The Madness And Brilliance Of The SEMA Show Summed Up In 29 Images

There are two things that struck me about the annual trade show of the Specialty Equipment Market Association - better known as SEMA - on my first visit this year. Firstly, scale: it fills the vast Las Vegas Convention Center, spilling into car parks on the peripheries of the facility. It simply isn’t possible to see everything. Secondly, it’s the variety of stuff on display.

There’s a heavy mainstream manufacturer presence, with the Jeep, Dodge, Ford, Kia, Honda and more showing existing models alongside wild concepts cooked up especially for the show. Dodge showcasing the new ‘Hellcrate’ HEMI V8 by stuffing it into a Plymouth Superbird replica, while over at Kia the Stinger GT was given two very different treatments. We were big fans of the ScienceofSpeed Acura NSX over at the Honda booth too.

The area immediately outside the south hall was a pick-up truck fanboy’s dreamland, with all manner of imposing lifted trucks providing a deeply unsubtle feast for the eyes. Modified classics and supercars were littered across the show to prove that no car can be beyond a good aftermarket tweak or three, while the countless parts on display ranged from delicious forged internals to bedazzled engines. Yes, really.

Special mention has to go to the Toyo tyres stand, home to tastefully modified Porsches, a lovely wide body BMW M2, and TeamCT’s favourite car of the show (also nominated by our very own Alex Kersten as Best Euro car for the Gran Turismo Awards at SEMA), Willy Izaguirre’s S52-engined BMW E9. We came away with more pictures of that car than anything else, so Izaguirre must be doing something right.

Take a look through our snaps, which should hopefully give you at least some idea of the general madness and brilliance of this show. Roll on SEMA 2018…