Yahoo Autos Our Favorite Cars from SEMA 2024
For the automotive enthusiast, the annual Specialty Equipment Marketing Association (SEMA) show is a cross between touring Willy Wonka's factory and going to Disneyland. There's so much to see that it's nearly impossible to drink it all in, a kaleidoscope maelstrom of glossy paint, huge horsepower, and unbridled creativity. Nostalgic hits like this year's Ringbrothers Grand National are pure throwback fun, while the OEMs often show up with visions of the future—like Kia's Wkndr off-road van.
Here's a roundup of some of the builds that caught our eye among all the glorious cacophony. It wouldn't be SEMA if it didn't go over the top.
1976 Toyota Celica V-12
From the factory, the '70s Celica came with a sensible four cylinders. This one has three times that piston count. It keeps things in the Toyota family by using the V12 out of the previous generation Century limousine, woken up out of its usual stately low speed performance cruising the crowded streets of Tokyo with custom heads, exhaust, and 12 individual throttle bodies perched up top like champagne glasses. Power's more than doubled over stock, up to 700 horsepower.
The transmission's out of a Toyota too, an eight-speed automatic taken from a 2024 Supra. But wait: it has a third pedal too! Because the Supra transmission has clutch packs, this car's been fitted with a clutch pedal that allows the driver to disconnect the engine from the wheels to do a quick rev at a stoplight or clutch-kick to start a drift or burnout. The whole thing's finished off with carbon-fiber body modifications and multi-link racing suspension underneath.
1967 Plymouth GTX EV Restomod
While stuffing big engines into small cars is still a time-honored SEMA tradition, battery-powered restomodding is on the rise. Even the OEMs are getting into it, as evidenced by this '67 Plymouth GTX, fitted with a 335-hp Mopar electric crate motor.
It won't sound like a Hemi V8, but otherwise this "electromod" would be hard to spot. The charge port is hidden behind the fuel filler, and the crate motor itself even looks like a Hellcat's supercharger. The V-8 purists won't be happy, but Stellantis's e-Crate package is just providing customizers with another avenue for getting creative.
Welderup Rat Rods at Lincoln Electric
Of course, the most common way electricity is applied at SEMA is in welding together custom parts, stacking dimes on steel to create that professional look skilled welders can spot. Over at the Lincoln Electric booth, local Vegas fabrication shop Welderup brought over two of their rat rod trucks to show off what's possible when steel is your canvas.
On the right is El Diablo, a Peterbilt semi that's been given the full Fury Road treatment. On the left is Iron Rod, a 1947 Federal fitted with four-cylinder Cummins turbo-diesel power and a metalwork bench and Lincoln welder out back.
1974 Opel Manta
A Manta is Europe's Chevy Camaro, in the same way that the Ford Capri is the Mustang on the other side of the Atlantic. You don't see them often in the US, but this one turned up as a freebie when hot-rodder Jes Havlik bought a new transport trailer.
Havlik stripped the chassis bare and then shoe-horned in an absolutely colossal 582 cubic inch Chevy V-8, quintupling the Opel's stock displacement. Equipped with drag slicks, it'll run an 8.5-second quarter-mile with a trap speed just shy of 160 mph, despite being a fully street-legal car.
Toyota Classic Adventure Cruiser
Toyota's booth at SEMA had plenty of retro hits, from the Sega Rally feel of the GR86 Rally Legacy concept, to the topless TRD 4Runner Surf. Seriously, Toyota should build both of those. It should also steal a page from the Ford Bronco Heritage model, and produce a showroom-ready version of this retro-themed Land Cruiser.
Not much more than a lift and 20 x 9-inch wheels plus a graphics package, the Classic Adventure Cruiser was one of the tamer offerings at Toyota. That just means it's closer to something the company could actually sell.
Toyota Modellista Overland
The Modellista Overland concept is a rugged and outlandish Land Cruiser, ready to take on any dystopian future. It might look like something from Blade Runner, but it's actually something you might be able to park in your driveway soon.
Modellista is Toyota's Japanese customization arm, and this concept is meant to show what might be possible should the brand come to the US. There's no reason why this vehicle's body armor, racking, and auxiliary lights couldn't be sold out of US dealerships under the TRD brand.
