Another Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show has come and gone, and as always, it’s been a highlight of the year. As one of the largest associations in the world that advocates for specialty parts manufacturers and tuners, the yearly convention is a way for those members to show off just what they’re capable of. This means every year we receive unbelievable restomods, insane conversions, and also a fair share of OEM involvement that sees the companies stretch their creative juices a little.
All of these car companies exist to make money, but every single one is full of enthusiasts like us that also want to see the coolest and craziest creations come to life. SEMA is the playground in which they can explore those wild ideas, the ones that will never make it to production and others that possibly will. The yearly convention is a place to show-off, and this year, plenty of automakers did just that, with Toyota in particular coming out strong. We’ve covered all of those models in other articles, and this one is strictly for all the awesome creations all the other automakers brought.
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1 Mopar Ram 1500 RHO And Ram 2500 Power Wagon Concept
Ram decided to go full Mopar with its two modern truck concepts this year, showing off all the customization that the company is going to offer (and maybe some options it will keep to itself). Starting with the Ram 1500 RHO, the model is bathed in Diamond Black and given a host of Mopar blue and gray accents. The graphics can be found on the rear, on the hood, and on the sides, and are bright near the top of the vehicle before the Mopar “M”s cascade down toward the bottom. It then gets painted tow hooks, 37-inch tires on beadlock wheels, and a Mopar RamBar and tire carrier.
The Ram 2500 Power Wagon concept takes over from there. This started with a coat of Satin Stealth Sand paint with contrasting satin black decals that feature some topographic maps in the details. Orange accents can be seen on things like the tow hooks and the added accessory platform on the roof with a rail system in the trunk. A Mopar performance hood was added that makes the truck look much more muscular, as do the 20-inch beadlock wheels with 35-inch Goodyear off-road tires and Mopar side-step. On the inside, there’s a swath of Katzkin leather in brown and black and Raven and Mango suede accents finishing it off.
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2 Mopar 1967 Plymouth GTX Electromod
For the past few months, RAM has been teasing a Plymouth GTX restomod, but nothing could have prepared us for how radical this vehicle was going to be. As you’ve probably noticed from the pictures, there’s no supercharged V8 here, because instead of going with massive displacement and forced-induction here, the company used this as an opportunity to show off its upcoming e-Crate conversion kit which it aims to sell to the public through the Mopar catalog.
The setup here consists of four batteries (one in the front and three in the trunk) that equate to 73 kWh of juice for the electric drive unit under the hood which puts out 335 horsepower. This sends power to the rear wheels via a 3:1 gear reducer and the original axle, which was done on purpose to show how easy it will be to implement this setup in your own projects. The rest of the vehicle is a smorgasbord of carbon fiber, Frostbite Blue paint, satin black accents, and Vintage Bronze detailing. It’s a gorgeous build all the way through, one that is sure to invite some confused looks when it passes by without making a sound.
3 Infiniti QX80 Autograph Lounge
The new Infiniti QX80 is a breath of fresh air from a company that has felt stale for the last decade. It’s bold, attractive, and luxurious in all the right ways, and for SEMA this year the company has gone full Rolls-Royce by turning the rear of the vehicle into a luxury tailgate hub. It features a custom Klipsch sound system, an integrated television, and slide-out drawers for all of your cutlery, wine, and additional party favors. The company says that the vehicle still maintains three rows of seating with this arrangement, so we imagine it can be taken out once the tailgate is done.
The only other changes made to the vehicle are a slight ride-height drop that doesn’t affect the air-suspension, “Autograph” badging on the back windows, Mobil1 logos on the front, and unique turbine wheels in a two-tone finish. It’s unique and simple, and we’d love to see the wheels on a production model, but we won’t hold our breath for the rest.
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4 Nissan Tarmac Street Truck And Project Trailgater
The Frontier will now be the sole pickup truck Nissan sells in the US after this year, and it appears the company is taking no time focusing its efforts on the model with two awesome concepts. The first, called Project Trailgator, takes a PRO-4X Frontier and outfits it with a suspension lift, high-performance shocks, forged upper control arms, and more before adding cool forest decals, an accessory rack on the roof, and bed racks that are chock-full of everything you’ll need to enjoy a game or two off the beaten trail.
The other concept is even better, as Nissan once again teamed up with Forsberg Racing to create a high-performance pickup truck, except this one is decidedly street focused. Called the Tarmac, the model has been completely overhauled with new suspension, brakes, wheels, and more power has been added thanks to a supercharger. The model now makes 440 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque, perfect for rocketing this pickup sideways around the track.
5 Nissan Kicks Beach Patrol and Urban Shadow
The Nissan Kicks is all-new for 2025, offering significantly improved looks and better technology than before, which is sure to resonate with buyers. To celebrate this, the company embarked on creating two different concepts for SEMA; a beach patrol build and an urban performance build. The first, literally called the Beach Patrol, is bright yellow, with a white stripe and the lifeguard cross emblazoned in different places across it for easy visibility. It features a two-inch lift, extra lights, Yokohoma Geolander A/T tires, and optional AWD to help it get to anyone in need, as well as all the necessary lifeguard gear on top.
