When you think of Sweden your mind probably springs to images of Volvos, meatballs, and fold-flat furniture, not wild custom drag cars. This 1949 Cadillac may not win the prize for reaction times but when that diesel torque hooks he turns the tables on the little red Pontiac this year in Hagfors, Sweden.

The Cadillac trailing by two car length off the line.

Reaction times are for impatient people

When the flag drops on this make-shift runway drag strip the muscle car pulls a full two car lengths on the Cadi before the diesel unleashes his tarmac smearing torque. Motoring down the track trailing a stream of black like a freight train the Cadillac pulls around the muscle car and demonstrates the meaning of torque.

Industrial Revolution meets Golden age of Motoring

This Cadillac gasser embodies both the classic art deco, coach built aesthetic of the 1940s while subverting its aristocratic roots. By shoehorning a soot belching diesel power plant under the hood the owner has created a drag car to upset the status quo of purist classic motoring, and we love that. The pretty little Pontiac may be suited to the concourse show and shine but getting down to business the Cadillac steals the show.

It’s hard to see the final results through the smoke and there are no ETs for this impromptu exhibition of performance. No matter though, good old fashioned heads-up racing between two American Detroit giants, an underdog upset, and diesel-fueled excitement. How much more American can you get… In Sweden?

Pulling around the red muscle car the Cadi looks to take the win, rolling coal the entire way.