Here's All The Rad Stuff I Saw At SEMA 2024

It has been a few years since I last attended SEMA, and a lot has changed. The big trends that I noticed since 2019? It's significantly less fun. With the Hoonigans a shadow of its former self, Ford Out Front gone, GM and Hyundai are still sitting it out, and many big name aftermarket companies opting out of attending, there's just less pizzazz, less jawdropping show metal, and less tire smoke.

Maybe it's because I'm five years older, but I used to be able to spend an entire day zooming through halls and getting wowed by builds and concepts, but this year I saw everything I wanted to in about five hours and 12 miles of walking. Even though the show has expanded to include an additional convention hall, there just isn't as much there there.

I think my favorite of the show was Jeff Zwart's Porsche 993 built by BBi Autosport, above. It's just the right amount of wild, and the execution is simple, but flawless. Read on to see a few others I enjoyed.

This was far and away the most hyped thing on the SEMA show floor in 2024, and it came from a major OEM, which almost never happens. Toyota's GR86 GR-Four is amazing. It's also sad because Toyota knows this is almost exactly the kind of car we want in 2024, but they can't and won't build it. I really liked the GR Corolla, but would vastly prefer a sports car form factor to a hot hatch. I'd be a buyer tomorrow if Toyota could economically build these.

Hey, you got your trophy truck in my Volkswagen Beetle! Hey, you got your Volkswagen Beetle in my trophy truck!

Evo wagon with aerodiscs? Yeah, this car was made for me.

Not a single Huracan Sterrato owner will ever go rooftop tent camping in their car. They're all cowards.

I like dirty Cayennes.

If I had a nickel for every time someone showed an EV-swapped EG Honda Civic hatchback at SEMA in 2024 I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.

Bradley Brownell

Is this the cleanest Bronco to ever exist?

Twin-turbo J35 swap in a widebody CRX is just incredible.

The folks at S-Klub LA have a hit-or-miss track record at SEMA, but I think this Shark Blue 993 widebody is pretty close to a hit. I wish it had different wheels and a couple fewer bodywork flourishes, but the 959-esque treatment to the rear of the car is just incredible.

Kei sports cars go so hard already, so to build this one so perfectly is just another level.

This Ferrari Dino was lovingly restored. Then it was packed with anachronistic LED lighting, giant chrome wheels, and an electric motor. I can abide the EV swap, but yikes to the rest.

Luigi Colani's Utah 8 was originally built to run records at the Bonneville salt flats way back in 1989, and was powered by a BMW k-series motorcycle four-cylinder. Considering its age, you might be impressed to hear the Utah 8 was a full carbon tub, and weighed about 11oo pounds. Bisimoto ripped out the bike engine and installed a 300 horsepower electric motor. I bet it's faster now.

Empi's Inch Pincher is a rad little drag racing Volkswagen with way more power than it had from the factory. This 2.5-liter air-cooled flat four makes a stellar 208 horsepower! I bet this thing moves.

Bradley Brownell

There is a trend of modernizing and, for lack of a better term, "Singerizing" almost every vintage car out there. I never would have expected people to start doing this to BMW 8ers, but here we are. The execution is pretty slick.

This is a very rare Weissach Edition 911, and it's been painted up real pretty. When I first saw this I was a little bit repulsed, but after looking at it for a bit, I think it is genuinely a work of art, and art is supposed to cause a reaction.

Tan F40 on center lock mesh wheels. That's it. That's the post.

Mopar prominently showed off its crate electric swap kit this year by building a pretty rad pro-touring Plymouth using the new tech. This particular car made 335 horsepower and packs 73 kWh of battery for an estimated 250 miles of range. That would make for a pretty cool daily driver, honestly.

Regardless of the fact that this is probably horrifyingly bad to drive, this Jaguar-bodied zombie tow truck from hell made me laugh when I saw it, and after a glum day of hustling through Chinese white label manufacturer booths, this was a sight for sore eyes.

Would you just look at it!

These Grasshopper truck toppers for kei trucks are probably the raddest product I saw on display at SEMA. The red one is built with a tool chest in the driver side for emergency roadside repairs or mobile mechanics. The green truck was outfitted with a Grasshopper camper shell. I love the aerodynamic slope back shape. It's a way to make your unique kei truck even more unique

Totally impractical eye candy is what SEMA is supposed to be about. I love this. Don't get your pant leg caught in that chain, man!