Continuing a long-standing SEMA tradition of ours, 香蕉视频直播 Editor Adam Gordon (AKA Gordon Leadfoot) took to the floors of SEMA 2022 to pick his 10 absolute favorite builds of this year's show. With a personal emphasis on performance and street drivability, as well as some obscure tastes for the strange and deranged, it's no surprise that his top 10 list is a wide variety of very special vehicles.
香蕉视频直播 Editor Adam Gordon's Top 10 of SEMA 2022 are as follows, in no partciular order:
- Driver Motorsports R32 Skyline (Vibrant Performance Booth)
- Austin Barnett鈥檚 1976 Porsche 911 (Toyo Treadpass)
- Shawn Basset Built Audi RS3 (Toyo Treadpass)
- Solar Flare 1963 Corvette (Silver Lot)
- Rowie鈥檚 Mitsubishi Evo Wagon (Toyo Treadpass)
- Ring Brothers鈥� 1948 Chevrolet Loadmaster (Battle of the Builders)
- Mike Burroughs鈥� K24-Swapped Ferrari 308 (CSF Radiators Booth)
- Bisimoto Moby X Porsche (Toyo Treadpass)
- Gooichi Motors V12-Swapped Pistachio RX-7 (Toyo Treadpass)
- Hoonigan Honda Indy Ridgeline "IndyTruck" (Pennzoil Outdoor Display)
Driver Motorsports R32 Skyline (Vibrant Performance Booth)
SEMA 2022 had its fair share of incredible R32 Skyline builds, but something about this one built by Devin and Joshua of Driver Motorsports, located at the Vibrant Performance booth, made it special to me. For starters, it鈥檚 a full blown show-ready build, in addition to being properly built for performance. Cool lighting, a full trunk setup with audio, a comfortable and tasteful interior - this Skyline checks all the boxes. One of the build鈥檚 highlights is the Frankenstein RB - an RB30 block with an RB26 head, bored and stroked to a 3.2L monster ready to make 4-digit horsepower at the drop of a hat. What makes that RB better is the beautiful engine bay work that frames it. What鈥檚 not to love?
Austin Barnett鈥檚 1976 Porsche 911 (Toyo Treadpass)
Long-time viewers may recognize Austin Barnett鈥檚 name, or at least his Instagram handle, @Panda_wrx, from previous appearances in 香蕉视频直播 with his RB26DETT-swapped Subaru WRX. This time around, a Subaru engine was in the cards, but it would be housed in a killer 1976 Porsche. Before you ask, no it鈥檚 not the same engine from that old WRX. Instead, it鈥檚 a 2.5L EJ25 with all sorts of rad fabrication work in the rear. The 鈥�76 Porsche features a TBK front bumper, inspired by Mid-Night Porsches of Japanese street racing鈥檚 hey-day, and is appropriately painted with Midnight Purple III paint.
Shawn Basset Built Audi RS3 (Toyo Treadpass)
Ever since we first saw Shawn Basset鈥檚 240Z build all those years ago, he has solidified himself as one of our favorite builders to watch. This year he had his hand in building two incredible projects for SEMA 2022, both of which we will get to watch race up Pike鈥檚 Peak in due time. One of those is this jaw-dropping DTM-inspired Audi RS3 from the Toyo Treadpass. The entire body is carbon fiber, which is showcased on each panel with a selectively unpainted portion. The doors leave the window surrounds exposed, the hood leaves the vent exposed, and so on. Under that lightweight body is an Iroz Motorsport built engine ready to make 1,300 horsepower with ease - the same engine that was the first car to ever beat the Hoonicorn on Hoonigan鈥檚 Hoonicorn vs The World series. To say we鈥檙e excited to see this thing tackle Pike鈥檚 Peak is an understatement.
Solar Flare 1963 Corvette (Silver Lot)
A bit of an unorthodox choice for a guy who grew up on JDM tuner cars and sport compacts, but something about the Solar Flare 1963 Corvette parked outside the Las Vegas Convention Center stopped me in my tracks - it was love at first sight! Owned by Bob Bertelsen from Ohio, this 鈥�63 鈥榁ette is driven and raced at autocross and road race events, so you know this is no trailer queen. Powered by a Scoggin Dickey LS7 that makes 660 horsepower, we reckon it鈥檚 no slouch either. The bodywork alters the classic silhouette ever so slightly with custom front end, hood, side ents, flares, trunk, and more - and the stunning yellow paint shows them all off, contrasting nicely with the carbon fiber bumpers, roof, rear spoiler, and diffusers.
Rowie鈥檚 Mitsubishi Evo Wagon (Toyo Treadpass)
Who doesn鈥檛 love a good wagon? Right in front of the Toyo Treadpass, a good wagon is exactly what you鈥檒l find in the form of Rowie鈥檚 rarer than rare Evo Wagon. As if the chassis itself wasn鈥檛 already a unicorn, this Evo Wagon is guaranteed to be a 1 of 1 thanks to a bespoke kit from Varis, custom curated specifically for the wagon by Varis Japan. Other highlights include Hypertune and ARC engine goodies, all sorts of cool Vertex parts like the steering wheel and signal/wiper stock extenders, and a full size spare in the trunk. As far as cool wagons go, a wagon that鈥檚 also a Lancer Evo is pretty high up on the cool factor scale.
