There were a bevy of
Chevrolet Camaros at the 2009 SEMA Show, however there was one particular pony car in the GM display that caught our eye, perhaps because of the lovely lady in the little black dress spread out on the black Camaro’s carbon fiber hood. Aside from the glamorous automotive accessory, the award winning Chevy makes the most of the lightweight wavy stuff for not only the hood, but for the trunk, fenders and ground effects as well. On the inside the front seat passengers sit snugly in a pair of carbon fiber backed racing buckets and get a little bit of visual variety thanks to the recovered door panels. Rounding out the modified black on black Camaro SS with a hint of carbon are a set of 20 inch BBS rims wrapped in sticky Hankook tires with a set of cross drilled Brembo big brakes hidden away inside. However the best part of this pony car is the Paxton supercharger under the hood, the only hint to the boosted V8 power plant is the oversized intercooler that smiles through the front bumper.
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Cadillac prepared the VSR Sports Rod Concept specifically for the 2009 SEMA Show and anyone who might have overlooked this retro hot rod really missed out. Just like any proper hot rod the VSR is powered by a roaring V8, in this case a 6.0 Liter GM version pumping out a total of 400 HP. The modern day street rod is a one off custom creation that combines meticulous metal work with hand laid carbon fiber to create a true 21st century stylish speed machine. At all four corners are custom oversized five spoke rims from Alcoa wrapped in sticky Toyo rubber. From any angle the exposed rollers give the VSR a unique appearance and when combined with the rear diffuser and laser cut Cadillac emblem give the Sports Rod Concept a look that is all its own.
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The
Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving is located in sunny Phoenix, Arizona; however the team has picked up shop and moved to Las Vegas last week to give visitor to the SEMA Show a chance to experience what a skilled professional can do behind the wheel of a proper sports car, in this case a Z51 Chevrolet Corvette. While the Bondurant instructors traditionally hone their skills at the Firebird International Raceway, the back lot at the Las Vegas Convention center was more than sufficient for the teachers to show their passengers the finer points of car control with maneuvers like the Scandinavian flick and tire squealing tail slides.
One sport compact that was well represented at the 2009 SEMA Show was the
Hyundai Genesis Coupe, and sitting pretty in the Rotora booth was this version from AQ Motorsports. This Genesis Coupe was wearing little more than a few well appointed upgrades to the body including a vented carbon fiber hood and trunk from Carbon Creations as well as a stylish ground effects package that incorporates a pronounced wind molded into the front bumper, a set of lower hanging side skirts and a rear diffuser. The AQ Motorsports Hyundai rides on a set of 19 inch forged rims from Rays Engineering with the obligatory Rotora big brake upgrade underneath.
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Power can come in many shapes and sizes, ranging from naturally aspirated American big block V8 to high revving boosted sport compact four cylinder engines. Although it can be a bit more of a challenge to squeeze every last bit of potential out of limited displacement power plants, that didn’t stop this team of
Mini Cooper tuners who brought their creation to the 2009 SEMA Show. If you were ever wondering what a 750 HP Mini looks like, well here it is; and all it takes is an upgraded turbocharger, larger diameter piping, custom manifolds and as much go juice as possible being squirted into each of the four combustion chambers. So what do you do with a 750 HP Mini Cooper wearing a set of drag slicks, aside from anything you want, 10 second quarter mile passes sound about right.
The one comment that every automotive enthusiast made when they would pass one of these modified 2010 Chevrolet Camaros at the 2009 SEMA Show is what kind of a bonehead move it was for GM to bring an end to Pontiac. The Firebird has always been a fan favorite for performance enthusiasts with its attractive styling, powerful engines and affordable price. Well have no fear because the screaming chicken is back, after all what is the automotive aftermarket for.
The American tuner Lingenfelter has prepared a 655 HP Trans-Am using one of American Specialty Cars conversion kits and a set of honeycomb wheels. Offering something for everyone, Smokey and the Bandit fans will appreciate the black and gold 2010 Pontiac adorned with a kit from Kevin Morgan that would even make Burt Reynolds shed a tear. Even though GM has officially ended our hopes for a new Firebird, enthusiasts can still build their own if they really want to.
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The Mopar display at the 2009 SEMA Show was huge, however the one car that stuck out like a sore thumb was Chrysler’s 1/4 mile conquering Dodge Challenger 1320. The drag racing Challenger is essentially a street legal version of the special order lightweight Drag Pak Challenger that has already been stripped of over 1,000 pounds and is sold specifically to very serious drag racers. Powering the 1320 is a 426 cubic inch all aluminum Hemi V8 crate motor that starts off making a total of 556 HP and 540 lb-ft of torque and gets its own unique exhaust note thanks to a set of Mopar long tube headers and free flowing pipes.
On the inside, everything in front of your eyes will be familiar for Challenger fans, however a few of the other interior pieces, like the bucket seats and shifter, have been sourced from the much more exotic Dodge Viper. On the outside, Mopar keeps the Challenger 1320 simple with a basic yellow paint scheme complete with blacked out hood, tail section, a set of steelies from their police car program and only a few basic decals. However we have to say that the christmas tree incorporated into the "1" is pretty sweet.
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When revealing the 2010 F-150 SVT Raptor R, Ford announced that for the 2011 model year the company will offer the FR Raptor XT. But until then Ford presented a concept version of the car at SEMA Show.
The production version will be powered by a 500-hp (est.) 6.2-liter naturally aspirated engine mated to a Six-speed automatic transmission. There will only be 50 units built, ad each will be priced at $99,950.
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While General Motors has not decided yet the official launch date of the Camaro Convertible, there are lots of tuners out there who are already offering a convertible version for the American muscle car.
And Newport Convertible Engineering is one of the tuners. The car has been on display at SEMA Show for those who wanted to see it, and for those who want to ride it the car is already available for ordering.
Except for the roof the car is pretty much a standard Camaro SS. It is also with about 100 lbs heavier, and can be offered with Forgiato cast-aluminum wheels — 22" in front and 24" in the rear.
After more than 3 years of speculation, the English coach builder Aston Martin has finally unveiled the Rapide - their first four door sedan in the super car maker’s lineup. Watch out Porsche Panamera owners, because deliveries of the all new super sedan from Gaydon will begin in early 2010.
The Rapide’s engine is the venerable 6.0 Liter V12 lifted directly from the Aston Martin DB9, and will make the exact same 470 HP and 443 lb-ft of torque as the coupe. The fat four door will be able to go from 0 to 60 MPH in just 5.1 seconds and reach a top speed to be estimated at 188 MPH.
The Rapide’s power plant is mated to a six speed Touchtronic 2 automatic transmission, which offers the ease of a traditional automatic via the push buttons mounted on the dash or a much sportier manual transmission mode with the wheel mounted paddle shifters.
According to the automaker: "There is a real sense of proportion with this car, akin to a tailored suit; the new double grill gives more presence on the road while the iconic signature side strake has been lengthened through to the rear doors to enhance its lateral proportions in a subtle, yet elegant way. The car’s purity makes it look right from every angle."
Press release after the jump.
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