SEMA 2024: here are some of our favourite builds from this year’s show

One of the greatest things about car culture is the sheer scope of expression and creativity on show at meets and events, and nowhere does it quite like SEMA. With the 2024 edition now past us, we’ve pulled together some of the very best bits we found. Grab the popcorn and cola, this is going to blow your mind.

One of just 55 ever built by Nissan for homologation purposes, this R33 GTR ‘N1’ has been cosmetically reimagined to look like a ‘400R’ - including the body kit, diffusers, wheel arches and bonnet. The long list of mechanical changes includes a HKS intercooler, Bosch injectors and a titanium cat-back exhaust that means its RB26 engine now produces around 750bhp. Ooft.

Image: Andrew Hannason

Somewhere beneath the gaping vents and pumped-up bodywork is a Renault Dauphine… apparently. For some perspective, it’s 22 inches wider than the original. Oh, and it's also mid-engined, with a Volkswagen VR6 powertrain paired up with a six-speed manual. The whole thing sits atop a fully custom chassis with a bumper-to-bumper cage, aided by bespoke push-rod suspension, motorsport-grade sway bars and chunky brakes. Definitely SEMA worthy.

Image: Justin Cashmore

This Carrera GT-inspired Boxster 986 has had eight individual body panels bonded together to give it a clean, factory-like finish. All on a car that originally cost just $2,500. The colour ('Azzuro Thetys') is also a bespoke paint-to-sample made for the latest 911 and looks gorgeous atop the newfound curvature of this incredible build.

Image: Miles Works Automotive

Ringbrothers has quite a reputation these days, and its ultimate build has been revealed at SEMA: a 1,246bhp Buick Grand National. It’s their fastest ever car and develops almost five times as much power as it did when it left the factory. The 3.8-litre V6 now boasts two 62mm turbos, funnelling 32lbs of boost into its nervous system. Result? New trousers, we reckon.

It was only a matter of time before somebody took the new Land Cruiser and added a three-inch lift kit, an aftermarket roof rack and masses of extra body armour to it. Which is precisely what Matt Brock has done with what was once a base-spec motor. Cool colour too.

Image: Matt Brock

Now here’s something truly unusual. Pagodas are rare and expensive, but that hasn’t stopped S Klub LA from throwing on an audacious wide-body kit, a ducktail spoiler and three centrally mounted tailpipes. The team has likely exhausted the world’s reserves of red paint on project ‘Aleiya’ too, which takes certain components from a more modern R230-generation SLK.

Image: S Klub LA

More red, did you say? How about a vintage Ford F-250 in ‘Candy Apple’ for your taste buds? The rough and ready look is a nod to its natural calling as a rugged work truck, and we appreciate the brutal simplicity. Oh, and there’s a new four-wheel drive system and 7.5-litre V8 shoved in for good measure.

Don’t you just love it when manufacturers tap into nostalgia? Toyota’s Celica GT-Four-themed GR86 is a fantastic example of just that. Armed with the 300bhp turbocharged three-pot from a GR Corolla, four spot lamps, extended mudflaps and that livery, this is one factory-backed retro build we can really get behind.

An 800bhp monster that looks like it's straight out of Noughties street racing game Juiced. Owner Archie Concon has said its future lies in time attack racing but has already run a quarter-mile in just over 10 seconds flat at 145mph - not far off Dominic Toretto’s fabled number.

Image: Archie Concon

Fancy a spot of dune bashing and rock crawling? Dillon Houck’s Porsche Cayenne has been built specifically for that, sitting pretty on its 33in tyres and featuring enough body armour to see it through even the mightiest of desert trails.

Image: Dillon Houck

Current R34 GT-R prices are pretty much a one-make comedy show. If you’ve managed to source one of these prohibitively expensive old motors, and want to spend even more on modernising it, Japanese tuner Built By Legends will make yours look exactly like the one pictured… for half-a-million dollars.

Fourth-generation Ford Mustangs aren’t the meanest looking things on the street, so Matt James decided to remedy that with a few modifications… and a 900bhp 5.2-litre V8. It’s seen plenty of track time too, so we can only imagine how many times Matt has had his organs realigned as a result.

Image: Matt James

An F40. In cream. With HS21 alloys. We don’t need to say much more, do we?

Image: MV Forged Wheels

The second Ringbrothers car is a tribute to Mopar. The Plymouth Cuda is a handsome brute as is, but the team decided to drastically reduce its wheel well space, throw on a carbon bonnet with a black hole-sized vent and improve on the original car’s Seventies handling. What’s left is an 817bhp muscle car that can likely run, ahem, rings around most modern performance cars.

This is a first-gen Mazda MX-5 with a Lamborghini V10 up front, which is about as wild an idea as trying to befriend a pack of hungry tigers. Jefferson Marcal is the name of the man who’s put it together, and it might just be our favourite build from SEMA this year. Imagine a lap of Spa in this thing?

Image: Jefferson Marcal