Thursday, 11 November 2010

SEMA 2010: Dodge Charger Redline Concept




Among Chrysler's homage to the storied past at this year's SEMA Show is this 2011 Dodge Charger Redline Concept – the Charger that Mopar Underground would build if it could. The crimson four-door sits an inch lower to the ground over 22-inch Super Alloy wheels, all the better to keep your eyes on the black roof. Other trim pieces include the black spoilers fore and aft, tinted head- and taillights and a black side scoop to take you back to the 1970 Dodge Charger R/T.

Under the aluminum hood is a 5.7-liter Hemi wearing Mopar headers, as well as a cold-air intake and exhaust. Come shimmy and shake time, things are kept in better check by a Mopar strut tower brace. A black and red interior fills out the theme, aluminum bezels and Katzkin leather keeping it swish and prototype paddle shifters keep it truly conceptual.

SEMA 2010: Hyundai Genesis Coupe





The Hyundai Genesis Coupe is a tuner favorite at SEMA. GogoGear showed off its racing Genesis Coupe, while ARK Performance has created a performance Genesis Coupe more appropriate for cruising the Vegas Strip. There's even a bit of overlap between the two, as GogoGear's entry uses a carbon fiber bodykit, headers, shocks and coilovers from ARK Performance. Getting the rest of the coupe ready for kerbs are the upgraded V6 churning out 380 horsepower, carbon fiber roof, 18-inch Konig Kilogram lightweight wheels and a Racepak IQ3 data logger dash.

ARK Performance went street with a carbon grille, hood and rear diffuser, with ARK SFX bumpers, skirts and fenders. Stoptech brakes scrub the speed, and Alpine, Apple and Infinity provide the audiovisual buffet in the cabin. JsDesigns can be thanked for the little guy on the hood, and his rear is warmed by the heat of a supercharged 3.8-liter, 585-hp engine with 330 pound-feet and dual headers and downpipes.

SEMA 2010: Ford's 2011 Mustang




We've seen Explorers, Fiestas and even an F-Series Super Duty, but of course, the car with the biggest showing on Ford's SEMA stand is the Mustang. In fact, the automaker is displaying nine examples of its pony car, showing a wide range of customization options.

Starting things off in-house, Ford has provided us with a glimpse of what is possible through its Vehicle Personalization program. The VP 'Stang wears wheels, rear window louvers, a rear spoiler and a handful of other items that are all for sale at FordAccessoriesStore.com. Besides the in-house car, Ford handed the Mustang off to Funkmaster Flex and Team Baurtwell, MRT, Creations n' Chrome, Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords, Mobsteel, Raceskinz, Street Scene Equipment and Tjin Edition.

Funk Flex, who at this point probably holds an executive position back in Dearborn, designed his Mustang for rapper Snoop Dogg. MRT envisioned the car as a tough street warrior. Creations n' Chrome partnered with the American Cancer Society to raise awareness for breast cancer, and painted its car Pink Chrome. Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords stays true to its name, adding a supercharger kit to the 5.0-liter engine under the hood. Mobsteel goes a different, yet similar route, by turbocharging a V6 example.

This is only a small taste of what the assorted tuners have done to the 2011 Mustang, and that's only limited to what Ford has in its display.

SEMA 2010: Vortex F1 makes world debut




There's certainly a lot of hot metal on the floor at this year's SEMA show, and while we're always keen to see customizations and special editions of some of our favorite vehicles, we can't help but give special attention to automakers who debut brand new products. Seattle-based Vortex Motors indeed captures our attention this year with the world debut of its F1 track car. Watch your back, Ariel Atom – the Vortex F1 is ready for battle.

Power is sourced from an upgraded version of General Motors' turbocharged 2.0-liter Ecotec inline-four running through a six-speed manual transmission. In the standard model, the F1 Turn Key, output is rated at 290 horsepower and 340 pound-feet of torque, but Vortex will also sell an Ultimate version, bumping those numbers up to 330 and 360, respectively.

The body is constructed out of a mix of fiberglass and aluminum, with carbon fiber available as an option. The Turn Key weighs in at a feather-light 1,400 pounds, and thus, Vortex is targeting a 0-60 time of just 2.7 seconds and a quarter-mile run of just 10.5 seconds at 130 miles per hour. Vortex has fitted 17-inch wheels at all four corners, riding on 275/40-series tires up front and beefy 315/35 rubber out back.

The whole package can be yours for $49,995 for the Turn Key or $69,995 for the Ultimate. In addition to adding more power, the Ultimate also uses a fully carbon fiber body, upgraded brakes, wheels and tires, improved steering, carbon fiber seats and a sequential six-speed gearbox. Vortex says that it is also planning a fully electric version of the F1, with a targeted weight of only 1,300 pounds. We'd gladly pit it against a Tesla Roadster in a drag race any day.

SEMA 2010: Toyota brings some swagger to Sin City




Seven million. That's how many times Toyota's much-loved Swagger Wagon rap video has been viewed on YouTube. Well, actually, it's 7,154,749... but who's counting? With that in mind, it's not surprising that the Japanese automaker has chosen to outfit its official SEMA floorspace with a customized Sienna dubbed, appropriately enough, Swagger Wagon Supreme.

Actor Brian Huskey, otherwise known as Swagger Dad, was on hand to introduce the stretched and lowered metallic blue Sienna minivan. He started his speech from inside the Wagon, which is decked out with a nicely finished wood floor along with plenty of cabinetry, televisions and computer paraphernalia.

Wednesday, 10 November 2010

SEMA 2010: Custom Ford Fiesta models invade Sin City




Perhaps the biggest (or smallest) champion car for Ford this year has been the 2011 Fiesta. The fizzy little sedan and hatchback duo are drawing a lot of attention to Blue Oval showrooms, and thus, Ford has a whole flock of Fiestas represented at this year's SEMA show.

A host of aftermarket tuning companies have put their touches on the pint-sized Ford – modified Fiestas from 3DCarbon, H&R Springs, Steeda Autosports and FSWerks are all on hand, just to name a few. Our favorite, though, might be the automaker's own Ford Racing Performance Parts Fiesta, powered by a modified version of FoMoCo's 2.0-liter EcoBoost four (bumped to 2.3 liters), that produces a staggering 350 horsepower. We'll take two.

SEMA 2010: HRE Wheels homers with the Oakley Design 458 and a Gumpert Apollo




HRE had a trio of cars parked in its booth, one of them being a Ferrari 458 Italia tuned by British aftermarket house Oakely Design. The car was showed off for the first time in June, and in white, and Oakley said it would build just five. The production was upped to the seven, and this one here comes in a hue red rich enough to make Sleeping Beauty want to take another bite.

The carbon fiber lip up front boosts downforce by more than 50 pounds, and the sliver of a rear spoiler adds about 48 more pounds of aero downforce to the rear axle at 150 miles per hour. A carbon fiber roof panel, mirror housings and 20-inch HRE wheels complete the coupe's Jenny Craig makeover, with the rims subtracting 11 pounds at each corner. Performance mods tune the car to 632 horsepower, and a reflashed ECU is meant to make the most of it. Oakley's work is said to reduce the 0-62 mph time to three seconds and top speed is a lofty 208 mph.

Just in front of that was a Gumpert Apollo, rarely seen on the big-rim circuit, wearing a set of single-lug-nut HRE's, and a Porsche GT3 RS with some fire-engine red multi-spokes.