EVENT: SEMA SHOW PT.9

EVENT:   SEMA SHOW PT.9


Time for my final review of SEMA. I hope these reviews have given you a good insight into this huge trade show.
Back to the cars. The Honda stand was simple and low budget (hey, Green carpet, we have a stand!), but had a great variety of CR-Z’s from various builders including in-house 'Honda Design' (Red CR-Z) and Honda Performance Development, better known for their ALMS racecars.
This was the first time I had seen the new Honda CR-Z in the flesh and I have to admit, I was impressed. Performance is still a bit of an issue in stock form.


Mugen also showed their variant.

One of the most extreme CR-Z was this Bisimoto offering. Performance was no longer an issue with 533hp from the Turbocharged hybrid power plant!

I’m sure I’ve seen those paint drip style graphics on another extreme small car.... The graphics aren't to my taste, but the performance sure is.

As is now tradition at SEMA, there was a Matte Black variant on the stand!
This one covered in Maguiars Wraptivo! Nice touch, they left the roof gutter panel in gloss.

Scion had a large presence as usual. Chris Rado's Team Need for Speed  Scion tC welcomed visitors to the South Halls. A Prime position. This beast is as extreme as the 70's carpet!

Chris also had a couple of other Scion’s tucked away in the corner. This is the first turbocharged 2011 tC2 and is his own daily driver.
Keep an eye on this car.In the future an engine transplant with larger transporter will be installed. Target horsepower is 700hp and remaining street legal

Shaun Baker’s tC2 won the now-annual Scion Tuner Challenger.

As a motorsport geek, I was more impressed by John Pangilinan’s tC2 racecar which had a new Jon Sibal (boy, he is busy!) designed Seibon Bodykit.

Crawford Performance showed off a cool tC2, complete with Green accents and lips on the wheels….now, where have I seen that before ...

I liked this retro-livery 0-60 Magazine for their Rally America xD. It is a shame 0-60 Magazine has been axed.
No more arguments with Rod, trying to explain it is ‘Naught-to Sixty’ in the Queen’s English!

Ford also had a large number of Fiesta’s on show. Some of these are also at the LA Motor Show. They were promoting their aftermarket graphics heavily. Not sure how popular this will be to be honest.

I was impressed with this car, it is quite large compared to the Fiesta’s I grew up around in Europe. The 3dCarbon kit is clean and subtle. More Bright Green!

If I put Mr Block's Fiesta to the side for a moment, my favourite Fiesta was the Ford Racing version, although I didn’t really appreciate this car until Friday.
During the show, it hung from the roof and an Artist would occasionally drop paint on it. By the end of the week, the car had been unmasked and back on four wheels and the paint looked really good…if you take it in the context of a race/rally livery.
Under the skin, the original 2.0 Litre has been bumped to 2.3 and now has 350hp

If you haven’t heard, Travis Pastrama has left Subaru for NASCAR. Funny thing is, I overheard two conversations about this at the SEMA Show and thought, that can’t be right…..
Anyway, his Red Bull Subaru has a great livery. I love the tone on tone logos. We’ve seen this pattern logo approach around for a couple of years now on road and race cars and I’m a big fan.

I'll leave you with this amazing Ring Brothers Mustang ‘Dragon’ powered by a Roush 427HR. Designed by Sean Smith, this is an amazing build. Different approach and purpose to the RTR-X. The attention to detail is amazing.

The car has lots of modern touches which maybe a little to far for some tastes, but still an amazing build. Has the trademark Ring Brothers look. I can't imagine how many hours has been put into the build.
We hope you have enjoyed the coverage. Overall, i was a great show, and a special one for Speedhunters and the Need for Speed team. The effects of the Credit Crisis is still obvious here with cheaper, less elaborate builds than in the past and many older builds reappearing. Looking to the future, signs are good and everyone was much more positive than 12 months ago.
Our job is to pick up the up coming trends and drive these into future Need for Speed products. Take a look at all our SEMA posts and lets have your views!
What did you like, dislike?

-Andy Blackmore.
Speedhunters SEMA 2010 coverage.