Concept

Kia glided through the design process of its latest coupe SUV concept, the Futuron, drawing inspiration from outer space. With Level 4 autonomy, this SUV with a "360-degree core" represents a look at the future of Kia design with its novel approach to the tiger nose front grille and the eye-catching Star Cloud headlights and taillights. In fact, the concept features light sources all over the luscious bodywork that suggests this EV’s got some grunt. Expect to see at least some cues inside and out on future models of the Korean automaker.

South Korea has quickly risen, in the span of about two decades, from the doldrums of the auto industry to the very top and concepts such as Kia’s Futuron (in itself a pun on the words "future" and "on") signals to the world that Kia plans to stay at the top in the foreseeable future by incorporating the latest EV technology coupled with autonomous systems, all draped in a futuristic body with clean surfaces but also aggressive ridges and angles. We like it if it’s a sign that the two-door SUV is bound to make a comeback.

One of the baddest and meanest trucks to have graced this year’s SEMA Show is this Ford F-250 Super Duty Baja Forged by LGE-CTS Motorsports, a California-based aftermarket company. There is nothing to not like about this truck. It looks vintage, it has the ‘Baja’ identity, and it has the old-school persona attached to it. The Baja Forged Super Duty is an all-in-one mobile command center, workshop, and campsite that will be utilized as a chase truck for the Baja Forged Ford Ranger that was launched by the company at last year’s SEMA Show. Such is the versatility of the truck that even Ford calls this the “Swiss army knife for the modern adventurer.” Need we say anything more about it?

The Nissan Frontier Desert Runner doesn’t have the racing pedigree of the Nissan Global Time Attack TT 370Z or the sheer tuning audacity of the Nissan Kicks Street Sport, but if you’re looking for a rugged version of Nissan’s long-standing pickup with some serious off-road chops, the Frontier Desert Runner should be right up your alley. Developed by the Nissan Motorsports team in collaboration with MA Motorsports, the Frontier Desert Runner is teeming with purpose-specific upgrades that help enhance the pickup’s already impressive form and functionality. Nissan has yet to give any indication of potential production plans for the tricked-out pickup, but that could come soon if there’s decent enough demand for it. For now, though, the Nissan Frontier Desert Runner takes center stage at the 2019 SEMA Auto Show.

With a modern Ford Bronco just around the corner, TV personality and car collector Jay Leno gave new life to a first-generation Bronco Wagon with help from Ford Performance and various aftermarket tuning shops. Shown to the public at the 2019 SEMA Show, this Bronco retains the looks of the original SUV, but it features modern underpinnings with a supercharged V-8 built by Ford Performance. The story behind the vehicle is quite interesting, as it was left for Jay Leno as a joke by fellow TV host Craig Ferguson. Leno kept the vehicle in his garage unrestored until he decided that it deserves a new life.

Various companies and shops contributed to the project, starting with Ford Performance, FoMoCo’s very own performance division. Kincer Chassis, Dennis Carpenter Ford Restoration Parts, SEMA Garage, and LGE-CTS Motorsports.

Ford teamed up with RTR to tag-team the 2020 Ranger and has brought two fine examples to the 2019 SEMA show. One of those concepts was the Ranger RTR, and the other is the Ranger RTR Rambler. While the Ranger RTR is already up for sale, will the Rambler prove that it has what it takes to makes its way to the showroom floor? Let’s take a look at what the Ford Ranger Rambler by RTR is all about!

The 2019 Nissan Kicks Street Sport is a concept car developed by Nissan Motorsports and MA Motorsports for the 2019 SEMA Show. A more aggressive version of the small crossover, it looks a lot like a Nismo-built model thanks to its sportier stance and race-inspired upgrades inside the cabin. It even features a more powerful engine, although specific performance information is not available. Sadly, this beefed-up Kicks won’t come to a dealerships near you anytime soon. Here’s why you should be upset about it.

The 2020 Ford Escape is well-represented at the 2019 SEMA Auto Show. Three different versions of Ford’s hot-selling crossover are in attendance at the world’s largest auto show, including the Ford LGE-CTS Motorsports Urban Escape. As the name implies, the LGE-CTS Urban Escape is a stylish all-around crossover vehicle designed to tackle both urban and off-road environments. It comes with a smattering of upgrades in the form of new equipment and performance modifications, among other things. It’s not the fanciest tuned version of the Escape that’s at SEMA, but it is the one that a lot of people will no doubt gravitate to, in part because of its functionality and all-around usefulness in the real world.

