The Coolest Cars at SEMA 2024

• This year's SEMA Show was packed with thousands of vendors showing off accessories, wheels, peformance upgrades and more.
• But the stars of the show are the custom builds and one-off concepts.
• Here are the coolest vehicles we saw at SEMA 2024.

Every November, the Las Vegas Convention Center plays host to the SEMA Show, an industry-only trade show where thousands of exhibitors specializing in aftermarket vehicle accessories show their latest and greatest products. It's also where auto manufacturers roll out special one-offs (usually created with their in-house accessories arm) and independent tuners and coachbuilders display their unique vehicles. This was the first year I attended the renowned trade show, and I was blown away by the breadth of custom vehicles on display. Here are the coolest concepts and builds I saw at SEMA 2024.

Toyota goes all-in

Toyota's presence loomed large over the convention center's massive Central Hall, with a booth that spanned the hall's width and overlooked the show floor. The 4Runner TRD Surf Concept was one of the highlights — a two-door 2025 4Runner with the rear portion of the roof chopped off, plus a brush guard and wave forms molded into the front bumper. I also dug the GR86 Rally Legacy Concept, a motorsports-inspired build with the GR86 powertrain replaced by the turbocharged three-cylinder and all-wheel-drive setup from the GR Corolla. But my personal favorite was the Modellista Overland Vision Concept, a Land Cruiser modified by a customization arm of Toyota/Lexus that is just starting to expand its footprint in the U.S. The result is undeniably loud and silly, but in a way that I find refreshing, in a kind of Mad Max-meets-Cyberpunk 2077 kind of way. There's also the Suprabird, a GR Supra modified to invoke Richard Petty's legendary NASCAR Superbird.

Kia comes to play

The overlanding/adventuring movement is all the rage these days, and Kia brought two vehicles to SEMA that exemplified the trend. The EV9 Advntr Concept is a modified EV9 SUV, with a 3-inch lift, all-terrain tires, a custom roof rack, reinforced rocker panels and more. But the PV5 Wkndr Concept easily was the star of the booth, with throngs of people flocking to the off-roady van. It features a modular interior that can be configured in a variety of ways, plus a solar roof for completely emissions-free charging. Neither vehicle is slated for production at this time, but we imagine that it wouldn't be hard to introduce elements of the Advntr to the EV9 if the demand is there. EV9 X-Pro, anyone?

A strong showing for Mopar

In addition to bringing a few vehicles from this year's Easter Jeep Safari, Stellantis showed off a few concepts built with input from the automaker's Mopar accessories brand. The most daring was the Plymouth GTX Electromod concept, which Stellantis is using to gauge interest in an electric crate propulsion system. The 335-horsepower output might seem modest for a Stellantis product, but representatives told us that stuffing a seriously potent powertrain would require a significant amount of frame strengthening, and they wanted to show off an EV solution that's more plug-and-play for older vehicles. Ram brought what it calls the Moparized Ram 1500 RHO; based on the new high-performance Ram 1500 RHO, it sports custom Mopar Blue graphics and seats. Most of the other add-ons are straight out of the Mopar parts catalog. Rounding out the SEMA builds is a Ram 2500 Power Wagon variant. The sand-colored bruiser features a healthy application of Mopar parts, plus TYRI lights on the roof rack and Leitner Designs cargo pods perched atop the bedsides. Unfortunately, the swarm around this vehicle was so consistent I couldn't get a straight shot of it. The photo you see above is from Ram's press package.

All the other great stuff at SEMA

We've already covered Ford's Bronco, Bronco Sport, F-150 and F-100 SEMA builds, and Nissan was also on hand with a handful of Frontier, Kicks and Z concepts. But the real stars were the individual builds that various parts companies produced and brought to the show. Here's a collection of my favorites.