Ring Brothers鈥� 1948 Chevrolet Loadmaster (Battle of the Builders)
There are few builders showcasing a new build each SEMA that have the resume of the Ring Brothers. Having churned out show-stopping builds for as long as we can remember, it鈥檚 almost expected that the Ring Bros will bring the heat each time they enter the Battle of the Builders at SEMA. What we couldn鈥檛 have anticipated was the cool factor of this year鈥檚 build. The 1948 Chevy Loadmaster is nicknamed 鈥淓nyo鈥�, and there鈥檚 a reason it won the Battle of the Builders. As one of their most extreme builds yet, it blended style and performance seamlessly. While it may not be my favorite paint color, all is forgiven when you check it out from a mechanical perspective. The one-off chassis and custom body work present an aggressive open-wheeled hot rod look, and the 510 cubic-inch Goodwin racing engine is good for 1,000 horsepower. With over 10,000 total shop hours putting this machine together, there鈥檚 a lot to love about it, and even the most hardcore JDM or Euro fan couldn鈥檛 help but love this American bred hot-rod.
Mike Burroughs鈥� K24-Swapped Ferrari 308 (CSF Radiators Booth)
Every once in a while there鈥檚 a SEMA build so beautifully blasphemous to purists that you can鈥檛 help but admire it. Continuing the decades-long tradition of putting Honda engines in places they don鈥檛 belong was Mike Burroughs of Stanceworks, with his turbocharged K24-swapped Ferrari 308, which has been given the new moniker, the Ferrari 鈥�244 GTK鈥�, complete with a remade badge inspired by the original 308 GTB version. It鈥檚 not just about upsetting purists though - there鈥檚 a lot to appreciate on this build. The K24 is turbocharged by a Garrett G42-1200 turbo, and as you might expect given the size of the turbo, Burroughs does intend to hit 4-digit horsepower. In addition to making gobs of power, the K24 - even in its heavily modified state - is likely leagues more reliable than the chassis鈥� original V8. Power is routed to the rear wheels by way of a Quaife 5-speed sequential transmission in case it wasn鈥檛 bonkers enough. Some of the most impressive work can鈥檛 even be seen beneath the flares and wild aero. The entire suspension system was a ground-up redesign, hand-built by Burroughs himself. After all the effort that went into this build, we鈥檙e wishing him the best of luck in his goals with this machine. We cannot wait to see it in action.
Bisimoto Moby X Porsche (Toyo Treadpass)
This one is special. Bisimoto鈥檚 鈥淢oby X鈥� longtail Porsche build marks the first time an EV made it to a 香蕉视频直播 Editor鈥檚 Top 10 of SEMA, and it made it there for good reason. While not 100% prim and proper by the time it made it to the show, the presence and retro-futuristic aura of the Moby X was undeniable. The original Porsche 935 鈥淢oby Dick鈥� was a highly regarded track-ready longtail Porsche. The Moby X is a futuristic homage to that iconic classic, and 鈥渇uturistic鈥� is certainly the operative word. A collaborative design effort of Errolson Hugh, Rod Chong, and the iconic Khyzyl Saleem (AKA The Kyza), the body is a beautiful take on the classic style, with futuristic cues throughout, such as LED lighting, a black/gray/white livery, and the most futuristic of all - a battery pack. While we鈥檙e sure an electric Porsche isn鈥檛 for everyone, this one is definitely for us.
Gooichi Motors V12-Swapped Pistachio RX-7 (Toyo Treadpass)
There鈥檚 always at least one engine swap at SEMA that truly blows away show attendees and online onlookers alike. This year, one of those was certainly in the engine bay of Gooichi Motors鈥� Pistachio RX-7 FD. The same Mercedes V12 that you鈥檒l find in a Zonda is present in this FD, complete with individual velocity stacks up top. This isn鈥檛 our first time becoming familiarized with Goochi Motors鈥� Pistachio FD, but it is our first time seeing this badass iteration. The Live To Offend kit by The Kyza is among one of our favorite body kits of SEMA 2022, which is just the icing on the cake.
Hoonigan Honda Indy Ridgeline "IndyTruck" (Pennzoil Outdoor Display)
During a visit to Hoonigan HQ about a month before SEMA, we were treated to a sneak peek of Hoonigan鈥檚 ambitious SEMA build. What we saw at the time was a 2017 Honda Ridgeline which had already been through the initial cuts of some extensive chassis modification. Behind the cab, where the bed had been all but deleted entirely, sat a twin-turbocharged Honda Indycar V6. At that point, I already knew these guys were out of their minds, but I still had no doubts it would make it to SEMA. Low and behold, parked outside in Pennzoil鈥檚 outdoor display was the collaborative effort between Hoonigan and Honda Performance Development in all its glory. Hoonigan tells us they have some big things planned for the Indytruck, so rest assured we鈥檒l be watching.
Video footage from Mikey Dang ()
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