Every year Micky, our Editor, and Adam, our Associate Editor, sit down and pick their top 5 cars of SEMA! Love it or hate it, bow down to greatness!
Micky's Top 5 SEMA Car List
5. Gunther Werks' 400R
This was the first car of SEMA to get me to stop in my tracks, and it's been stuck in my head ever since. On the pre-show media day, we stumbled upon this shining red example of Gunther Werks' 400R in the Meguiar's booth. This was #00 of a total of 25 made, and on the last day of the show, 21 had been spoken for, with over 60 more requests still to be processed. This project is Gunther Werks' reimagining of the most potent version of the Porsche 993 and requires a 993 Carrera 2 donor car from the ordering customer before anything gets started. A fully carbon fiber body, modernized interior, and a built engine from Rothsport Racing that's good for over 400 horsepower round out this beautiful creation.
4. Willy Izaguirre's BMW E9 3.0 CSL
After seeing Jon Sibal's rendering of the car, Willy asked him straight up if he could build a car based off his imagining. The artist granted him permission and wished him good luck in scratch building something with such extreme dimensions. Imagine his shock when he saw it at SEMA in the Toyo Treadpass for the first time! Starting with a rusted-out '73 3.0 CS coupe, Willy reproduced the wide fenders and spoilers from the original "Batmobile" racecar in fiberglass. BBS wheels measuring 17x9.5 in front and 17x15.5 in the rear fill out the added width of the car, and a turbo'd S52 engine and 6-speed trans out of an E36 M3 give it racecar power and feel. There's still more to come for the car as well, so keep an eye on @old_dtm on Instagram!
3. JJ Dubec's Liberty Walk Acura NSX
JJ Dubec may make purists pretty mad with his creations, but we can't help that each one looks, sounds, and performs fantastically. After an R35 GT-R and a Ferrari 458 aired out and dressed in Liberty Walk, he set his sights on the brand-new NSX. With the GT-R and Ferrari having some platform development, he was able to pick and choose parts for those, but the NSX was fresh out of the box, so it took a little more creativity. Working with some great partners, JJ was able to piece together a full air suspension and exhaust system, plus a set of custom wheels to go along with his freshly kitted and painted NSX. This car was a show stopper on the floor for sure.
2. Hert's "Twerkstallion" Mazda RX-7
The Twerkstallion is a car that I'm all too familiar with, but not in the form that showed up to the SEMA show. If anyone is familiar with Hert's drift car shenanigans, you'll know that his FC RX-7 was the definition of "missile." Dented and shredded body panels and aero, a junkyard V8, and the reliability of a rollercoaster made out of popsicle sticks used to be the highlights of this build, but the new RX-7 is absolutely jaw-dropping. The BN Sports kit all around has been coated in some fresh red paint and a kickass, chromed-out livery from Factory83. In the engine bay, where the old Chevy LS heart used to sit, is a return to form: a rotary engine that's been overhauled by Angel Motorsports. Seeing this car was like seeing Goku fighting Frieza and turning Super Saiyan for the first time.
1. Kelly-Moss Road and Race VICCI Safari 4
In case you didn't know, Kelly Moss makes some of the most amazing Porsches on the planet, mainly for their GT3 Cup racing program. This time around, they tackled the 964 platform to produce the VICCI Safari 4, and parked it right across from the PASMAG booth for me to stare at. The Safari 4 is all-wheel-drive and features a supercharged 3.8-liter flat-six that's tuned to push out 435 horsepower. In true rally fashion, the Porsche is equipped with plenty of large, front-facing lights, heightened suspension travel, all-terrain tires, and a large handbrake lever ready to brake the rears loose. This car is built to be a fun-haver, and winning the "Best Off-Road Vehicle" award at SEMA, it seems that I'm not the only one who loves this thing.
