In what must have been some sort of twisted marketing ploy, the great American automaker Ford had an Ultimate Green Ford Focus RS sitting at the beginning of their display at the 2009 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Honestly, as you turned the corner expecting to see more Mustangs than you can shake a stick at, there it was, a 300 HP turbocharged lime green Focus wearing a set of wide arches, 19 inch multi spoke rally inspired RS wheels, vents in the fenders and hood as well as a wide mouth front bumper.
At first the neon paint acted like a magnet drawing in your eyes. As anyone who has ever been behind the wheel at speed can tell you, you end up going where your eyes are looking, and we weren’t alone. We literally had to shove through the crowds and hold back attendees just to get a clean shot of Ford of Europe’s greatest creation. Hopefully Ford’s marketing team were hiding behind the curtain somewhere like the wizard of Oz just so that they can understand just how much of a demand there is for this machine right here in the U.S. however we might just settle for an RS Fiesta.
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Another wonder from Germany that we aren’t privy to just yet is the next generation Volkswagen Golf GTI. While VW enthusiasts overseas have been driving around in the latest hot hatch with its pronounced headlights and curvaceous body. The new GTI should be in U.S. showrooms by next year and you can expect for them to be everywhere else shortly thereafter. It is only fitting that the German suspension manufacturer H&R decided to bring a sixth generation GTI to the 2009 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, after all, ever since a team of top secret VW engineers slapped a GTI badge on the original Rabbit the one thing that these cars have become known for is outstanding handling.
As opposed to some of the more over the top examples of aftermarket influence at this year’s show, H&R has tastefully modified the Golf VI GTI with a set of thin spoked O.Z. Racing rims measuring 20 inches in diameter with a nice little red accent on the lip. Being the suspension specialists they are, H&R virtually eliminated whatever unsightly wheel gap VW gave the car from the factory leaving the new GTI with the perfect stance, all before laying down a pair of German flag inspired side stripes unlike anything you have ever seen before.
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As part of an automotive manufacturer’s vast list of responsibilities they must pick and choose what cars they want to sell in what markets, unfortunately sometimes this means that certain regions are deprived of some outstanding automobiles. In this case we are talking about the Volkswagen Scirocco, the VW sports car hasn’t been sold in the U.S. since 1988 and is currently a dedicated Euro only model.
However like most things in car culture, leave it up to the aftermarket to make the impossible come true. Like when the Netherlands based high performance shock absorber manufacturer with subsidiaries around the world brought a modified VW Scirocco wearing a set of stylish 19 inch BBS rims stateside to the 2009 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Only after seeing the sports coupe in person can you fully appreciate the cars all new curves and haunch rear end, now we know why Volkswagen of America is a bit hesitant to bring the car to the U.S. because after seeing the new car in person, we would be hard pressed to pick the Golf as our Volkswagen of choice, especially after you have a gander at the even more powerful Scirocco R.
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When Ford decided to enter a couple of rally cars at the 2009 X-games we were excited to see the new Fiesta wearing a set of bulging boxed fenders, a WRC style wing and some tarmac spec rollers. Perhaps even a showroom version. The blue oval should be happy that they chose to run an assortment of their Fiestas both new and old because the weekend’s broadcast television action sports etravaganza finale featured a 2010 Ford Fiesta going up against the golden boy Travis Pastrana and his fully built
Subaru Impreza WRX STI. The boy and his
Subaru had taken the gold the year before but after clipping a little too much off of his last apex, it was Indianapolis 500 winner Kenny Brack who was jumping up and down celebrating on the roof of a car that looked alot like this on
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It seemed that everywhere you turned at the 2009 SEMA Show there were at least a few modified Hyundai Genesis Coupes in your field of vision. However there was one tuned two door that stood head and shoulders above the rest, taking a page out of last year’s playbook, the Korean car maker hired a team of expert Japanese tuners to make the most out of their newest sport compact, and if you thought that the HKS Genesis Coupe from the 2008 SEMA Show was jaw dropping, then Greddy’s take on the Genesis Coupe will leave you absolutely breathless with its aggressive body kit, good looking graphics and the mystery of what’s inside.
The Greddy Genesis coupe was put together with the typical array of parts from the Trust catalog like an Airinx intake filter, type RZ blow off valve, a full auto turbo timer and the legendary Profec B electronic boost controller. However a few of the more impressive parts that Greddy came up with for the new world engine based turbocharged four cylinder engine; like a larger 18 G turbocharger being fed hot air from a four into one tubular exhaust manifold, a high capacity intake manifold, Greddy’s latest in ECU technology the e-Manage to finish off the bolt on upgrades housed inside the engine bay.
The Genesis Coupes stance was adjusted to perfection thanks to a set of Greddy Type-S coilovers and had 20 pistons worth of brake calipers housed inside of a set of the Volk Racing TE-37 wheels. As impressive as those last few items might have sounded, none did as much for both performance and style of the modified Genesis Coupe as the Greddy Spectrum Elite exhaust peaking out underneath the new rear diffuser with its quad tip configuration and anodized blue finish. Once again Greddy has created an automotive masterpiece using their catalog of proven go fast parts without the need for unnecessary bling and Hyundai laid the foundation for them to do it.
