Autoblog UK

Apart from souped-up cars, the SEMA Show in Las Vegas has, of course, the hottest girls of any motor show in the world. Some of the girls' body bits are far superior to any of the cars. This is Part 2 of Motor Show Girls in Las Vegas...

A quite special hot rod was on display at the SEMA Tuning show, a1934 Ford EcoBoost Hot Rod. This superb example is from tuning company, Detroit Street Rods. It's the first rear-wheel-drive EcoBoost car ever. Under its blue bonnet, a 3.5-liter V6 lump from Ford's EcoBoost range pumps out a colossal 400bhp. A ZZ Top album is ready and waiting in the CD player.

At the SEMA Show (Specialty Equipment Market Association) from 3rd - 6th November, the focus was on gas guzzlers – muscle cars, hot-rods, souped-up compact cars, mainly Japanese, and refined luxury European motors. But of course, there were also other highlights, sporting high heels. Here is Part One of Girls in Las Vegas...

At the world's motor shows these days, it's usually eco-cars and fuel efficient vehicles that are in the spotlight, but not at the SEMA in Las Vegas. It's all very different at the biggest tuning show in the world. Tuning experts of all kinds display their latest offerings at the SEMA Show, which this year extends to 180,000 square metres. By way of comparison, September's motor show in Frankfurt occupied around 190,000 square metres. This tuning show has been around since1967. It is not open to the public but is trade only. Manufacturers, tuners and dealers are at home here, whilst numerous professional backstreet tuners add to the lively scene. The Show is the 'Fashion Week' of the custom car industry.

Take 50% Camaro and 50% Corvette and you get a Ghepardo. Of course, this combination can only be found at the SEMA Tuning Show. Tuning experts at Caccia Custom Cars took a 2002 Chevy Camaro and a Chevy Corvette and created the Ghepardo. Chassis is courtesy of the Camaro, whilst engine and suspension are Corvette. The front end is a bit like the new Lexus and the rear is quite muscular. This 'Chevy on Chevy' is a real looker...

At the SEMA convention in Las Vegas, one vehicle in particular is attracting a lot of attention: the TRAX Subaru WRX STI. This automotive creation, the brainchild of artist and snowboard virtuoso Ken Block, is making its public debut in Las Vegas.

Responsible for the actual construction work are rally experts Vermont Sportscar. The WRX STI comes equipped with a set of special EXE-TC Group N shock absorbers, a modified 400bhp 2.5L four-cylinder boxer engine and a KAPS five-speed automatic gearbox. Particularly eye-catching are the four snow-cat tracks in place of wheels. These turn the TRAX WRX STI into an awe-inspiring apparition capable of undreamt-of performance, even on the toughest terrain. And as a sort of bonus, this Subaru comes with a sort of sleigh in tow, the ideal solution for a family snowboarding trip.

The first word that came to mind when we saw the Knight XV was this: warthog. Sure, there are other words you could use, but consider this: it's not attractive, it's ridiculously tough, it's called in to deal with nasty situations and it kills things, all of which tend to be the traits of vehicles that earn the moniker "warthog." Based on the Gurkha military vehicle, the 10,000-pound, Ford F-350 Super Duty-based Knight XV is armored to an unspecified degree, but looks like it will stop more than a pea-shooter. It's got a 6.8-liter V10 that packs 400 hp and 500 lb-ft to keep you moving, and inboard ABS brakes to get you stopped. Those tires are 40-inchers wrapped around 20-inch aircraft-grade wheels. Oh, and it also runs on E85, which means it's more environmentally friendly than any other warthog. Except the hairy one.

Knight XV Specifications
Length 240" (6096 mm)
Width 98" (2489 mm)
Ground clearance 14" (355 mm)
Height 100" (2540 mm)

The KNIGHT XV is built on a Ford F350 commercial platform chassis (making parts easily accessible globally)
Engine: 6.8L V10 gas power plant with E-85 Ethanol Conversion system - Flex Fuel with California emission (making it certified in all 50 US States). Flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) are designed to run on gasoline or a blend of up to 85% ethanol (E85).

Horsepower: 400 HP and torque 498 ft lbs.
4 X 4: Four wheel drive with locking hubs 4.30 ratio limited slip differential transmission: 5-speed automatic
Brakes: Four-wheel disc anti-lock brakes
Wheelbase: 141" (3576 mm)
GVWR: 13,000lbs (5,896 kg)
Armoured Curb Weight: The finished vehicle weight is approximately 10,000 lbs. (4,545 kg)
Fuel tank: 40 gallons (US) (151Litres)
Air conditioning: Factory Air conditioning
Tires: Four LT40X13.50R20 Mickey Thompson Baja Radial ATZ with ballistic run flats
Vehicle armour: The armour specifications as well as the levels of armour are available upon request.

Standing out among the conservatively-styled vehicles at the Ford booth is the Galpin Scythe Concept that we spotted a few months ago while it was being built. We had the chance to sit down with Beau Boeckmann, president of Galpin Auto Sports, who filled us in on the details on the Scythe and how it as built.

For starters, the Galpin crew completely stripped a 2008 Mustang GT convertible down to the chassis. It was then built back up with a molded fiberglass body, Air Ride suspension system, and massive 16.5" Wilwood brakes. Under the hood (partially) is a methanol-burning twin-supercharged 5.0L V8 that puts out a little over 1000 horsepower. Boeckmann knows that the styling of the Scythe is controversial and that not everyone will like it, but he hopes that people will appreciate at least some aspect of the car. Truthfully, it has some pretty trick features including a steering wheel that can move from one side of the car to the other and a voice-activated computer system that can control nearly all aspects of the car. Unlike other "concepts," every feature on the Scythe is fully functional, and the car has been driven on the street.

Toyo Tires has one of the coolest booths at SEMA this year. We already showed you the Tetsu Bentley they have on display, but they also have a sweet Evo and GT-R, a custom Cayenne and this beautiful hot rod. It's based on a 1931 Studebaker Model 54, but features a few modifications... to put it mildly. Motivation comes courtesy of a Chevy 350 with an Edelbrock intake, three, two-barrel carbs with open stacks, and a "Zoomie" open header exhaust system. The custom chassis rides on an equally custom air-ride suspension and Centerline smoothies wrapped in Toyo Proxes. As you can probably tell from the pics, it also has a totally customized body and interior that makes it one of the most attractive cars at the show.

George Barris has officially gone batty. While he is one of the men generally acknowledged for creating the original Batmobile, he hasn't shown anything with those trademark wings since Joel Schumacher almost ruined the franchise. And then we passed this in the North Hall at SEMA today. Maybe it was Catwoman standing next to it, but the Batsmart instantly takes us back with those trademark high-mounted rear wings, a rear jet exhaust, roof-mounted flutes and vertical doors. We don't have many details, but we really don't need them. Just look at it – it's a smart fortwo wearing a Batmobile costume for Halloween!

Maybe gas has risen to $11 a gallon in Gotham and this is the best Bruce Wayne can do. Who knows? We've actually heard that 40 lucky Bat fans will be able to get their hands on one of these in the near future. The standard package won't include the roof flutes or rear chutes and exhaust, but they will be available options. Keep your eye on smart42parts.com website for updates. Meanwhile, we don't think our modern day Caped Crusader has any plans to replace his Tumbler with this toddler.