Just recently passed was the 2011 SEMA show where we had the privilege of attending. For those that do not know what SEMA is, it is a showcase of the worlds leading automotive industry manufacturers and their products. It is held in Las Vegas and closed to the public without proper credentials. It spans four days because it is simply huge. We were only able to attend one day, which was almost enough to walk through everything. If you were there for business, however, you would need several days to network and check out all the vendors. For those of you who couldn’t attend, we took some pics of SEMA’s unique offerings for your enjoyment. Here is our photo diary…
We arrived in Las Vegas late Thursday night and checked into our hotel at the Imperial Palace. As fancy as it sounds, it was absolutely horrible, with more con’s than pro’s. The only good things about that hotel was the location as it was central on the strip and also because it was conveniently located next to the monorail, which would take us to the convention center one stop away. It was also cheap too, at roughly $95 a night. We figured we’d spend more time out than in and went with it.
The following morning we woke up nice and early to grab breakfast and then roll to SEMA. The last day of SEMA was over an hour early than the previous days so we made sure to get there nice and early. Upon arriving at the convention center from the monorail, you are greeted to that fantastic view of the outdoor area, pictured above, which was home to hundreds of show cars as well as an outdoor drift circuit.
On the outside we headed to check out the Platinum Motorsports x Exotics Boutique x Luxury4Play Bugatti Veyron. This car was previously red/black and redone completely in matte white with new wheels and new clear tail lights. Easily a project that costs as much as a new Lambo or Ferrari. This Veyron was stunning and the star of the show in our opinion.
In terms of aftermarket tuning shops, Platinum Motorsports killed it hands down. They were well represented with at least a dozen cars or so through out the show. Each car with their own unique style and taste. Some were simple while others were more outrageous like this widebody Porsche Cayenne Turbo.
Matte paint finishes were on many of the Platinum Motorsports cars on hand such as this Rolls Royce Ghost lowered on Agetro wheels.
As well as this matte white widebody Premiere4509 Bentley Continental GT. Probably the hottest modified Bentley CGT on the streets.
Rolls Royce’s were a popular choice for the high end clientele that roamed around. Several matte black ones were on hand including the famous SCC Phantom and this Platinum Motorsports Mansory Phantom.
Other cars on hand by Platinum Motorsports was this Pearl White F430 Spider with a Novitec bodykit and Vette Z06 with ZR1 peices. Platinum Motorsports rolled deep and we weren’t able to capture all their cars.
The VIP/luxury sedan segment is still strong with cars such as the AMG’s, Quattroporte’s, and these M5’s making an appearance. White one had a pearl finish while the yellow M5 sported a twin supercharger.
Our good friends at PUR Wheels were on hand with this LP640 sporting LP670-SV body kit.
Next to that LP640 was this insanely clean MB S65 AMG sitting on ADV1’s with a WALD bodykit. One of our favorite examples of a modified S Class AMG.
Many would argue that the cars that stole the show were the Rauh Welt Begriff Porsches built by Nakai San. For those that don’t know, Nakai San personally flies to each location to hand build each Porsche ranging from 964 to 993. Each and every RWB Porsche has it’s own distinct style and livery. The first two RWB Porsches on USA soil were all on hand. In person these Porsches definitely have some presence and should be appreciated.
The green 964 is owned by Mark Arcenal, founder of the Illest and Fatlace brand.
The white 965 Porsche is owned by Brian Scotto, formerly of 0-60 Mag. It is reps the HOONIGAN brand, a new company that Ken Block also reps.
At the Falken boot was this Lexus LFA. It was stock aside from the Forgestar wheels. Looks pretty good in this red finish I must say…
The other heavy hitter on hand was Giovanna Wheels / GFG. Love them or hate them, you couldn’t deny that these guys did not mess around with some of the most elite supercars on hand, including two brand new Lamborghini Aventadors. You may not agree with their style of wheel or even see them on many cars, but they must be doing something right. In all honesty, some of their newer wheel designs look great.
One of our personal favorite cars of the show was this MB Mclaren SLR Roadster, done also by Platinum Motorsports. It sported an aftermarket front lip, carbon truck spoiler, carbon diffuser, wheels, etc. It just stood out for us. All the little details made this car stunning.
Diko, the owner of GFG, was able to get one of the first Aventadors in the US. He was also the first to put a set of wheels on. This Aventador had white finish wheels on one side and black on the other. For those of you who think Lamborghini went downhill or this new Aventador is ugly, we suggest you to see one in person as it is staggering. It’s mean, wide, low, and simply looks futuristic. We can’t wait to see these roaming the streets. While other manufacturers continue to produce hideous cars (Honda, Ferrari, BMW, etc), Lamborghini has once again raised the bar.
A few feet away in the Pirelli section was this matte pearly white Aventador, also brought by the GFG group. Between the two whites, we gotta go with the matte pearl.
