Showing Some Muscle at SEMA 2025
A photo gallery of just a few of the awe-inspiring high-performance cars from the past six decades on display at the SEMA Show...
Words & Images by James Maxwell
For our third and final photo gallery from the 2025 SEMA Show, we’re focusing on high-performance street and race cars from the ’60s to present day.
After exploring this gallery, be sure to check out our other photo galleries on classic cars and trucks and SUVs. The photos in these online galleries reflect mostly “American Performance,” with some taken during daytime hours (and the buzz of the show floor), while others were taken after hours, making it possible to capture the vehicles without the crowds.
1970 Chevrolet Chevelle
Don Abenante took a 2,700-mile cross-country trek to SEMA in this 1970 Chevelle that he has owned since he was 15. It was a SEMA dream come true, and with a surprising powerplant under the hood—a verified 1,400-horsepower Ford Coyote.
1969 Chevrolet Chevelle
Built by Velocity Restorations (Cantonment, Florida) in partnership with Dutchboys Hotrods (Vicksburg, Michigan), this 1969 Chevelle debuted at the show. The build included a sheet metal change to the rear of the car to incorporate the 1968 sheet metal and taillights.
Power comes from a Nelson twin-turbo LS 427 (producing 1,000 rear-wheel horsepower) bolted to a Roadster Shop Fast Track chassis, T56 trans and 9-inch Ford differential with Strange Engineering center section. Covered in three-stage Aurelium Bronze Pearl BASF Glasurit color, it has a classy look, and the hand-built rear diffuser provides a true one-of-a-kind appearance.
1972 Chevrolet Corvette
This 1972 Corvette in Candy Apple Red from the Mako Shark era was displayed in the Roadster Shop exhibit. Built by GAP Industries (Hockley, Texas), it features a 582-cid BB Chevy built by Sonny Racing Engines, 1,004 verified horsepower, 18-inch Greening Auto Custom Wheels, wide body mods and dual chrome roll bars. It was an attention grabber for certain.
2024 Ford Mustang GT
This 2024 Mustang GT is a company promotion vehicle from Turn14 Distribution and Aeromotive that will be given away to one of Turn14 Distribution’s customers.
The vehicle is loaded up with a Roush Phase 2 Supercharger, ACT Mod-Twin clutch, Eaton Detroit Trutrac differential, Air Lift full suspension, WELD Ventura 20-inch wheels, Mickey Thompson Street Comp GHT rubber, and carbon fiber body parts by Anderson Composites, plus a lot more products from the vendors that Turn 14 Distribution represents.
1980 Pontiac Trans Am
This Firebird Trans Am, owned by Angie Johnson, features a Procharged 6.7L LS1, a Roadster Shop chassis and custom 18/19 Turbine replica wheels. It’s one of the 1980 Pace Car Firebirds, and the pearlescent white color and satin Gun Metal offsetting color add a Sano look.
2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R
A 1-of-6 factory fully restored race car by Pratt Miller, this car was built to GTE regulations for the Corvette race program. Featuring an LT6.R flat-plane race engine and 2,745-pound overall weight, it has lots of pedigree with wins at Daytona and Le Mans.
1968 Dodge Charger
Rolling on a Roadster Shop chassis and powered by a 440-cubic-inch Mopar old-school big block (topped with a Borla Stacked Injection System), this is a super-detailed ’68 Charger with some subtle body enhancements. Eric Brockmeyer did the renderings, and the chosen paint was from BASF Glasurit—a custom-blended Green that was mixed with Bronze accents. Tucked bumpers, no drip rails, revised flush mount windshield and backlite, front wheels 3-inches forward from stock, 19/22 rolling stock and a one-off custom dash layout make this one sweet ride.
‘Serious ’66’ 1966 Chevrolet Corvette
The “Serious ’66” 1966 Corvette by Kuhnhausen Metal Concepts (Creswell, Oregon) in Le Mans Blue won the “Best Engineered Vehicle Award” at the show. This car features an Art Morrison GT Sport IRS chassis, supercharged direct-injection LT4 power, ZF8HP-70 paddle-shift 8-speed transmission and Forgeline R56 wheels.
