The 2014 SEMA Show was a big success...and Advance was there! See what our Street Talker has to say about the happenings.
It's Friday at the 2014 SEMA Show, and that can only mean one thing: if we want more custom-built automotive craziness, we'll have to wait till next year. Yes, SEMA 2014 (Nov. 4-7) has officially reached an end, and we were there for every bit of it, roaming the floors of the Las Vegas Convention Center and doing endless double-takes at all of the fine modified metal on display.
We'd spend thousands of words telling you about every single car at the show, but something tells us you don't have that kind of time. Here's the next best thing, then -- a list of our top three favorite cars from SEMA 2014. This is Street Talk, of course, so they're gonna have a stance, and their engines are gonna make a whole lot of power. That still doesn't narrow it down very much—which, by the way, is what makes SEMA so amazing—but here are the three rides that we just can't get out of our heads.
Vorsteiner GTRS4
What happens when you take a BMW M4 and slap the sickest widebody kit on it that you can imagine? That's what Southern California tuning outfit Vorsteiner set out to discover, and the result is the Vorsteiner GTRS4, which caused one of the biggest stirs this year. The front fenders are four inches wider than stock, and the rears gain a ridiculous seven inches. Those bulbous rear haunches actually remind us a bit of a widebody Porsche 911. The GTRS4 rides on 20-inch wheels that wear 345-width tires in back (almost as wide as a Dodge Viper), and its height-adjustable suspension aims to improve the M4's somewhat brittle ride without sacrificing any of BMW's stock adaptive suspension features. Under the hood, the 425-horsepower M4 arguably didn't need any improvement whatsoever, but Vorsteiner cranked the volume to 550 hp just for good measure.
Galpin Auto Sports Ford Mustang
There's an argument to be made that the 707-hp 2015 Dodge Challenger Hellcat has stolen a bit of the all-new 2015 Ford Mustang's thunder. After all, the Mustang currently tops out at "only" 435 hp with the GT's 5.0-liter V8. But Ford's biggest dealership -- Van Nuys, CA-based Galpin -- has an Auto Sports tuner division of some repute, and their team whipped a black 2015 Mustang GT into a 725-hp monster for SEMA duty. The power comes courtesy of a Whipple supercharger, and the Galpin crew also threw in a window in the hood so you can admire it, along with gold wheels and gold interior trim. The best part is, Galpin Auto Sports has a history of offering such modifications to customers, and it looks like this package will be available in the near future.
Kia K900 High Performance
This creation, on the other hand, will likely never be available for purchase, but it's a tantalizing glimpse of what the luxurious K900 could be. Thanks to novel rear-mounted Garrett twin turbochargers that are visible through a viewport in the trunk, the High Performance K900 maintains the regular car's 5.0-liter V8 configuration under the hood, but the turbos turn up the wick from 420 hp to an astonishing 650 hp. To tighten up the K900's languid suspension, Kia paired Eibach lowering springs with 21-inch wheels, giving the car a pretty mean stance in the process. Ksport brakes with 15-inch rotors and eight-piston calipers top off this tasty package. Now, if only Kia would offer a high-performance K900 from the factory; then we'd be getting somewhere.
What caught your eye?
You read all the SEMA news this week, right? What are your Top 3 cars from the 2014 SEMA Show? Let us know in the comments.
Editor's note: Whether you attended SEMA, or are just living vicariously through our blog post, Advance Auto Parts has the parts to keep your fantasy ride running right all year round.
