Germany isn’t the first place you’d expect to find a gathering of rat rods, Bel Airs, and Hemi-powered Americana, but every May a decommissioned coal mine in Herten turns into exactly that. Kustom Kulture Forever has grown into one of the biggest custom car and hot rod shows on the entire continent. Here’s what makes this only-in-Europe celebration of American steel worth the trip.
For most, Germany is usually associated with high-performance luxury cars, precision engineering, and its famous autobahns. However, every May for the past few years, a bunch of people have gathered in Western Germany for a very un-German celebration of hot rods, muscle cars, and Americana.
The name of the event, Kustom Kulture Forever, explains it all. The cars ranged from rat-rodded Ford Model Bs to street rod Chevy Bel Airs and even included German Beetles and Kombi busses. In addition to the cars, there was an entire section for bikes that featured slammed choppers alongside insect-like slims.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Zeche Ewald: A Coal Mine Turned Custom Car Cathedral
The show takes place at Zeche Ewald, a decommissioned coal mine in Herten, Germany, and it’s grown into arguably the biggest custom culture show on the entire continent. What started as a modest gathering has stretched into a multi-day event, with later editions running a full five days from the last weekend of May into early June — plenty of time for rat rods, Bel Airs, Beetles, and Kombis to share the same pavement.
More Than Just Sheet Metal
Kustom Kulture Forever built its reputation on more than just the cars and bikes parked on the grounds. International tattoo artists, a mini-ramp skate session, and two tents’ worth of legendary late-night parties round out the weekend. There’s something genuinely wild about watching American car culture take root so completely that a former German coal mine has become one of its biggest annual celebrations — hot rods and Kombis parked fender to fender, thousands of miles from Detroit.
Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Related posts:
How I Ruined All My Cars
Huge Gallery: Tri-Fives, Muscle Cars and Roadsters at the 2017 Grand National Roadster Show!
Teenager Drove Muscle Cars from his Grandfather’s Dealership
How to Install Lokar Shift Knobs for a Factory Appearance
Car club hosts Cruise Night and car show
Goodguys set for ‘muscle car madness’ this weekend
Best of the Disco Era,‘70s Cars and Style at HOT ROD Power Tour 2017
World’s largest road trip pulls into Gateway Motorsports Park
2017 Hot Rod Super Nationals weekend off to a Great Start
Oldsmobile 442 1970 W-30 4-Speed Convertible
