It’s the time of the year when new car news comes to a crawl as manufacturers prepare to hibernate for the winter, ready to unleash a bunch of EVs we’ll forget about as the year turns once more.
That presents the aftermarket with an opportunity to sweep in with some pretty cool creations and make some headlines, and there’s no better place to do it than SEMA.
SEMA 2025 is taking place now until 8 November at its usual home of the Las Vegas Convention Centre. There’s been some pretty special creations at the show, and here are the ones you should keep an eye out for.
Subaru Brataroo
Subaru Brataroo
Gymkhana is returning, and now with Travis Pastrana taking the leading role. He’ll be behind the wheel of this, the Subaru Brataroo, for Gymkhana: Aussie Rules.
Its 2.0-litre turbocharged boxer-four produces 670bhp and features some seriously cool active aero.
Forsberg Racing Nissan Patrol
Forsberg Racing Y60 Nissan Patrol
Over on the Nissan stand, Forsberg Racing has a presence with a couple of projects. Our pick is this Y60 Patrol running a 1000bhp TB48 engine. Along with the reworked 4.8-litre inline six, it’s been given a whole host of Nismo parts.
Alongside the Patrol will be the Nismo GT-Z, a Z-based race car set to compete in the Gridlife GLGT from next year. Nissan itself will also be bringing a Patrol of its own, designed as a support vehicle for off-road racing, along with a Frontier built for kayakers.
Hyundai Ioniq 9 BigTime Concept
Hyundai Ioniq 9 BigTime
This year, SEMA has an area focused specifically on EVs. We can’t imagine it’ll be the most popular area, but no doubt it’ll have some pretty cool builds.
A special shoutout to this Hyundai Ioniq 9 built with Zach and Jeremiah of BigTime. Designed to go off-roading, it’s been given lifted suspension, obscenely bright LED roof lights and a lovely set of OZ Rally Racing wheels. Bonus points for the livery as well, serving as a nod to BigTime’s cabover truck bought for a video series.
Infiniti QX80 R-Spec
Infiniti QX80 R-Spec – front
While those of us in Europe have very little reason to care about the Infiniti QX80, this one has piqued our interest. The R-Spec has a VR38DETT taken from an R35 GT-R and boosted up to 1000bhp.
Sorry, you wanted more? It’s taken the brakes from the R35 too, while also benefiting from three-way coilovers and a massive set of 24-inch alloy wheels. And Midnight Purple paint, obviously.
Ram 1500 The Dude Concept
Dude Ram 1500 Concept
While Stellantis isn’t surprising us with a V8 Dodge Charger at SEMA, it has brought some other cool stuff along. Like this Ram 1500 Concept, paying tribute to a forgotten D-Series trim.
The Dude gets ‘Sublime Green’ paint, a set of 22-inch alloys and the 5.7-litre Hemi V8 that’s recently returned to Ram. Alongside it will be a ‘Moparised’ Dodge Charger Sixpack.
Ringbrothers Octavia
Ringbrothers Octavia
We’ve seen the Ringbrothers Octavia already, but it’s still worth a mention, we think.
No, this isn’t a Skoda. Rather, it’s a 1971 Aston Martin DBS. Only it isn’t, as it now has a full carbon fibre body, an 805bhp supercharged Ford V8 and maybe one too many James Bond references embedded within it.
Toyota Turbo Trail Cruiser
Toyota Turbo Trail Cruiser – front
Toyota has with it at SEMA this year, including a 400bhp time attack bZ4X you’ll never be able to buy and a Camry GT-S you might just be able to one day.
Our highlight is something not very new at all, though. Dubbed the Turbo Trail Cruiser, this FJ60 has a twin-turbo V6 swapped in – good for 389bhp. Despite that and a suspension lift, it’s a relatively tame-looking thing. We love it.
#SEMA #Cars