SEMA 2015: Our Highlights

Each year, SEMA draws an enormous amount of traffic to Las Vegas. This is the show that builders and manufacturers wait for, as a chance to show off their best products and likewise, their best builds. The show as a whole is immense, covering every hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center (and every walkway in between). That said, one can imagine the mass numbers of cars and products that are on display. With this quantity, it’s easy to get sidetracked, making it likely that you’ll miss some of the amazing vehicles that are presented. 

This blog entry will serve as a general recap of the show. Below, we’ve shared what we think were the highlights of this year’s convention.

This year, I noticed that there was a large vintage/classic import presence. This was exciting because I felt that last year, the show almost completely lacked this area of the enthusiast market. We saw everything from Supras, to Skylines, to a BRE Datsun 510 racecar. There were also some more notable builds in attendance, such as Fast and Furious actor Sung Kang’s much anticipated Rocket Bunny 240z. To top it off, there was a freshly built Nissan “Hakotora” Sunny truck, which is an incredibly rare sight!

In addition, Z Car Garage and OS Giken teamed up to build one of the most beautiful and impressive S30 cars that I’ve seen. Featuring a unicorn TC24-B1Z powerplant, this Z appears to have been resto-modified to perfection. No bolt left unturned! 

There was also a hefty number of other classic cars, many of them built up as rat rods. Bagged cars had a strong presence throughout the show, represented by everything from widebody Mustangs to completely custom hotrods and cruisers.

One of the biggest trends this year was inarguably the aggressive “Boss” Rocket Bunny kit, made for the Nissan S chassis. This kit has surged in popularity since its original debut, and it was evident that this pleased the SEMA crowd. This kit is meant to be a tribute of sorts to Datsun’s racing heritage. A large number of people believe the kit is a mashup of a Dodge Challenger and an S14, but in reality, the front end is based on the classic Datsun 210. (However, note that the first car below has a Bluebird grill!) The swaps that rested under the hoods of these beautiful cars were also just as unique as their looks. For example, the blue car (owned by Formula Drift driver Corey Hosford) is powered by a 402ci LSX motor, and produces upwards of 1,000hp!

Another feature attraction this year was the flock of RWB Porsches. Who doesn’t love a good RWB? There was something for everyone this year. Most of the cars were aligned in one booth, but there were also a few others to be found scattered about the convention center. For example, Mark Arcenal’s “Pandora One” was on display outside the main hall. 

Among the rest of the cars, there were a few other notable entries. 

The big joke of SEMA 2014 was that every car was an FRS with a bolt on body kit. I can’t argue that this was untrue, and luckily this year’s show had a great deal of variety. The number of wide body Scions had dropped, making more way for other makes and styles of building. Wide body kits are obviously still very in style, but at least they're being made more interesting.