Welcome to the greatest car exhibition on Earth: the Specialty Equipment Market Association Show in Las Vegas. Every year, aftermarket suppliers, tuners, hot-rod builders and even mainstream carmakers wrench tirelessly in the months prior to this Sin City mainstay to craft the most imaginative machines their minds can conceive. While innovation has its place, sometimes these automotive artisans can venture into the extreme zone. Here are our picks for the most outrageous machines on display at the 2010 SEMA Show.
Not So Mellow Yellow
The 2010 Rolls-Royce Drophead Coupe should be posh enough for anyone. But not for Michael Fux, the owner of this blindingly yellow Drophead on display in the Giovanna Wheels booth here in Vegas. In addition to the Rolls' $550,000 price tag, he spent an extra $350,000 to get a custom yellow leather interior, a carbon-fiber tonneau cover and several cosmetic modifications for the big machine's hefty V12 engine, all executed at the Rolls-Royce factory. Once stateside, Fux then fitted the vehicle with a set of trick color-matched 26-inch GFG wheels by Giovanna..
King of the Cruisers
Mario and Catriona Colalillo's extremely chopped and channeled 1959 Cadillac Coupe de Ville is a real crowd-pleaser at the PPG display. The neon purple paint job attracts gearheads like moths to a flame. We think it looks like something straight out of the fictional town Radiator Springs from the 2006 Pixar animated film "Cars." Known as the Wild Cad, this classic auto originally hailed from Australia — hence, the right-hand-drive — and is motivated by a big-block Chevy V8 engine, backed by a beefed-up Turbo 400 transmission.
Testosterone Replacement Therapy
Need to get some of that hop back in your step? Grab the keys to Underground Racing's 1,000-horsepower Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4. Built and owned by Underground racing, this twin-turbo beast does zero to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds and the quarter-mile in 9.1 seconds.
Catch Me If You Can
This wicked white-on-white wide-body Camaro SS, built in Forgiato Wheels' machine shop for company co-founder Norman Celik, features a ProCharger supercharged V8 engine, outrageous one-off nose and tail treatments, a trick body-tuning kit and sweet color-matched 24-inch Forgiato wheels. The mods give the Camaro an otherworldly look that is just spooky. And it's for sale. Price: $69,000.
The Green Machine
Dennis McCarthy is the guy to whom Hollywood's top filmmakers turn when they need cool cars. His creations have appeared in the "Fast and the Furious" series and plenty of other big-screen blockbusters. This is one of 29 cars he built for the upcoming movie "Green Hornet," slated for release on Jan. 14 and starring Cameron Diaz and Seth Rogen. Dubbed the Black Beauty, this heavily modified 1960s-era Chrysler Imperial is owned by Sony Pictures, the film's producer. It's armed with a pair of 30mm Gatling guns that rise out of the hood and rocket launchers mounted in the front and rear bumpers.
Stretch Your Legs
While it baffles us why anyone would want to transform a Scion xB into a stretch limousine, we have to admit this thing is pretty cool-looking. Built by Cartel Customs, which is owned by import drag racer Jeremy Lookofsky, this tony stretch features rear suicide-style doors, a large television, a well-stocked bar and a black leather wrap-around sofa. Modifications to the xB's powertrain include an AEM air intake, a Cartel straight exhaust and a Strup performance header.
Flash Back, Flash Forward
Created by custom coach-builder Rossi Motors, this wild mechanical hybrid is part classic automobile, part modern marvel. Dubbed the SixtySix, it pays homage to the 1966 Corvette Stingray, but is built around a completely modern Corvette C6 chassis and equipped with a 450-horsepower LS3 V8 engine. The body is custom-made with generous amounts of carbon fiber and fiberglass to give the car a daring, retro-cool look. The split rear window is probably the car's most noticeable and classic feature. Bottom line: This machine is a real looker.
The Shape Shifter
Richard Mott's brainchild, the Mercedes Bent, has the seductive silhouette of the iconic 1961 Mercedes-Benz 190SL, but the underpinnings of a 2004 Mercedes-Benz SL600. The Bent's drivetrain has been worked over with an extensive Renntech performance package that drops an upgraded intercooler, a custom intake system and a reprogrammed engine control unit onto the SL's twin-turbocharged V12 engine.
Roller Coaster
This piercing blue 1939 Ford stands out from the crowd when owner Jim Bible cruises down Main Street in his hometown of Omega, Ga. Its low-slung stance could tempt the most devout into all sorts of sin. Built by Tom Pagano of Sacramento, Calif., this Blue Oval classic features custom handcrafted bumpers and taillights, a heavily modified grille and a '59 Ford dash with the gauge cluster moved to the center. The car is named Coaster because it can drive from coast to coast.
Speed Demon
Bob Griffith's 2003 Dodge Viper has the look of pure evil. Its huge, twin-turbo conversion bulges like a massive biceps alongside the vehicle's thunderous V10 engine. Twins Turbo, a Signal Hill, Calif., tuning shop, handled the conversion, the crowning achievement of which is the pristine double-chamber intake manifold. This is a top-speed flier that competes at the Mojave Mile on a regular basis, trying to live up to its 260-mph top speed certification.
