SEMA: PROOF OF CONCEPT

If you’re not familiar with it, the Specialty Equipment Manufacturer’s Association is the industry trade group that represents aftermarket tuners – AKA people who take perfectly fine cars and chop them up, bolt, glue, and otherwise affix carbon fiber, forged metals, and other wind-cheating and horsepower imbuing items to them to make things lower, meaner, and of course – faster.

I’ve worked in the aftermarket industry and displayed at my fair share of SEMAs. They are wildly amazing if you love cars, tiring if you’re working the show, and hugely beneficial if you’re serious about getting business done. If you’re there to spectate, more power to you – but make no mistake, the aftermarket is still big business. Because the car lover’s need to look cool and go fast will never go away – Waymo or not, someone is going to want to TE37 their ride and drop a GReddy exhaust on it.

With that in mind, you see how it *breaks my heart* that my plan to attend just one day this year was dashed due to more pressing responsibilities at home. However, the good news is that a) we do have this thing called the internet which is pretty OK for checking out cars, and b) all SEMA cars are invariably on display again after their Big Debut and some actually run better after SEMA because in the race to the show things like zip ties and duct tape are used to put on a good show – IYKYK as the kids say. (Actually, they say “Six-Sevennnnnnn” with a mime’s accompanying hand motion, but I would rather drive a stock car than say that. Ever.)

There are so many cars to track down this year on my SEMA scavenger hunt. I’ll start by sharing the top five OEM concept cars on my dance list:

1. Honda Odyssey Type R by Jordan Distribution Inc. (JDi) & Bisimoto Engineering

OK this one is not OEM but IT (clap) SHOULD (clap) BE (clap) HONDA! For the love of Mugen, Motegi, and Motocompo and we implore you to produce this Championship White chariot with electric sliding doors.

For one reason or another, we’ve seen renderings of Odyssey Type Rs for years. I chalk it up to car guys like me with kids who are not going to go quietly into the night and accept our practical hyper-miling fate, resigned to imagine we’re shifting when in fact a soul-crushing device called CVT is taking the last ounce of adventure from our lives. 

Leave it to the engineering genius Bisi Ezerioha of Bisimoto to actually do the dang thing. He teamed up with Jordan Distributors Inc. to actually make an Odyssey Type R so well done that you can imagine picking up one at the dealership. When I say it on Instagram I literally did a triple-take at the Civic Type R triple exhaust. And like so many others on the interwebs, said “Please, take my money nowww!”

If anyone could pull this off it’s Bisi, who’s C.V. includes the infamous 1700-hp Odyssey from back in the day and my personal favorite, an electrified whale-tail Porsche 935. This Odyssey is lowered thanks to some BC Racing coilovers and has a host of clean, OEM-worthy aesthetic and aero upgrades, including front kip, side skirts, and Civic Type R wheels wrapped in sticky Toyo Proxes R888’s.

The super minivan features a turbocharged Civic Type R K20C12-liter inline-four cranking out 550 horsepower, mated to the CTR’s …wait for it… six-speed manual (and the skies parted and the angels sang), connected to a limited-slip differential. Seriously – who needs a FICO score?

I could go on and on, but this is hands down my favorite car at this year’s SEMA because I am the dad who grew up wanting to be Powered by Honda, eventually was, and I miss it. But I also have responsibilities. I want to row my own gears AND haul my beloved family around at the same time. Thanks to Bisimoto and JDi, maybe I can have my mooncake and eat it too on my next Ranch 99 run.

(Sidebar with my friends at Toyota: The Sienna could use a turbocharger, springs, and big brakes. TRD Sienna has a nice ring to it!)

2. Scion 01 Concept 

Toyota is known to put on a great show at SEMA, and this year was no different. Parked amidst goodies like a hopped up Camry GT-S and the super-clean restomod Turbo Trail Cruiser was the Scion 01 concept. If that nameplate sounds familiar the last time you saw it, it adorned Toyota’s youth brand that started out with quirky iconic cars like the xB (bB in Japan, my JDM nerd side has to point out) and ended up with the FR-S AKA GT86 AKA GR86 (AKA Subaru BRZ… I could do this all day.)

The designers at CALTY, Toyota’s skunkworks, resurrected this youth marque and are now going full send into the off-road world with the Scion 01 side-by-side concept. It actually makes a lot of business sense. Toyota practically dominates the off-road light truck market with the venerable Tacoma, and in the last decade, keeps cranking out hits trading on the legacy that other platforms that hardcore off-roaders, overlanders, and mall-landers (you know who you are) love, collect, and treasure – the Land Cruiser, 4Runner, FJ, GX, and LX, to name a few. Why not own a Toyota-built side-by-side to complete the luggage set?

Toyota reliability, Scion edginess, and beadlocks: what’s not to like? Here’s to Toyota capitalizing on their off-road fire trail cred and actually producing these.

3. Ram Dude 1500 

Leave it to Stellantis to understand the assignment. SEMA is about power, speed, and flexing. I am pretty sure if you were to visit Ram and Dodge HQ, that is what is hanging on the mission statement in the lobby.

Enter the Dude Ram 1500 Concept and the Moparized (Goodness, I love Dodge product planners and PR) Dodge SIXPACK Charger Concept. A very tough truck and the quintessential muscle car, perfect for the SEMA masses.  

The Dude harkens back to the 70s when the sporty slammed truck scene emerged. Utility of a truck and the roar of a muscle car. Adorn with lime green paint and (in my best chef Emeril Lagasse voice) BAM! Kick it up a notch!

Dodge SIXPACK Charger

4. Do I even need to write anything about the SIXPACK Charger? It’s the fire-breathing twin of the EV Charger, and it’s here to assuage you purists who say the only way you want to go fast is from the heavily refined remains of dinosaurs and plant detritus. I’m not here to argue, if that’s your propulsion of choice give me the keys and let’s drop the hammer.

5. Ford Maverick 300T

Not to be outdone, Ford Performance Parts showcased their Ford Maverick 300T – a turbocharged rendition of their selling-like-hotcakes compact truck. Horsepower is boosted (pun intended because #dadlife) 50-hp  and torque increased by a whopping 40 lb.-ft., thanks to the addition of the turbocharger from the 2.3-litre EcoBoost Mustang and a Mishimoto intercooler that is 59% larger than stock. For a truck this relatively light, that’s bound to produce some gapping power.

Maverick owners rejoice, this is not unobtanium. Ford plans to make this CARB-certified, 50-state (and Canada) legal and offer for sale in 2026.