Want to catch up on the best SEMA cars of 2023? Well, luckily for you, we’ve put them all together in one place!
Every year, the biggest names in the automotive aftermarket gather together in Las Vegas for one big convention, known as SEMA. Amongst the live action displays and static demo cars, you’ll often find some of the best modified cars of the year all together under one roof, or in one courtyard. Since we were in attendance, we figured we’d put together a fun compilation of our favorite builds from this year’s show. So, enough chatting, let’s get into the motors, shall we? Here are the best SEMA cars of 2023!
Best SEMA cars of 2023
BMW Z4 GT3 V12
The Toyo Tires Treadpass is always a good place to look to find some SEMA gems. Amongst this year’s crop of contenders on the Treadpass was this mad BMW. It began life as a Z4 GT3 racecar, and if you follow racing as closely as I do, you’ll know that those had V8s under the hood. This one, however, does not. Instead, the owners have transplanted a Mercedes-Benz V12 into its cavernous bay, as well as a massive great supercharger on top!
Liberty Walk Nissan Z
After a lukewarm debut, the new Nissan Z is belatedly getting some aftermarket love, it seems. There were a significant number of Zs floating about at SEMA this year, including this example which was wearing Liberty Walk’s brand new widebody kit. Get used to seeing these lines and arches on every social media platform in 2024…
Air Lift DeLorean
DeLoreans were always better to look at than they were to drive, so that makes them prime ‘show car’ material – even if they’re a bit rare. This bagged widebody example is packing a twin-turbo LS3, and sat at Air Lift’s stand as part of their 75th anniversary celebrations. That makes the company nearly as old as Midge and Jules!
Merkur ‘RS4Ti’
Arguably one of the biggest crowd-pleasers at SEMA 2023 was this heavily modified Merkur XR4 Ti – that’s a Ford Sierra, to you and me. If you want to learn more about what makes this thing so special, do yourself a favor and have a read of our full article on it!
Pandem M3-engined E36 Touring
Have you spotted the problem yet? Yeah… BMW never made an E36 M3 Touring, but this guy has! As you can see, it’s fully caged out and even has a Pandem widebody for good measure.
BMW M3-engined E30 Touring
Same trick, different style. This E30 Touring is also masquerading as some sort of alternate reality M3, and even has a mad hood-exit exhaust… not that there’s much left of the hood. The retro BBS disc rims and plaid Recaro interior work perfectly on old Euro cars like this.
Bagged A90 Supra
You’re guaranteed to see a bunch of modified GR Supras at any high-end modified car show these days, not that we’re complaining! Of the batch at SEMA this year, Jules picked out this wasabi green example as his favorite. It’s got wide arches, split rims, silly camber, and air suspension. What more do you want?
Kevlar K20-powered Porsche 356
The Porsche 356 is a classic, but by modern standards it’s pretty weak. The owner of this example decided to change that though, in every way imaginable. The body has been completely redone in Kevlar, while under the hood its ancient heart has been replaced by a screaming Honda K20.
Eneos Jaguar E-Type
Faruk Kugay’s Jaguar E-Type is British on the outside, but has German bones and a Japanese heart. Want to know what I’m on about? Read our full article on this mad Frankenstein build next!
Twin Engine Nissan 350Z
Eneos sponsored a few cars at SEMA this year, including this mad 350Z as well as the Jag. Again, you’ll have to read our full showcase for all the juicy details, but I’ll give you the headline – it’s got double the amount of engines you’d normally expect…
Gas Monkey Testarossa EV
Richard Rawlings and the folks at Gas Monkey Garage have created something really rather unique for SEMA this year. This Ferrari Testarossa has had its roof chopped off, but more notably than that, has seen its flat 12 tossed aside for an electric powertrain instead.
Liberty Walk Super Silhouette RX-7
Another transformational build is this Liberty Walk FD RX-7, beefed up considerably by arches and wings reminiscent of the ’80s super silhouette racecars. It’s not the first time they’ve pulled off something like this though – remember this ER34 from a few years back?
KE25 Corolla
Would you spend £250,000 on an old Corolla? Well that’s how much this build cost to make over 9 months. It’s got a 4A-GE engine, gorgeous interior and equally attractive split rims, as well as a whole mountain of other mods. This one was proper clean.
Auto Finesse Nissan S15
This 900hp super silhouette-kitted S15 has gone through a whole load of visual iterations recently, but I’m a big fan of its latest look. The folks at Auto Finesse shipped it out all the way from the UK, plus, our very own Midge worked on this car about a year ago! So, for that alone it’s got to make the list, right?
Street Aero Lambo
Is it a Huracan or a Gallardo? Whatever it is (or should I say, was), it’s bloody cool! Street Aero have gone all ‘cyberpunk’ with this project, enhanced by the brutal body alterations and Rotiform aero disc rims. And, as you’d expect with a build on this scale of insanity, the turbo in the back of it is about the size of my head.
Prefer to watch rather than read? No problem, Jules and Midge will show you around each of the cars listed here (and many more) in the YouTube video below!