Reyn 858 CSL
Big BMW grand tourers have been creating Bimmer enthusiasts since the days of the E9 3.0 CSL, but arguably the 8-series of 1990 to 1999 never got its due. They're great-looking cars, understated and elegant especially compared to some of BMW's more excessive modern styling. Want to pair that genteel look with some ferocious performance? Reyn Speed Shop has you covered.
This reimagining of the E31 is called the 858 CSL, and it's powered by a stroked out 5.8L V10 out of an E60 M5, good for 600 hp. The widebody is carbonfiber, there are M3 CSL design elements throughout, and best of all it's a proper six-speed manual gearbox.
1965 Fiat 500 Ducati Evoluzione
The original Fiat 500 was a friendly little Italian people's car that was cheerful, fun, and slow. The Ducati 996 engine is a World Superbike winning motor that wants to shred oxygen atoms and shoot flame. Seems like as good a recipe as any for one spicy meatball of a tiny car.
Nicknamed Bruno, this classic Fiat now has a hundred horsepower more than it left the factory with, most of it delivered at sky-high revs that'll rattle your brain. It's as Italian as a loud argument at the dinner table.
Mazda Autozam M2 1015
This tiny, gullwinged kei car is so small that you might have walked right past it with all the other exotic sheetmetal there is to see at SEMA. You'd be missing out as this Mazda is incredibly rare, one of just 25 made worldwide.
M2 Incorporated was Mazda's Tokyo-based skunkworks, tasked with injecting creativity into Mazda's products: stuff like putting a 2.5L V6 into the NA Miata. The M2 1015 was a restyling of the Autozam AZ-1 kei car, and this one appears to have some tasteful cosmetic upgrades, Sparco racing seats, and a carbon-fiber exhaust.
Pandem Rocket Bunny 280ZX
Sandwiched between the classic Datsun 240Z and the turbocharged 300ZX, the 280SX is often completely overlooked by Z enthusiasts. This one has been rescued from a rusty shell and fitted with a Pandem Rocket Bunny Japanese widebody. It looks great.
Under the hood is a twin-turbocharged L-Series motor, which is fitting application for a car that should get a lot more respect than it does. In Japan in its day, a twin-turbocharged 280SX was known to be one of the fastest tuner cars on the street, driven by a member of the underground Mid Night Racing club long before they turned to Porsche 911s and Nissan Skyline GT-Rs.
For the automotive enthusiast, the annual SEMA (formerly spelled out as Specialty Equipment Marketing Association) show is a cross between touring Willy Wonka's factory and going to Disneyland. There's so much to see that it's nearly impossible to drink it all in: a kaleidoscope maelstrom of glossy paint, huge horsepower, and unbridled creativity. Nostalgic hits like this year's Ringbrothers Grand National are pure throwback fun, while the OEMs often show up with visions of the future—like Kia's Wkndr off-road van.
Here's a roundup of some of the builds that caught our eye among all the glorious cacophony. It wouldn't be SEMA if it didn't go over the top.
From the factory, the '70s Celica came with a sensible four cylinders. This one has three times that piston count. It keeps things in the Toyota family by using the V-12 out of the previous-generation Century limousine, awakened out of its usual stately low-speed performance cruising the crowded streets of Tokyo with custom heads, exhaust, and 12 individual throttle bodies perched up top like champagne glasses. Power's more than doubled over stock, up to 700 horsepower.
1976 Toyota Celica V-12
The transmission is out of a Toyota too, an eight-speed automatic taken from a 2024 Supra. But wait: it has a third pedal too! Because the Supra transmission has clutch packs, this car's been fitted with a clutch pedal that allows the driver to disconnect the engine from the wheels to do a quick rev at a stoplight or clutch-kick to start a drift or burnout. The whole thing's finished off with carbon-fiber body modifications and a multi-link racing suspension underneath.
1967 Plymouth GTX EV Restomod
While stuffing big engines into small cars is still a time-honored SEMA tradition, battery-powered restomodding is on the rise. Even the OEMs are getting into it, as evidenced by this '67 Plymouth GTX, fitted with a 335-hp Mopar electric crate motor.
