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.