Underground Racing brought their 1500+ HP twin turbo Lamborghini LP570 Superleggera in the Nitto section. We would drive without the rear bumper to show that work of art, wouldn’t you?
In the CEC section was this new Fisker Karma sedan. Not officially released to the public yet, CEC was able to produce a body kit and set of wheels which greatly improved the looks of this car. This is one hybrid we wouldn’t mind being caught in.
Gotta show love to the JDM classics. This R32 GTR was in the XXR booth. XXR manufactures wheels that look oddly close to many popular wheel choices for a fraction of the cost. You will be seeing more of this company in 2012 for sure. This GTR barely parked far enough from that pillar with less than a finger gap literally.
This widebody CTS-V coupe drew some attention thanks to its wide body, giant wing, flat black finish, and supposedly 1000+ horsepower under the hood. Built by D3 motorsports.
Our new sponsor Nutek Wheels had its own section set up. Under Nutek is Bavaria wheels which is their cast lineup. An interesting fact, Nutek was founded by one of the original founders of HRE wheels. Check back shortly as we will be featuring them and their projects.
In the Forgiato section were some serious hardware. Not as crazy as GFG Wheels but still featured some crazy cars such as this Liberty Walk Murcielago. It sported an SV style body kit all around and had air suspension. Definitely not your average Lambo.
Next to the Murci was the Exotics Boutique x Luxury4Play Mclaren SLR. Completely redone from black to white with a Mansory bodykit. Work was done by Platinum Motorsports of course. It was also featured on Dupont Registry magazine as you can see in the banners in the background.
Other cars in the Forgiato section was this Ferrari 458 Italia and new MB CLS63 with a matte orange wrap.
Elsewhere was this white Rolls Royce Phantom. Still the ultimate baller car or outdated?
This chrome / mirror finish Audi R8 blinded us from afar. It was built by West Coast Customs as seen on their tv show. Not for everyone’s taste but was a nice display of craftsmanship.
There were several SL class AMG Mercedes on display. Many of them sported Black Series body kits rather than being the real thing such as this one. Still looks good though.
Tucked away on the side was this Porsche 997TT by our good friends at Vivid Racing.
We’re not one to show you Hondas but this particular one was built by Brian of Fox Marketing in conjuction with Vossen Wheels, D BASF, etc. We’re sure this isn’t the first time you’ve seen a car built by Fox Marketing. Check back soon as Brian is an upcoming success story.
On the red carpet was this Mosler we’ve seen running around Beverly Hills. We guess the newest addition to this car would be the giant twin turbo’s you can see under the rear decklid. It’s not connected so we assume this car was trailered here. The “Area 51” license plate fits this car well.
Outdoors was this DTA / Rogue Status Porsche 996TT with it’s trademark gun pattern. This Porsche went against the norm with it’s aggressive fitment wheels.
Near it was this Porsche 997 on Work Wheels you might have seen before. Pretty cool to see the fusion of Euro cars on Japanese wheels.
Inside the Scion booth was this xB built by our friends at SR Auto Group. This particular Scion beat out two other builds and won the Scion Tuner Challenge. Good job guys!
Vendors that produced machinery for shops were on hand such as automotive lifts, alignment machines, tire rotation devices, and even dyno’s. This C63 AMG sat on this dyno with a supposedly 650+ RWHP from it’s supercharged V8. Not sure if they were doing live dyno run’s but that would of been cool.
We headed outdoors to see what it had to offer and to our surprise it started drizzling. Rain plus high winds is never fun so we made a quick stroll. On the podium was this Ferrari 599 GTO by Donz Wheels.
Next to it was this Lamborghini LP640 by Mobile Addictions. It sat on very controversial HRE wheels. If that was their goal, they certainly drew a lot of criticism. The retro design would look more appropriate on say a Countach or Diablo in our opinion.
As it kept raining, we headed back inside to dry and check out if we had missed anything worthwhile.Next to the Pirelli booth was this RTW Motoring Ferrari 458 Italia. Front leaves much to be desired but the rear looks pretty good.
In the Meguiars car care booth was the Hennessey Venom. Even though it’s put together by a bunch of parts from various manufacturers, we have to say the quality is exceptionally high. Reliability might be a different story though with its 1,000+ HP Corvette motor.
That’s all the coverage we unfortunately able to get. Like we said, SEMA is massive and truly requires the entire four days to explore every area. Not only that there were private parties and viewings that we would have liked to attended but missed. All in all SEMA was a great show. People might complain about the recession but it sure didn’t look like there was one at all with all these new project cars and innovative products debuting. The quality of cars was extremely high as you would expect although there was literally like 60+ new Camaro’s for some reason. Must of been a popular choice… Hope you enjoyed the coverage. We’ll see you next year!
– Alan D