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There is no greater sight than a group of modified Nissan GT-R super cars lined up and shined to perfection, and of course while walking along the crowded halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center for the 2009 SEMA Show that is exactly what we came across. The old Skyline GT-R has already built itself a strong relationship with the aftermarket, and the new GT-R super car has quickly become famous for being able to embarrass Porsche owners for a fraction of the price by granting owners with ungodly amounts of power and handling that defies physics, all straight from the factory. Given the car’s tuning credibility and outstanding performance potential, the GT-R has become the perfect platform for enthusiasts to transform into the purpose built vehicle of their choice.
At the head of the pack sat Brian Lock’s GOTO:Racing R35, now any race spec GT-R is a visual treat, but when you consider that this is the first ever race ready Nissan GT-R to compete in any form of sanctioned motorsport in the U.S. you know that this is truly something special with its multitude of aerodynamic aids, gutted interior and ultra wide semi slicks. While Mr. Lock’s GT-R was modified in search of an all around ability to go, turn and stop in order to achieve the quickest lap time possible, the next Nissan in line focuses on doing one of those tasks extremely well with the same goal in mind of course. That is because the next example of Godzilla lined up in Las Vegas was a gleaming white GT-R that boasted as being the world’s fastest. With straight line acceleration being priority one, this super car owner has managed to run his GT-R down the quarter mile in an elapsed time of just 10.4 seconds with a trap speed of over 130 MPH, very fast.
There were so many modified GT-Rs in the lineup that it would be difficult to go over the nuts and bolts of each one, but if you are a true GT-R fan, and spent hours endlessly staring at that old B.F. Goodrich poster, then you should recognize this last GT-R distinct shade of Bayside Blue. Even though that particular paint code went away with the R34, this Godzilla enthusiast did a great job of bringing back the image of the four round red taillights floating in a sea of that memorable metallic blue paint.
Video of Brian Lock’s GT-R after the jump. > More
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The Japanese luxury automaker Lexus recently debuted their LF-A super car to the world at the Tokyo Motor Show so by the time the new 552 HP V10 powered sports car arrived at SEMA it would seem that the Lexus LF-A was old news, but don’t say that to the hoards of tuning enthusiasts who crowded around this limited edition high performance machine snapping photos and admiring everything from the flat black super car’s bodylines to the carbon fiber accented interior.
Although we weren’t so sure about the guy in the black Toyota shirt that was telling us about how the Porsche GT2 style vent in between the hood and front bumper provides additional cooling to the intercooler, we would have bought that the high revving 4.8 Liter V10 was just so hot that it needed the extra airflow to keep the temperature needles out of the red, especially because we missed the memo on the LF-A being a turbo model. Either way the new super car is a beauty up close, or those who will be fortunate enough to see one of the 500 examples up close will definitely not be disappointed.
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The 2009 SEMA Show in Las Vegas was a high point in this automotive journalist’s career. Aside from the multitude of of high performance tuner cars and the chance to ride shotgun in a Corvette with a racing instructor, SEMA also offers visitors the opportunity to witness the unimaginable. Lucky for us, right as we stumbled across this pristine looking Ferrari F40 the guys in the booth were worried about the fitment of the classic super car’s engine cover. This gave us a rare opportunity to get up close and personal with the twin turbocharged 2.9 Liter V8 that makes 471 HP, and because we happen to be the gear heads that we are no opportunity was wasted. Honestly, the only way that you would ever get to experience something like this is if you drove by an F40 stuck on the side of the road with an inquisitive owner or if that guy is your best friend.
Check out the gallery below to have a closer look.
Remember the Formula One wheel that we found in the Enkei booth at the 2009 SEMA Show, well there was one other item on display that was almost as impressive as a 14 inch wide lightweight wheel that is good for turning in at 200 MPH, one of the most aggressive looking Subaru Impreza WRX STi hatchbacks that we have ever seen. Apparently the car was fully built by Design Craft Fabrication for a former motocross race who wanted to trade in his two stroke bike for an all wheel drive turbocharged flat four cylinder STi. With his initial intentions to rally the new Subaru, the exorbitant costs of campaigning a rally car turned his ambitions towards Time Attack on track ambitions.
Design Craft took every opportunity to develop new parts for the customer vehicle, like a V mount radiator and intercooler set up, a set of custom pistons from J.E. to handle the boost generated by a Garrett GT3582R turbocharger and one of the wildest body kits we have ever seen. However there is one piece of the Time Attack STi puzzle that should seem familiar to you, that is if Subaru hadn’t pulled out of World Rally Championship competition. That is because this STi is wearing a legitimate Prodrive WRC wing on the back, and as far as we know it is the only one in America.
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Although you may not have heard of the the Japanese petroleum group, the Nippon Oil Corporation, however you may be familiar with the name Eneos. Even though we don’t have any of their gas stations here in the U.S. you might have seen the red Eneos sticker stuck to the front of synthetic oil products in almost any automotive parts store here in the States. Aside from the lovely ladies posing for photos and signing autographs, they also had a few high end vehicles on display at their booth at the 2009 SEMA Show in Las Vegas last week.
The first item of interest was a very clean Bentley Continental wearing a subtle body kit that mimics the more powerful Super Sports model. The other cool car in the Eneos display was a triple black kitted Ferrari F-430. Starting off with a flat black finish the Ferrari rode on a set of matching matte black mesh rims that gave us a good look at the braking hardware underneath. However one of the nicest touches on the mid engine prancing horse were a pair of Scuderia inspired glossy black striped running the entire length of the vehicle.
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