It’s pretty crazy to think that in only two and a half days at SEMA I was able to amass so much coverage that, even still I’m not through editing it all. I couldn’t imagine shooting a show like this in the early days of digital photography where captured cards held next to nothing. I would need a back pack just for storage media, never mind how difficult it must have been in the days of film!
Like the rest of the event coverage thus far today’s posts dips both inside and outside the Las Vegas Convention Centre and contains a little bit of everything, before ending with the Scion showcase.
Track capable, street driven, wagons could (and should) be the next ‘big’ thing. I really need to go to the Ultimate Street Car invitational one yearThe 0 rear camber configuration must be pretty competitive as more and more drift drivers seem to be going that wayThis was a fairly famous drift car from Japan’s D1 series in 2007 or soNow it lives in America and fittingly has a very extreme American powerplantToyota’s now famous Camry ‘sleeper’An 850 horse, supercharged 5.7L Tundra motor sits inside a tube chassis, underneath the stock shellThe doors retain the ability to open along with their door panels, which is a nice touchThe Fatlace GS really blurs the visual lines between function and formI’m not sure if any track time is in this cars future but it sure looks as though it would fit inEneos Oil cause quite a commotion with Tanner Fousts’ authentic Nakai-san built RWB beetle. Who knew a Beetle could pull off the look so well?This Tjin edition Ford Fiesta had Cobb Tuning everything under the hood, and sat on MHT Big Slot U600 wheels which is a very unique choiceAir Lift assisted with this paper thin wheel clearance at park heightAnother Tjin edition build, this expedition sat on 24″ Rotiforms under all metal flaresThis build garnered lots of mixed opinions, but you really can’t fault the craftsmanshipCrafstmaship wise this Chevy was next level, just take a look at those engine bay coversThe very subtle Chevy Emblem in the grill is easily one of my favourite details, almost imperceptible at frist glanceThe wheels suit the theme great as wellThis car is an actual restored gasser from back in the hay day of gassersThe sign stated that the history of this car is somewhat unknown, but based on the condition it was found in it is assumed it saw a lot of track timeNow the car does double duty between driving and stripNew (to me) company Cuve Wheels brought out a bagged Infiniti on their ‘Pinot Noir’ wheelsIn the same hall Vossen showcased their ‘instabuit’ Lexus RC-FThey also had an LFA in their booth, on the somewhat recently released CVT model wheelsSwitching gears entirely, here’s a look at a bike in the House of Kolor boothI didn’t know motorcycle wheels came this large! Practically riding an adult sized big wheel at this pointOutside sat another very unique bike inspired by Tri Five ChevysNo idea how it would ride with that big fin, but it sure looks pretty radOne of 9 known existing GM Futureliners also stopped by SEMA. Not sure a picture really puts into perspecive how truly large this rig isThis 66 Impala makes the argument that perhaps 64s are not the quintessential platform of choice
Interior and exterior done to the niness of courseHad to take more photos of CATuned’s 325isThe ITBs look amazing on the M20Elvis Skender of Stance Nation recently completely redid his flagship LS400
It is now static with healthy amounts of camber front and rear, Toyo sponsorship must come in handy here!
Scion
Seemingly overnight Scion has reached ten years of operation and for their anniversary they decided to do things up big by showcased a few unique Scion builds alongside the GT Channel, Superstreet, and Speedhunters Tuner challenge builds.
Cartel Customs built this Targa FR-SI loved the use of window louvers on the car, they are my favourite touch, which is saying a lot considering it’s also boosted and has a custom widebody kitMy fascination with 70s Street Machines made me fall hook line and sinker for this. The only other vehicle I feel could survive this treatment is a Ford FlexSince the rig belongs (or is at least going to be loaned to) Riley Hawk they had to put a bit of skateboarding influence into itThe interior played the part too. The wood grain plays well with the couch like leather seats, CB radio, and 8 track playerThis Mine’s styled car was GT Channel’s 2014 Scion Tuner Challenge entry. I’d show you more but I completely brain farted and only took this one photo of itI did however get very shutter happy with Superstreet’s buildAs a big BBS LM fan I really appreciated the wheel choice and finish on this car, great brake set-up as wellThe shaved the rivet holes on the Greddy/Rocket Bunny kit smooths out the look considerably. Both SpeedHunters and Super Street ended up going this route with their kitsThe greatest talking point on the Super Street build had to the Individual throttle bodies
It is currently the only FR-S in the world running ITBs which is a monumental feat all it’s ownThe trunk was equipped with Pioneer gear and a cool ‘infinity window’ enclosuresAs impressive a build as the Super Street FR-S was the win ended up going to this car built by Keith Charvionia and Andy Blackmore representing team SpeedHunters. Tomorrow, for the next SEMA mini-feature I will highlight a few of the reasons why
the targa fr-s wins all of the things, my heart included…