the Rockabilly Freakout, there’s one builder for the job. Enter Knud Tiroch from Hotrod Hangar.
Knud is renowned for his radical approach to kustom builds, and almost instantly, he and Karl were bouncing ideas off each other, shaping a vision for the Rockabilly Freakout. “We didn’t just talk about specs and design; we talked about the car’s character and attitude. Knud motivated me to write down the [fictional] [back]story of the Rockabilly Freakout,” Karl explains.
I have summarized Karl’s story as briefly as I could, but I felt that it was an important part of understanding how Knud translated it into the build.
A rebellious schlurf [German for greaser] buys a beat-up ’49 Mercury, dreaming of crafting the ultimate lead sled. After a deadly brawl, he crashes the car and finds himself in a hellish garage. There, the ‘Hot Rodder from Hell’ offers to build him the ultimate custom Mercury in exchange for his soul. The result? The Rockabilly Freakout. The greaser returns as a ghost, seeking someone to take the car and save his soul. Years later, a rockabilly enthusiast with a perfect pompadour accepts the deal, and the Rockabilly Freakout prowls at night – a symbol of rebellion, speed, and the dark side of rock ‘n’ roll.
The base for this masterpiece was a 1949 Mercury Coupe originally from Texas, already chopped but otherwise untouched. It was immediately shipped to Austria, where Knud and his team got to work on the monster transformation.
And when I say ‘monster,’ I mean it.
Under the hood, a Chevrolet 572ci big block V8 from Shafiroff Racing delivers 700hp to the back wheels via an ATI TH400 performance transmission and a Ford 9-inch rear end with a Detroit Locker differential.
The Merc rides on a 1970s Cadillac chassis with adjustable coilovers, with an independent front and 4-link rear suspension arrangement for improved handling – because this beast is built to be driven.
The exterior is a study in kustomization. The roof was chopped by about six inches, the body channeled and stretched, and the rear fenders were radically reshaped to accommodate the 17-inch steel wheels with bullet center caps. Suicide doors, a forward-tilting hood, and custom bumpers featuring elements from DeSoto and Cadillac give the Rockabilly Freakout a stance unlike any other Merc out there. It’s low, long, and mean.
“Knud’s racing background came into play here,” Karl explains. “Everything about this car is functional, from the body and firewall stiffening and modifications. It’s not just about looking good – it’s about going fast and handling all that power.”
The custom paint job is where the Rockabilly Freakout truly shines. Finished in a rich mocca black with ghostly red flames and airbrushed skull-head holograms, the car looks like it emerged from a twisted dreamscape. Inside the doors and on the firewall, the Rockabilly Freakout story is written in detail, a nod to the creative narrative that inspired the build.
The interior is handcrafted, with a completely restyled original dashboard featuring functional skull knobs. The front seats are from a 1960s Nash, all black leather with striking red diamonds.
Upon completion, Knud surprised Karl with a rockabilly song he’d written – a distillation of the Rockabilly Freakout’s story, of which I featured a few lines in the opening paragraph. Now, it’s immortalized on a CD they recorded together.
Calling Knud Tiroch simply a car builder would be a massive understatement. One of Europe’s first airbrush artists and a veteran of Formula One collaborations, his approach to cars melds art with performance.
So, what’s it like to drive the Rockabilly Freakout? In short, it’s brutal. “It’s loud, it’s aggressive, and it’s fast – really fast,” says Karl. “It’s not for cruising with your girlfriend. You have to respect this car because it doesn’t take any prisoners. But if you’ve got the guts, it’s a hell of a ride.”
The Rockabilly Freakout began as a dream, and today, it’s a reality – one that raises hell across Europe’s roads. More than just a car, it reflects its owner’s life and love for rockabilly and kustom culture. Traditional in spirit yet progressive in style, every curve, chop, and rev of the engine tells a story – a story of a vehicle born in hell, here to raise a little more.
Vladimir Ljadov
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