8 Great Concepts From the 2021 SEMA Aftermarket Car Show in Las Vegas8 Great Concepts From the 2021 SEMA Aftermarket Car Show in Las Vegas

Carmakers returned to SEMA with a vengeance, showcasing the kind of cool custom-built rides that corporate money and talent can create.

Dan Carney, Senior Editor

November 4, 2021

8 Slides
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Ford, General Motors, Stellantis, Toyota

As the auto industry continues to emerge from the Covid-induced hiatus on public gatherings, the Specialty Equipment Market Association annual SEMA show of custom and aftermarket automotive parts in Las Vegas returned with gusto.

Carmakers supported the show with a variety of attention-grabbing custom concepts. 

They were among SEMA's 1,300 exhibiting companies representing the $47.8 billion automotive aftermarket. SEMA says that 30,000 industry participants attend the show, which is not open to the general public.

The show is so big that it has its own mobile app to help attendees navigate the gigantic show floor of the Las Vegas Convention Center, with turn-by-turn directions, maps, product scanner, transportation information, and a schedule of speakers, seminars, and celebrity appearances.

This year's SEMA Electrified exhibit highlighted the organization's recognition that converting combustion classics to electric motivation is the best opportunity to keep the gorgeous vintage rides on the road.

The exhibit included both inspirational custom-built electric cars and displays of the parts available for electric hot rodders to execute their own conversion.

It is always car companies' custom projects that garner the most interest and attention, so click through our slide show to see which of them jumped on the electric conversion bandwagon.

Related:The Best of the 2021 New York International Auto Show That Wasn't

 

About the Author

Dan Carney

Senior Editor, Design News

Dan’s coverage of the auto industry over three decades has taken him to the racetracks, automotive engineering centers, vehicle simulators, wind tunnels, and crash-test labs of the world.

A member of the North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year jury, Dan also contributes car reviews to Popular Science magazine, serves on the International Engine of the Year jury, and has judged the collegiate Formula SAE competition.

Dan is a winner of the International Motor Press Association's Ken Purdy Award for automotive writing, as well as the National Motorsports Press Association's award for magazine writing and the Washington Automotive Press Association's Golden Quill award.

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He has held a Sports Car Club of America racing license since 1991, is an SCCA National race winner, two-time SCCA Runoffs competitor in Formula F, and an Old Dominion Region Driver of the Year award winner. Co-drove a Ford Focus 1.0-liter EcoBoost to 16 Federation Internationale de l’Automobile-accredited world speed records over distances from just under 1km to over 4,104km at the CERAM test circuit in Mortefontaine, France.

He was also a longtime contributor to the Society of Automotive Engineers' Automotive Engineering International magazine.

He specializes in analyzing technical developments, particularly in the areas of motorsports, efficiency, and safety.

He has been published in The New York Times, NBC News, Motor Trend, Popular Mechanics, The Washington Post, Hagerty, AutoTrader.com, Maxim, RaceCar Engineering, AutoWeek, Virginia Living, and others.

Dan has authored books on the Honda S2000 and Dodge Viper sports cars and contributed automotive content to the consumer finance book, Fight For Your Money.

He is a member and past president of the Washington Automotive Press Association and is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers

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