Chevrolet brought a very unique pickup truck to SEMA that is a sweet blend of the company’s rich history and the ‘electrifying’ future. Called the E-10 concept, the product has reincarnated from a 1962 Chevrolet C-10 pickup truck. If you’ve been following the concepts at SEMA this year, you will immediately strike a comparison with the Dodge Lowliner. However, this low-slung pickup truck comes with an electric powertrain under the hood. So, does this bold truck live up to the hype it has created over the last couple of days? It sure does!

The 2019 Ford Mustang Lithium is an all-electric version of the sixth-generation Mustang developed by Ford in collaboration with Webasto. Showcased at the 2019 SEMA Show, the Mustang Lithium is just a concept car, but it paves the way toward the Mustang-inspired electric SUV that Ford will launch in 2020. The latter is part of Ford’s plans to invest more than $11.5 billion in electric cars by 2022, so the Mustang Lithium likely features technology that will make it into production vehicles. Is this the future of Ford?

Toyota’s usual lineup for the SEMA Show is centered mostly around SUVs and trucks, but the 2019 edition brings the fifth-generation Supra into the spotlight. The Japanese carmaker took the 2019 SEMA Show by storm with a handful of modified Supras, either built by aftermarket tuners or developed by Toyota itself to preview upcoming parts and accessories. Here’s the four most interesting coupes you’ll find on the show floor.

Volkswagen will be in attendance at the 2019 SEMA Auto Show, and it’s bringing with it a host of tricked-out SUVs that are built for the American outdoors. Arguably the coolest of these concepts is the Atlas Adventure Concept. It looks the part of an SUV that can handle itself in the Nevada desert with the kind of ease you won’t see from a lot of SUVs offered at SEMA. It comes with a menu of unique equipment, including a clever housing accommodation setup that should make it comfortable for you and yours to enjoy a good night’s sleep under the stars. The Volkswagen Atlas Adventure Concept is one of three Atlas concepts that will be on display at Volkswagen’s booth in the world’s biggest aftermarket auto show.

Aftermarket companies love SEMA. It is the one hot spot that garners attention from all over the world and allows aftermarket companies to highlight their creations without worrying about automakers stealing the limelight. Mopar, one of the biggest aftermarket parts suppliers (and one that is backed by Dodge,) is gracing the show with its presence. The company has worked on two trucks, one being the Dodge Lowliner Concept, and the other one, the Ram Rebel 1500 OTG. OTG, by the way, stands for Off The Grid. Unlike the Lowliner, the Rebel 1500 OTG is a practical concept and could very well make its way into production. Will Ram consider making it a mainstream model?

We’ve got a lot of love for Lego’s car sets, and some of our favorite desk boosters are Speed Champions-branded. Lego’s move to branch out and launch this new category back in 2015 is something we’ve been applauding from day one. The sets are small enough to build in your lunch break, and they won’t eat up as much space on your desk as a Creator set, for example. That said, the Speed Champions family just added a new member. Two, in fact: say hello to the plasticky Huracan Super Trofeo Evo and Urus ST-X.

Thanks to shows like SEMA, aftermarket companies are able to exercise their creative sides in bringing out the funkiest concepts which, otherwise, wouldn’t have garnered a lot of attention. And, when the products are from brands like Mopar, you know that you’re in for a treat. Mopar will be bringing two concept trucks to the SEMA – a Dodge D200-series ‘Lowliner’ pickup truck and a 1500 Rebel-based concept. We’ll be talking about the former one here, and to say the least, Dodge sure had fun reimagining this truck from the 1960s.

As if the Hyundai Veloster N isn’t hot enough, Hyundai’s all set to unwrap an even hotter version of the hot hatchback at the 2019 SEMA Auto Show. This new variant is called the Veloster N Performance Concept, and it is a spicy piece created by Hyundai to give Veloster N owners a preview of how the hot hatch could be transformed if it got introduced into the aftermarket world. The Veloster N Performance Concept comes with exterior enhancements, interior upgrades, and technical improvements. In other words, it’s the full cocktail of the tuning world. Unfortunately, don’t expect the Veloster N Performance Concept to make its way to dealerships anytime soon. This concept is strictly for showcase purposes. On that end, the Veloster N Performance Concept will be in attendance at SEMA in Las Vegas, Nevada next month.