The other vehicle, called the Urban Shadow, takes a page out of tuner culture to make the little Kicks look mean, and besides the visually busy body wrap, we feel it does a good job. It’s been lowered and sits on 18-inch wheels with street tires that appear to have a little bit extra negative camber. It also features two big exhaust tips in the rear that add a bit more menace, and a roof rack with a bike that’s very on brand for the tuner scene.
Related 2025 Nissan Kicks First Drive Review: Kicking It Up A Notch
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6 Kia EV9 ADVNTR And PV5 WKNDR
Kia unveiled two electric concepts that show-off what a Korean off-roader would look like, one based on the EV9 and the other based on a new breed of vehicles Kia calls Purpose Beyond Vehicles or PBVs. The first one based on the EV9 is called the EV9 ADVNTR, featuring unique front and rear fascias that give it a rugged appearance, a slight lift, heavy-duty rocker panels, and knobby off-road tires. The interior has been redone, and a unique roof-rack with new lights has been made that works with a bunch of tents, but the next concept takes that a bit further.
The PV5 WKNDR is a model that belongs to a family of vehicles first unveiled at CES, and it isn’t actually meant for consumer sales. Regardless, this hasn’t stopped the company from turning it into the perfect overland vehicle, with similar upgrades to the EV9, plus additional upgrades like the “Gear Head” storage system on the inside, an area that transforms into a mobile pantry, an on-board compressor, and a collapsible sleeping area. Both wear the same sand color with neon yellow accents, and we hope to see something along these lines hit dealers in the coming years.
Related Kia’s Adventure EVs To Become The Swiss Army Knives Of Family Adventure
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7 Kia’s God Off-Roaders
As if the EV off-roaders weren’t enough, the company decided to also give a trio of its combustion models facelifts and makeovers inspired by Greek mythology. The first is based on the Kia Telluride, called the Zeus God of The Sky & Thunder concept, and it was created with the help of Xpel, which gave it a mountain wrap, Fifteen52 wheels, chunky Open Country Toyo tires, and a rooftop camper. The second, called Gaia the Goddess of Earth, is based on the Sorento and again features Fifteen52 wheels, the same tires, a rooftop camper, and wrap with mountains across it.
The final model is called the Thetis Goddess of Water, based on the Sportage, and you guessed it, it has the same wheels, tires and a similar wrap with mountains. This time, however, it was designed by Rhino, so it also gets a bullbar and a Rhino kayak roof rack. We hope these concepts foreshadow future partnerships with these companies, allowing buyers to customize their vehicles beyond what X-Pro has to offer.
8 Bronco and Bronco Sport Wild Fund
Ford brought plenty of concepts to SEMA this year, including a few that showed off the brand’s exciting upcoming Custom Garage program, but these two bronco concepts have a much nobler mission. The Wild Fund Broncos help to highlight Ford’s Wild Fund project, which donates money to foundations and parks across the country for the maintenance and protection of our wildlands.
They both follow a similar scheme, and starting with the full-fat Bronco, the concept starts life as a 2.3-liter EcoBoost Big Bend that’s given a 2-inch Bilstein lift, tube doors, bespoke wheels in a concept green, a power soft top, and Katzkin leather seats embossed with the Wild Fund logo. The Bronco Sport starts life as Badlands Sasquatch, then gets 17-inch wheels in the same hue as the other, a lift, the same white color, and Katzkin leather seats in the interior. As of right now, there are no plans to sell either concept, but seeing how simple they are, a positive public reaction could add them to the improved lineup in the near future.
9 F-150 V Project Vehicle And 1969 F-100 “Clyde”
The two concept trucks Ford brought to SEMA are the same, but also wildly different, as they’re both V8 powered, dark, trucks, just from different eras and with different focuses. The F-150 ORV starts as an XLT FX4 with the Coyote V8 under the hood. Then a 2-inch Bilstein lift is added, improved body protection, rock rails, and auxiliary Rigid lighting. While the twin exhaust tips in the rear seem a bit suspect, it does seem like a great model for those who want a little more capability without going full Raptor.
“Clyde” is a different story, however. This one-off build features a 5.2-liter V8 with a 3.8-liter Whipple supercharger slapped on top, helping it produce more than 900 horsepower. It sits on a Porterbuilt stage 2 chassis with exposed carbon fiber body panels, and of course, has forged wheels and a gorgeous interior to match. It’s one of those restomods you always love to see at SEMA, but deep down you know you’ll never be able to afford.
10 HRC Pilot Prototype
Honda
The final concept brought by an OEM to SEMA (that we know of) is the Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) Pilot Protoype meant to show off the new tuning business Honda and Acura will be starting in the future. The company has been considering performance parts for its vehicles for a while now, given all the success its competitors have had, and after the positive feedback it received for its Integra Type S HRC Prototype.
In an attempt to give us a taste, the company unveiled the HRC Pilot Protoype which wears a host of upgrades that weren’t fully explained to the public. From the looks of it, we can see a lift, new rugged front bumper, off-road tires and aftermarket wheels, a roof rack, and a Jerry can on the rear window. Of course there’s the wrap too, but it’s unknown how much of this (if any) we’ll see available for production vehicles in the future.