SEMA 2026 Recap: Best Builds & Highlights
Folks in the automotive industry either love or dread the annual SEMA show in Las Vegas. Being a member in the former camp, I can attest to the fact that, no matter which side of the line you find yourself on, your head’s left spinning when all is said and done. Being up to your eyes in product demos and radical builds makes it hard to process what exactly took place. Luckily for you, HotCars sent Gabrielle Schmauderer, Seyth Miersma, Samuel Chamberland, and yours truly out to cover the event. We’re happy to catch you up.
Builders Bring The Heat
If nothing else, SEMA is known for bringing together gearheads from all camps to showcase their insane builds. Whether they’re helping promote product in a dealer booth, participating in Battle of the Builders, or just showing off in the lot, you’ll find all sorts of killer cars to gawk over.
Walking the floor, the HotCars team got to talk shop with some of the biggest names in the industry about what they brought out this year. Trick Rides blew our minds with the world’s first all-carbon 4×4 F100, as did Fat Fender garage with their GT/FX streetrod/muscle truck/supercar build. Of course, some non-truck builds left me gobsmacked, too. Like the ‘55 Bel Air with a fresh LS-compatible 427 at the BluePrint Engines booth, and the 2 Fast 2 Furious Yenko Camaro revival at the Aces EFI booth. Of course, who can forget Ringbrothers’ legendary ’65 GTO build or Rob Dahm’s absurd Miata?
That said, the lots generally reserved for independent builders were absolutely overrun with lifted late model pickup trucks. Even as someone who respects all builds, it was frustrating to see every lot overrun with a single type of vehicle. If I could offer up any advice to the SEMA team, they’d be wise to try and put a cap on how many lifted rigs are in attendance next year to break things up a little. Still, there were plenty of other vehicles inside the convention center to help balance things out. And Eddie Pettus winning Battle of the Builders with his radical ’70 Chevelle helped ease this muscle car nut’s pain a little.
Manufacturers Making Customs Trivial
Naturally, the bigger names in the industry came in hot with some pretty wild rides to help wow customers. Holley Performance and all of the brands under its ever-expanding umbrella offered up a prime example of that with the Cream Soda S10 at their booth. Built by Justin Danger Nunley, this truck is already an internet darling. But the fact that it really is proof of how easy Holley makes late model swaps with its swap essential packages takes things to a new level for aspiring builders. Speaking from experience with my own Gen III Hemi swap into my ‘69 Charger, those folks really make the process as simple as possible.
Summit Racing also came in strong with its own LS swap. They walked us through their G-body Monte Carlo build that’s out to prove hot rodding can be beneficial to the planet. Not only did dropping an LS under the hood double horsepower at the wheels, it also halved the emissions, something they were able to prove with the help of SEMA’s own testing programs. While it was a more conventional build, it still felt right at home at the Future Tech booth, where alternative fuels and EVs are all the rage.
Bikes Are Finally In The Mix
Another major development at SEMA this year was the official introduction of powersports. Bikes, side-by-sides, and all sorts of adjacent vehicles were in the mix this year. All who attended can say for certain that this changeup is long overdue.
Custom bike builds all over the show floors reminded many gearheads just how much there is to love about two-wheeled machines. The craftsmanship and appreciation for history and mechanical nuance breathed fresh air into an event that can feel stale to veterans.
This was also the first year Battle of the Builders opened up to bikes as well. The three finalists were all jaw-droppingly gorgeous, but there’s no denying that Steven Iacona walking away with the overall win for his radical Knucklehead build was well-deserved. He and all the other bike builders who showed up set a high bar, and many others and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for next year.
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