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SEMA 2021 from a First Timer's Perspective

Posted by Charlie Mayne, 12 November 2021

SEMA 2021 - A Show Most DREAM of Attending

Every automotive enthusiast that I know has a dream of one day being able to attend SEMA, it is one of if not the largest auto shows in the world. SEMA is a place where auto brands bring the latest and greatest products for next year’s release, builders bring their A game, influencers come from far and wide, and every media team shows up prying for a chance to feature some of these cars or set up a shoot after the show.

Having skipped SEMA last year due to COVID, I don’t think anyone knew exactly what to expect. For me, this was actually my first year ever able to attend SEMA, but not my first time at the Las Vegas convention center - so I was certainly curious to see what was going to take place.

Input from my co-workers would suggest that this year's SEMA event was a bit lighter in attendance than usual, about 60% attendance in comparison. However, it was really nice to be able to walk the different showrooms without being literally shoulder to shoulder with other attendees. It was actually possible to shoot photos of cars without random passerby’s walking in front of me!

And that’s what this article today is here to present. In this article I’ll be showcasing my favorite builds from what is possibly the largest automotive show in the entire world. Enjoy.

World-Class Evos & Show Stopping Subies

Evolution Lancer 5 CE28 Wheels SEMA 2021

It’d be impossible to attend one of the largest automotive shows in the world as MAPerformance and not be 1000% sure to feature the best Evos and Subarus in the event. Outside the convention center one car pulled my attention immediately. Through the trees I noticed a dark red Evo 5 with some subtle, tasteful, track inspired aero sitting ever so provocatively on a set of Bronze Rays CE28s. Ughhh… I hadn’t even stepped into the convention center, and here I was falling in love...

Come to find out, Archie (@2dr_evo) is actually a customer of ours and he even DM’d me saying that without our sales/customer service team, he wouldn’t have actually been able to get his parts in time to make it to SEMA. I’ll quote him directly by stating, “your guys' customer service and prices are exceptional!” I’m honestly glad we were able to help him out, but talk about a testimonial…

Still outside the convention center, I noticed a car many of us Subie fans would recognize from IG. A white STI parked under the awning of the main entrance pulled me in like a fish… I knew it from across the show, but it was none other than @sky_varis.sti

If you’ve followed this car on the gram’ then you know this thing is VERY well done. Honestly, the handful of photos I was able to snag don’t give a full look into all that is done to the car. From the Varis kit, to the Rays 21c wheels with polished lips, to the full Bride interior, and catalog of Subaru STI performance parts, this car is possibly one of the best STIs I’ve personally seen. I highly recommend checking out his Instagram for a deeper look at the car.

In an unfortunate way, there was only one Evo 8/9 at the show. However, this vehicle would be hard to compete against so I’m sure there wasn’t much of a need to have many more present. But just outside of the awning in the Toyo Treadpass booth was a bright green Evo 9 with an aggressive Voltex Race Aero kit, and a set of Rays TE37 Saga wheels. Not to mention this thing had an incredibly impressive Tomei Crate engine and a handful of other “hard to come by” Tomei parts in perfect condition, as well as an Endless Big Brake kit. You can keep up with the owner Peter on Instagram (@peter_evo9)

And no, I couldn't help myself with editing in the Proving Grounds Easter Egg in the front 3/4 shot... :)

Okay, So SEMA is More than Just Evos and Subies...

Of course there were other cars at the show that pulled our attention. It’d be hard not to notice all of the cars under the Toyo Treadpass booth, the Hoonigan art exhibits (as I like to refer to them), the amazing builds out front in the Pit & Paddock display (namely Ryan from Rywire’s electric motor S2000, and Riley Stair’s Firebird), the Nissan 400R just inside the convention center which was brought in by our friend Brian from Top Rank Imports, a handful of widebody Porsches, our friend Dustin Williams (@dustiinw) Varis Millenium Jade R35 which was on display at the Mackin Ind./Rays/Advan booth, and many more.

A Preview of Modified 2022 Subaru BRZs

Additionally, attendees of the show got to witness some modified 2022 BRZs at the show. One Pandem widebody BRZ at the Cusco booth which showed us how these look on the wild side, and one which speaks more to the OEM Plus styling that many of us enthusiasts go for with our cars on display at the HKS booth. Personally, I’m VERY excited to get our hands on one in the near future. (Seriously, that’ll be coming soon from us.) And I was very pleased to get an in depth tour of the upcoming parts catalog for the car from Keisuke and Taka at the HKS booth. They were gracious enough to let our team peek under the hood, and shoot some photos of their products installed on the car. I was honestly impressed with the variety of parts they had already developed for the platform - and I look forward to their release of products throughout 2022. I hope you enjoy this sneak peek!

Great Show, Even Better People

Overall, the cars were amazing, but being able to see a majority of the brands we work with all in the same building and meet people face to face as opposed to over a phone call or Zoom meeting was better. I think many of us forgot how nice it was to be able to make plans and have discussions in person and I truly believe that it will lead to the industry accomplishing better and better things in 2022.

There's Always a Cherry on Top...

The cherry on top of this trip for myself was ending it with a shoot out in the deserts of Nevada with Alex from Fitment Industries. (@alex.fi) As many of you know, Fitment Industries is a partner company of ours as of 2021, but since we’ve all been so busy it’s been hard to find quality time to connect with one another on a personal level. Let me tell you, waking up at 5am after an exhausting SEMA week on Saturday morning to head out into the middle of nowhere and shoot sunrise pictures tells you a lot about a person's motivation and desire to lead the industry. Alex is definitely one of those leaders. With fewer hours of sleep all week than most people get in a night, he and I met in Downtown Las Vegas at 5am and went out to shoot. The drive was quiet, but as soon as we got to the location, and met up with Dustin (@dusti.co) and Luke (@luke.oneil_) from Custom Offsets (another partner brand of ours) we had both finally shaken the slumber and sprung into action.

I’m not sure if it was the fear of a rattlesnake attack, or the shockingly cold temps that morning, but we ended up moving very fast, and knocked things out in a matter of an hour or so. With some minor convincing, Alex ripped a few donuts “for the content” in his F430, and for me, the post donut pictures are possibly my favorite from the entire trip.

Needless to say, this was an incredibly memorable SEMA trip, and I’m grateful for being able to connect in person with people we’ve only worked with via email or phone calls for the last 20 months. And I’m even happier to have turned some of those people into friends. Maybe SEMA 2022 will be a year that we bring a few cars to the show? You’ll have to let us know if we should go all out.

Until then, enjoy the photos! Peace.