1970 Plymouth Road Runner
Meaning “hurry” or “speedy,” the Swahili name “Haraka” is what Pure Vision Design’s Steve Strope gave this 1970 Plymouth Road Runner he debuted at SEMA ’25. Featuring Heidts’ PRO-G Independent F&R suspension, this classic Mopar received a vast amount of meticulously detailed enhancements from front to rear. It features a 494 big block wedge, MoTeC EFI on long ram intake, Tremec TKX trans, carbon fiber mufflers and exhaust system, HRE wheels, GTX honeycomb grille, a dashboard out of a 1966 Plymouth Fury, a ’72 Duster center console, a ‘Cuda Gran Coupe overhead console, designer Robert Graham-themed upholstery and many other one-off design elements. “A nice, clean Road Runner with some cool bits.”
70/SS Chevrolet
The 70/SS booth showcased the best of both worlds in the sense of a modern Camaro Gen 5/6 reborn as a “1970” Chevelle SS 396, known as the “Martin Build.” With 900-horsepower Magnuson 2650 supercharged LT6X power from Trans Am Depot and carbon fiber body panels over Camaro Gen 5/6 modern structure, this car has the spirit of 1970 with current state-of-the-art performance. Comes as a convertible, with a hardtop added.
1969 Dodge Charger
This Plum Crazy 1969 Charger, known as “Viiola,” rolls on 22-inch TIS wheels and has color-keyed tucked bumpers and body lines remaining as Dodge intended them. Equipped with an old-school aluminum-headed 440 RB topped with an 8-71 supercharger, some things never go out of style.
Brute Force
When John Force first got into nitro Funny Car racing, one of his early cars, a Chevy Monza, was called “Brute Force,” and for the 50th Anniversary of John Force Racing, they came up with this retro throwback wrap for his Camaro, now driven by Jack Beckman. Featured at the SEMA NHRA booth, it was a nice flashback to an earlier time. While Beckman’s NHRA number for 2025 was #2, its small lettering is “7726,” which was John Force’s NHRA number back with the Monza, circa 1977.
1966 Chevrolet Chevelle
Still in progress, this 1966 bare-metal Chevelle unveiled by GAP Industries will be the Goodguys’ giveaway car for 2027. A Speedtech Extreme IRS with QA1 shocks, chassis, 427 LT powerplant topped with a Holley Dominator EFI, Tremec T56 gearbox, carbon fiber front inner fenders and tons of innovation is what this build will be all about.
PMR/Rossi Dodge Challenger
Phil and Tony Mandella from PMR Race & Speed Shop put together a well-engineered Dodge Challenger that will see action on NHRA tracks next year, flying under the colors of Paul Rossi Dodge/Direct Connection. M2 Machines has built scale models of the car, which will be available at Walmart and Hobby Lobby.
2026 Dodge Charger Drag Pak
It was in the Mopar exhibit area where Dodge launched its first Dodge Charger Drag Pak: the all-new 2026 Dodge Charger Hustle Stuff Drag Pak by Direct Connection. The brand’s newest purpose-built race car unites SRT race HEMI engine power with a drag-race-ready version of the new Dodge Charger.
Charger Hustle Stuff Drag Pak is constructed with select carbon-fiber components, creating a new race car that is 100 pounds lighter than the previous Challenger Drag Pak. The new Drag Pak package car is powered by a championship-proven supercharged 354-cubic-inch HEMI V-8 engine and is turnkey capable of sub-eight-second elapsed times. These engine upgrades include a new GEN III aluminum HEMI engine block, all-new H-beam connecting rods, Diamond aluminum pistons, forged-steel eight-counterweight crankshaft and a new high-performance lightweight billet supercharger belt tensioner.
Only 50 serialized units of the 2026 Dodge Charger Hustle Stuff Drag Pak by Direct Connection, the most technologically advanced Drag Pak race car to date, will be built. The limited-production drag car is engineered for grassroots NHRA Sportsman drag racers, with each of the 50 race cars NHRA-approved for Factory Stock Showdown (FSS) competition. Drag racer Morgan Evans certainly was checking out that car.
