{"id":34195,"date":"2025-02-28T10:19:30","date_gmt":"2025-02-28T14:19:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=34195"},"modified":"2025-02-28T10:19:30","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T14:19:30","slug":"autorama-2025-barbies-caddy-transformers-robot-car-and-hot-rods-galore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/autorama-2025-barbies-caddy-transformers-robot-car-and-hot-rods-galore","title":{"rendered":"Autorama 2025: Barbie’s Caddy, Transformers robot car and hot rods galore"},"content":{"rendered":"

Detroit \u2014<\/em>\u00a0Forget \u201cBarbenheimer.\u201d This weekend, \u201cBarbieformers\u201d is coming to Huntington Place.<\/p>\n

Barbie\u2019s Pink Cadillac convertible and the “Transformer” movie-inspired Megamorph Giant Robot Car are among the headliners for this weekend\u2019s 72nd Annual Meguiar’s Detroit Autorama presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts as it roars into town Friday through Sunday. The Hollywood duo compliment over 800 of world\u2019s best chopped, channeled, dumped \u2018n\u2019 decked hot rods and custom cars \u2014 including competitors for hot rodding\u2019s biggest bauble, the Ridler Award.<\/p>\n

Autorama attracts custom builders from all over the world \u2014 including an Austrian entry this year \u2014 as well as celebrities like former \u201cStreet Outlaw\u201d TV hosts Farmtruck and AZN and Farmtruck, \u201cCounting Cars\u201d TV hosts Danny Koker and Kevin Mack, and WWE Hall of Famers Team 3D.<\/p>\n

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A 1970 Barbie-themed Cadillac Deville from the Walt Disney World Resort is displayed in the 2025 Autorama car show on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025 at Huntington Place in Detroit.<\/em><\/div>\n
Katy Kildee, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In addition to the stars, Autorama spices the recipe with local flavor including\u00a0Detroit Lions<\/a>\u00a0linebacker Alex Anzalone, who will sign autographs, a Dexter family\u2019s 1941 Buick Special that survived Parel Harbor, an 11-year-old Macomb drag racer, a 17-year-old Madison Heights customer-builder\u2019s AMC Gremlin, and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing that this is the Motor City, we have the most knowledgeable, passionate and dedicated hot rod\/custom car fans in the world. That’s why we look forward to their reaction to this year’s Autorama,\u201d said producer Peter Toundas, who is also president and owner of Championship Auto Shows Inc. \u201cAll of the attractions at this year\u2019s Autorama will astound showgoers. Bu, at the heart of Autorama are the dazzling hot rods and customs competing for top awards including The Ridler.”<\/p>\n

Austrian custom builder Knud Tiroch brought his dazzling, Sterling Silver, 1951 Mercury 951 all the way from Vienna for Autorama to compete in the Match Race and Exhibition Class. Tiroch said the United States is the epicenter of global hot rod culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cHot rod and custom culture in Europe is also American Fords, Corvettes, Chevys,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have them all. Occasionally you\u2019ll see a modified VW Beetle. We have done shows in Oslo, Norway; Elmia Convention Center in Sweden, and Essen, Germany. And now I\u2019m doing shows in the United States while my son runs the shop back home.\u201dA veteran of the Red Bull Formula One racing team, Tiroch has brought racing know-how to his Mercury creation, which is slammed to the ground on a performance chassis and fortified by a full roll cage. F-16 fighter plane controls activate everything from lights to the automatic hood, while a sequential racing gearbox operates the 6.2-liter, 600-horsepower Chevy V-8 engine under the hood.<\/p>\n

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Knud Tiroch brought his custom 1951 Mercury 951 all the way from Austria for Autorama.<\/em><\/div>\n
Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cIt will hit 168 mph on the race track,\u201d smiled the Austrian.<\/p>\n

Directly in front of Tiroch\u2019s exhibit are the 24 Ridler entries that will cap off the weekend\u2019s festivities. Entries like the \u201cGray Madder\u201d \u2014 \u00a0a custom-built 1955 Chevy Nomad from Pekin, Illinois, that has been in the making for 10 years. Presented by Meguiar’s, the most coveted award in hot rodding is presented to the best new custom car. The world\u2019s finest custom car builders will unveil their cars here \u2014 many of them the result of of years (and millions of dollars) in prep.<\/p>\n

Some 30 cars qualify and will then be winnowed by judges to the BASF Great 8. The Ridler winner of the Great 8 takes home $10,000 cash, a custom trophy, and jacket.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s extremely gratifying that Detroit Autorama is the home of America\u2019s most important hot rod award,” said Toundas. ” Detroit is where hot rod\/custom car shows started so we make every effort to let everyone know about this important heritage.\u201d<\/p>\n