Unique tie-ups between automakers and retailers are nothing new at SEMA. To an extent, that’s what makes this auto event different from the rest; it affords opportunities for outfitters like Realtree to get involved in the creation of a custom vehicle.
The outdoor outfitter that has made a living out of being the world’s leading designer, marketer, and licensee of camouflaged products teamed up with Chevrolet to create what can only be described as the "ultimate hunter’s truck": the Silverado Realtree Concept.
The truck is based on the Silverado 2500 crew cab and was given plenty of new details, including a Champagne Silver Metallic color that comes with Realtree graphics. The hulking pick-up also received a custom front bumper with an integrated winch and a new set of 18" wheels wrapped in mammoth 35" off-road tires. Even the pick-up’s interior was given given some Realtree touches, especially the Dark Cocoa leather seating with camouflage piping and blaze orange stitching that comes together with Realtree AP pattern accents.
Meanwhile, the Silverado Realtree comes with a torquey 6.6-liter Duramax diesel engine that churns out 397 horsepower and a metal-twisting 765 lb/ft of torque, giving the pick-up all the power it needs for all of the miles it’s going to log in the off-road.
Chevrolet and Realtree have established a solid partnership that has lasted seven years and the former wanted to celebrate the occasion by seeking the input of the latter in building a truly one-of-a-king custom pick-up.
“This truck is a celebration of the seven-year partnership between Chevrolet and Realtree," said Tony Truelove, marketing manager for Chevrolet pickups. "It’s only natural to combine the dependable, long-lasting Silverado HD with Realtree, the best gear for the outdoors.”
The SEMA-bound Ford F-350 that was modified by Superlift Suspensions is like a cross between a Matchbox and a Transformer. And for the kid-at-heart in all of us, it can’t get any better than that.
It’s flashy, it’s gigantic, and it’s actually real. Yep, that’s the dream. In what is arguably one of the most colorful participants at the 2011 SEMA Auto Show, this Ford F-350 Super Duty is the ultimate aftermarket show truck that combines eye-catching looks with the kind of performance modifications that will put others to shame.
The look, by itself, is enough to make heads turn ala Linda Blair. The Bright Orange finish, together with the Matchbox logo prominently displayed on the truck is enough to make us long for those days when our happiness revolved around die-cast cars plunging off of our stairs.
On top of the visual treat, Superlift Suspensions also gave the F-350 Super Duty all the elements of a compact fire truck while also lifting the car’s suspension by 10" to accommodate those insanely huge 41" off-road tires. We’re pretty sure that there’s more to this modified truck than the first salvo of information that we’ve been given so we’re going to keep our eyes and ears open to see whether Superlift has more information they’ve yet to reveal.
In the meantime, we can look at this beast with great appreciation at how it fully represents everything that we love about SEMA, a place where creativity and innovation blend together to produce vehicles like the one Superlift Suspensions will bring to the show next week.
The 2011 SEMA Auto Show isn’t all about fancy new performance set-ups for the much sexier sports cars; it also welcomes aftermarket programs done on some hulking machines like the Ford F-150.
Take for example the work done by Skyjacker Suspensions on the 2011 F-150 EcoBoost. For a pick-up that already packs plenty of the qualities of a powerful road-going beast, the people from Skyjacker Suspensions managed to improve the abilities of the class-leading pick-up even more.
The title of their project is called "Project No Compromise" and as the name suggests, they certainly left nothing to chance with their F-150 program. Featuring a 4" suspension lift to go with monotube shocks and larger off-road tires, Skyjacker Suspensions was able to make what is already a promising handling set-up for the F-150 into something that would make even the Ford engineers blush.
On top of that, the tuning company also added fender flares, a new stainless steel grille guard, a 30" LED bar, and a new dual exhaust system to add some serious bite to a pick-up that boasts of a 3.5-liter V6 EcoBoost engine that produces 365 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque.
The final engine figures have yet to be announced, but expect it to be significantly better than the standard model, all thanks to the people over at Skyjacker Suspensions.
The Ram 392 Quick Silver is a testament on how you can add some serious character to an otherwise ’regular’ Ram R/T, all thanks to Mopar Underground. As Chrysler’s in-house tuning department, Mopar dressed up a Ram R/T for the SEMA Auto Show, complete with aesthetic and performance improvements.
The exterior of the 392 Quick Silver comes with a gloss black roof and a three-stage Bright Silver finish that’s complemented by anodized red paint on the mirrors, wheels, and grille inserts. Mopar Underground also put in a reverse deep-cowl aluminum hood with functional heat extractors and smoked lenses that act as "covers" for the pick-up’s exterior lighting. The 392 Quick Silver also boasts of a Mopar hard tonneau cover that carries an integrated spoiler and finally, a set of 22" Mopar wheels round out the exterior package of the tricked out pick-up.
As for the interior, the 392 Quick Silver boasts of high-bolster SRT seats dressed in Katzkin leather with red stitching and accents. Likewise, the steering wheel, shift knob, door panels, and center console trim also carry the same leather and red stitching combination. Entertainment was also carried out by Mopar with the addition of new Kicker speakers that with tweeters and woofers to make for excellent music blasting.
To improve on the pick-up’s performance capabilities, Mopar equipped the 392 Quicksilver with a 392 HEMI V8 engine that produces 470 horsepower, as well as a cold-air intake kit and headers, a cat-back dual exhaust system, a new suspension set-up, and a Brembo big brake kit, featuring 15-inch vented rotors and bright silver six-piston calipers in the front and rear.
UPDATE 11/07/2011: We have added live images from the 2011 SEMA Show. Check them out in the picture gallery!
Sports cars and SUVs tend to provide the perfect platform for tuning firms. On the flip-side to that are pickup trucks, which don’t really get a vast number of opportunities to get spruced up unless they are headed to the SEMA Auto Show. Case in point is Ford’s of customized F-150 models that will be taking up showroom floor in Vegas this year. The first of which has been developed in cooperation with CGS Performance Products and goes by the name "Tarmac."
The F-150 Tarmac Concept pick-up offers unique and sleek styling with a custom aluminum hood, DuPont Jet Black paint and Boyd Red finish by Andy Meeh, a Paramount restyling grille, and Colorado Custom billet wheels. For the interior, the tuner is offering red leather from Pecca Leather, VizuaLogic headrest monitors, and Seat Belt Planet red seat belts.
All the minor restyling aside, the real star of this program is the powertrain and chassis improvements. Both have received a boost from a CGS Performance with a cat-back exhaust and cold-air intake, a Whipple twin-screw supercharger, a Bell Tech front coilover suspension, and six-piston Baer brakes with 15-inch rotors.
"Additionally, the F-Series trucks are the perfect canvas for customers to personalize. They offer a great wow factor and can easily be taken to the extreme in terms of performance."
