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.

Festorics 2015

Every year, the city of Monterey is reserved for what is known as Monterey Car Week.  From the beginning of the week until the very end, amazing automotive events are held every day.  During the weekend, people from all over gather at Laguna Seca Raceway for the Festorics/Rolex Motorsport Reunion events. 

As a sponsor of this year's Festorics, we had a great lineup of both shop and customer builds on display in the BMWCCA tent.  Additionally, Greg’s F82 made its debut with its full RevoZport Aero Kit.  Also in attendance was Marco’s 1M Clone, Shafique’s Felony Form S54 powered M3, and Haig’s twinscrew supercharged M Coupe sitting on gorgeous HREs. 

This year, there was no shortage of beautiful cars on display.  Since the Ford GT350 was the Marque and model for 2015, we saw everything from Daytona Coupes to the newest 5.0s.  Next to Ford, there was an abundance of European classics—everything from vintage BMWs (e9s, e24s, 2002s, etc.) to rare Alfa Romeos, Mercedes, F1 cars, and more.  The entire track was filled with both pristine restorations and weathered racecars. 

Throughout the day, you could observe the cars on display while listening to vintage racers roar across the track in the background.  For someone who has never attended this event, it can definitely feel overwhelming.  There’s constant action everywhere you look. Whether it’s a line of rumbling cars coming off the track, hasty maintenance in the paddocks, or swarms of guests crowding around manufacturers’ booths; it’s organized madness.  I likened the chaos to that of SEMA—while the area may be smaller than the full convention center that SEMA uses, the masses of people in addition to the noise of the cars make it a very fast paced environment. 

Below is a gallery of the rest of our images from the weekend.  What stands out to you the most?

Blox Evolution 2

The Blox Evolution show made its second appearance this year at Pier 70 in San Francisco. The show is held in an extremely old warehouse right on the water. The building itself is the definition of industrial: worn with quite a hefty number of broken windows. It’s a decent sized show, as it fills the entire warehouse, as well as the parking lots on either side of it. I did not attend the first show, but this year I could see that there was definitely something for everyone.

The “resto-mod” style seemed to be somewhat popular, especially among the older cars. There was a handful of Datsun 510s that not only looked great, but had performance to match. The 510 to the left in the photo below was equipped with an SR swap, pushing over 400hp. When you consider the fact that the car also weighs around 2,000 lbs, that’s a lot of power.

Are track cars more your thing? There were some of those, too. The 2JZ FRS pictured below looked like it could destroy some serious rubber in a drift. There was also what now only vaguely resembles a Honda at the official Blox booth. Marco had the Clone on display as well, and throughout the day, I’d say it attracted a fair amount of attention (and selfies). 

The remainder of Blox was a combination of extremely show-oriented cars and some street-to-track builds. The STi and S30 shown below are examples of some high horsepower, yet still streetable cars. As I’ve said before, I love shows that have a strong variety of cars to display. This show not only had that, but also had some side elements, such as a street art competition and a good number of vendors selling everything from Hot Wheels to apparel to magazine subscriptions. 

The last time I saw this car was at SEMA 2014. It was neat to see it again, looking as good as ever!

Ultimately, Blox is a show that almost anyone can enjoy. While the balance certainly tips in favor of stanced/show cars, there are quality builds from all around the world of modification. It’s a show I would be interested in attending again next year. I would like to see it grow more and become something even bigger. For now, though, its location at Pier 70 is amazing for photos and is unique to the Blox experience.