The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Auto Show is the world's most extensive gathering of aftermarket manufacturers, OEMs, parts companies, restoration specialists, and more. Unlike a normal auto show, SEMA hosts some of the wackiest, craziest builds from car companies and aftermarket tuners. These builds range from basic economy cars all the way up to supercars, showcasing how the newest models on the market can be upgraded via the aftermarket or through OEM parts catalogs. 2018 was an incredible year for SEMA, so we have decided to create a compilation showing some of the coolest displays from this year's show.
Trucks
Trucks are the best-selling vehicles in the US, so it only makes sense to see a ton of aftermarket customization displays at SEMA. At this year's show, Ram showed off two concept versions of its 1500 full-size truck, Ford showed off endless customization possibilities for its F-Series trucks, and Nissan rolled out custom versions of its Titan pickup designed for Animal Rescue and the American Red Cross.
Supercars
By name, supercars are already inherently "super." This doesn't stop owners from wanting to take their exotic supercar to the next level with flashy modifications. SEMA is home to some of the most eye-catching supercar builds imaginable, showing how exotic metal can be transformed into something even more flashy. Ford even showed off a special Carbon Series GT, which now the lightest version of the company's flagship supercar.
SUVs
Next to pickup trucks, SUVs are becoming the most popular vehicle in America. SUVs started out as utilitarian family runabouts but have quickly transformed into sportier, more aggressive items of desire. This year's SEMA show had plenty of awesome SUVs including the Kia Telluride, a Hyundai Santa Fe with N Performance Parts, and several tuned SUVs from Ford including the Edge ST, Expedition, Explorer, and EcoSport.
Jeeps
It's hard to lump the Jeep Wrangler into the traditional truck or SUV categories and the brand represents a significant portion of SEMA. Jeep revealed a slew of custom Wrangler concepts this year, several of which were on display at SEMA. We loved the Wranglers from Jeep but the aftermarket tuners had some impressive displays as well.
Luxury
Luxury cars were in full force at this year's SEMA show. Lexus brought out several customized models and Kia showed of unique versions of its flagship K900 and Stinger models. Acura also showed off a tuned version of the RDX A-Spec, which should keep us excited for the upcoming revival of the brand's Type S models.
Muscle Cars
Of all the cars at SEMA, muscle cars may have stolen the show. Dodge knocked it out the park by revealing the 1,000 horsepower 7.0-liter Hellephant crate engine. Chevy took a much different approach by showing off an all-electric version of the COPO Camaro. There were also a host of reveals from companies like Roush and Hennessey.