It won't sound like a Hemi V-8, but otherwise this "electromod" would be hard to spot. The charge port is hidden behind the fuel filler, and the crate motor itself even looks like a Hellcat's supercharger. The V-8 purists won't be happy, but Stellantis's e-Crate package is just providing customizers with another avenue for getting creative.
Welderup Rat Rods at Lincoln Electric
Of course, the most common way electricity is applied at SEMA is in welding together custom parts, stacking dimes on steel to create that professional look skilled welders can spot. Over at the Lincoln Electric booth, local Vegas fabrication shop Welderup brought over two of their rat-rod trucks to show off what's possible when steel is your canvas.
Welderup Rat Rods at Lincoln Electric
On the right is El Diablo, a Peterbilt semi that's been given the full Fury Road treatment. On the left is Iron Rod, a 1947 Federal fitted with four-cylinder Cummins turbo-diesel power and a metalwork bench and Lincoln welder out back.
1974 Opel Manta
A Manta is Europe's Chevy Camaro, in the same way that the Ford Capri is the Mustang on the other side of the Atlantic. You don't see them often in the U.S., but this one turned up as a freebie when hot-rodder Jes Havlik bought a new transport trailer.
Havlik stripped the chassis bare and then shoehorned in an absolutely colossal 582-cubic-inch Chevy V-8, quintupling the Opel's stock displacement. Equipped with drag slicks, it'll run an 8.5-second quarter-mile with a trap speed just shy of 160 mph, despite being a fully street-legal car.
Toyota Classic Adventure Cruiser
Toyota's booth at SEMA had plenty of retro hits, from the Sega Rally feel of the GR86 Rally Legacy concept to the topless TRD 4Runner Surf. Seriously, Toyota should build both of those. It should also steal a page from the Ford Bronco Heritage model and produce a showroom-ready version of this retro-themed Land Cruiser.
Not much more than a lift and 20-x-9-inch wheels plus a graphics package, the Classic Adventure Cruiser was one of the tamer offerings at Toyota. That just means it's closer to something the company could actually sell.
Toyota Modellista Overland
The Modellista Overland concept is a rugged and outlandish Land Cruiser, ready to take on any dystopian future. It might look like something from Blade Runner, but it's actually something you might be able to park in your driveway soon.
Modellista is Toyota's Japanese customization arm, and this concept is meant to show what might be possible should the brand come to the U.S. There's no reason why this vehicle's body armor, racking, and auxiliary lights couldn't be sold out of U.S. dealerships under the TRD brand.
1965 Fiat 500 Ducati Evoluzione
The original Fiat 500 was a friendly little Italian people's car that was cheerful, fun, and slow. The Ducati 996 engine is a World Superbike–winning motor that wants to shred oxygen atoms and shoot flame. Seems like that's as good a recipe as any for one spicy meatball of a tiny car.
Nicknamed Bruno, this classic Fiat now has 100 horsepower more than it left the factory with, most of it delivered at sky-high revs that'll rattle your brain. It's as Italian as a loud argument at the dinner table.
Mazda Autozam M2 1015
This tiny, gullwinged kei car is so small that you might have walked right past it with all the other exotic sheetmetal there is to see at SEMA. You'd be missing out as this Mazda is incredibly rare, one of just 25 made worldwide.
M2 Incorporated was Mazda's Tokyo-based skunkworks, tasked with injecting creativity into Mazda's products: stuff like putting a 2.5-liter V-6 into the NA Miata. The M2 1015 was a restyling of the Autozam AZ-1 kei car, and this one appears to have some tasteful cosmetic upgrades, Sparco racing seats, and a carbon-fiber exhaust.
Pandem Rocket Bunny 280ZX
Sandwiched between the classic Datsun 240Z and the turbocharged 300ZX, the 280SX is often completely overlooked by Z enthusiasts. This one has been rescued from a rusty shell and fitted with a Pandem Rocket Bunny Japanese widebody. It looks great. Under the hood is a twin-turbocharged L-series motor, which is fitting application for a car that should get a lot more respect than it does. In Japan in its day, a twin-turbocharged 280SX was known to be one of the fastest tuner cars on the street, driven by a member of the underground Mid Night Racing club long before they turned to Porsche 911s and Nissan Skyline GT-Rs.
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