Not content with its current lineup of models, Jaguar has announced the arrival of its latest masterpiece, the completely digital Jaguar Vision Gran Turismo. It’s not a real supercar that will terrorize roads in the near future; the Jaguar Vision Gran Turismo is a low-slung all-electric supercar that will terrorize all the hapless racers that get in its way in the Gran Turismo Sport racing game. The sleek two-door supercar takes design cues from a lot of Jaguar’s existing model lineup. It’s also powered by a stuffing of electric motors that combine to produce four-digit levels of power. In other words, the Jaguar Vision Gran Turismo is a monster, and this monster will make its way to the video game world by the end of November.

Saleen unveiled last weekend in Las Vegas the concept version of its upcoming GT4 racer based on the Saleen One mid-engined supercar. The American manufacturer, known for making the ludicrous S7 for years, plans to have a few cars on the grid in the 2020 season of the Pirelli GT4 America championship. With 450 horsepower from a turbocharged 2.2-liter four-pot, the car is priced at $225,000.

Saleen is back in the game after entirely too many years away. It’s been a full decade since the twin-turbocharged version of the S7 hypercar retired from active competition. Since then, S7 examples have been seen huffing and puffing during historic racing meetings but the company that made them laid dormant until about 12 months ago when it announced a full-blown single-make series revolving its new product, known at the time as the Saleen S1. Plans for a GT4-spec car were outlined at the time and, following the success of the single-make series, Saleen now follows up on its promises and has unveiled the GT4 racer that will take on the best from Porsche, McLaren, Audi, BMW, Mercedes-AMG, Chevrolet, and many others.

The 2019 Toyota e-Racer is a futuristic, open-cockpit sports car concept inspired by the world of racing. Unveiled at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show, the 2019 e-Racer stands out through three features. It has a sleek and aerodynamic design, the passenger seat is placed behind the driver’s, and it features augmented reality and a special pair of digital glasses. It was developed in cooperation with Gazoo Racing and it’s not scheduled to go into production.

The 2019 Nissan Leaf Twin-Motor is an all-electric concept car that features two electric motors and all-wheel-drive capability. It’s heavily based on the existing second-generation Nissan Leaf, as it features an identical exterior and a lightly modified interior. Unveiled at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show, the twin-motor Leaf concept previews a new production car that’s already in the works. According to Nissan, this new drivetrain will enable a future EV to "achieve a huge leap in acceleration, cornering and braking performance, on par with the latest sports cars."

Porsche is creating a new concept vehicle, only this time, it’s not the kind of concept that we’re accustomed to. The German automaker is teaming up with Lucasfilm — yes, Lucasfilm — to create a spaceship — yes, a spaceship — for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The intergalactic vehicle isn’t expected to be included in the movie, but it will be created and displayed at the premiere of the new Star Wars movie extravaganza on December 20. The timing of this Porsche-Lucasfilm collaboration could point hints to the possible use of Porsche’s new Taycan — Porsche’s first-ever EV is also slotted for a December world debut — in the design and development of the aforementioned spaceship. It’s a curious thing to say, let alone imagine a Porsche-designed spaceship for the Star Wars universe.

The 2020 Mitsubishi Super Height K-Wagon is a concept car that the Japanese firm unveiled at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show. The show car previews Mitsubishi’s next generation of Kei wagons, most likely a replacement for the eK model sold on the Japanese market. The 2020 Super Height K-Wagon is a typical Kei wagon, featuring a boxy, tall body and bold styling features typical to these Japan-specific vehicles.

While all eyes are set on the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show, Skoda announced a brand-new crossover called the Kamiq GT. Previewed by a couple of renderings, the Kamiq GT draws styling cues from the Vision GT concept car. It’s obviously based on the already familiar Kamiq, with the main modification being a coupe-style roof. The Kamiq GT joins the Kodiaq GT, a coupe version of Skoda’s midsize SUV. And just like the Kodiaq GT, the Kamiq GT will be sold only in China.

Subaru has pulled the covers off the all-new Levorg wagon, ushering in the second-generation version of what has become one of the most popular wagons in Japan. The Subaru Levorg Prototype isn’t the final production model. It is, as Subaru deftly calls it, a near-production “prototype” of the second-generation wagon that will arrive in the Japanese market in the second half of 2020. The Levorg isn’t going to the U.S. market, but some of the new and updated technologies that are being showcased by the prototype in Tokyo will find their way to America in some form or fashion. In the absence of the actual wagon heading Stateside, we’ll take our victories where we can get them.