Austrian airbrush artist Knud Tiroch has teamed up with Spies Hecker to resurrect a Moonshine Runner, a vintage car from the American Prohibition era, turning it into a high-performance, fiery red Speed Rod.

The Austrian tuning expert discovered parts of a Ford A Roadster from the early 1930s on an old farm in Iowa, USA. Researching the car he found that during Prohibition it had smuggled illegal liquor at night as a so-called Moonshine Runner. After the end of Prohibition, the car went on to take part in privately organised races, which were the precursors of today’s NASCAR series.

Knud Tiroch said, “I was captivated by the Ford’s history and decided to resurrect it as a Hot Rod in memory of its wild and chequered past and to christen it Speed Rod.” His bodywork expert, Günter Neubauer, worked from historic documents to reconstruct the missing frame and trim. Then, all putty and paint work was carried out at the Spies Hecker Training Centre in Cologne, Germany.

Tiroch points out, “And while we have been true to the Speed Rod’s shape and form, there are no extra parts or additions to the car that were unnecessary, we wanted to show that a bit of modern creativity, technical skill and materials can produce incredible results.”

For further details on the Speed Rod and to see a video, please visit www.spieshecker.com/speedrod