The big Specialty Equipment Market Association trade show, better known as SEMA, just wrapped up in Las Vegas, and more than a few custom, concept and hopefully production-bound vehicles caught our attention. Here’s a quick look at the creations that ranged from strange to innovative, and beautiful to burly.
Chevy Blazer ‘TUKA’ by Ringbrothers
Nostalgia is a powerful thing, and the Ringbrothers shop clearly understands this. Nonetheless, the “TUKA” custom raised some eyebrows at SEMA. The rig looks… great, but if you were to see it on the road, you might not give it a second look. I mean, it’s a Chevy Blazer, NBD. There’s no controversy around the 500-plus horsepower V8 crate motor or the sweet lines of the K5 body with a faux soft top; but the fact it’s all sitting in and on a 2016 Toyota Tacoma ladder frame might give a few people pause. Thus the name.
#84 Tacoma TRD ProRunner Race Concept
Sure, sure, it’s a “race concept,” but that doesn’t keep us from dreaming of filling that rear bed with something other than spare tires and the big fuel cell and heading out to the dunes/desert/Arctic for a few days of frivolity behind the wheel. The lifted chassis is fully wrapped in armor plating, and TRD Pro’s FOX Quick Switch 3 (QS3) Internal Bypass shocks connect to the BFG ATs. Did you notice it has two doors instead of four? The chances of this full-on custom-seeing the showroom is near zero, but we can dream.
Kia PV5 WKNDR Concept
All the way on the other side of the spectrum from the Blazer up top is the Kia PV5 WKNDR, a #vanlife fever dream based around a fully electric powertrain and a fully modular interior. Looking like a cross between an anime sci-fi prop and a Seoul city utility vehicle, the WKNDR ticks a lot of boxes with all-wheel drive, toughened-up bumpers, decent ground clearance, a pop-top tent, and an inside that can be quickly reconfigured for work or play. The list of innovative features is long and wide, and it’s only missing a production schedule. It also has a stablemate, the Kia EV9 ADVNTR concept, which skews more to the SUV side of things.
Toyota Modellista Overland Vision Concept
Did you just watch The Matrix for the 37th time? Well, here’s your rig. Slathered in custom body panels, curious racks, and other from-the-near-future hard parts, Toyota’s Land Cruiser-based Modellista Overland Vision Concept is ready to roam the IRL wastelands… or the local OnX tract. Modellista is Toyota’s in-house customizer, and they worked up an eye-catching rig for this year’s show. Over 325 hybrid horses move the Overland Vision between real and imagined worlds, and Toyota is showing some new ideas around hauling supplies with the side-mounted fluid containers and gear cubbies. Never gonna see a showroom, right? Toyota says they are gauging feedback from the show about whether to take the next steps, so take the blue pill for now.
Toyota Land Cruiser ‘Recreation Open eXperience’
Open-air exploring is as old as overlanding (maybe older), and that isn’t lost on Toyota’s Land Cruiser designers. “Open air concepts have been a part of Land Cruiser’s heritage, particularly the “topless” version,” according to Adam Rabinowitz, Exterior Chief Designer at Toyota. Based on the 2024 Land Cruiser, the “ROX” concept vehicle is a fully-formed custom that’s ready to get dirty. Toyota says over 50% of the vehicle had to be reinvented and fabricated, but they were able to do it, including stamping the custom body panels such as the abbreviated “skeleton” doors. A functional mid-gate allows passage from the cabin to the truck bed for access to integrated tailgate seating and extra storage space. Plus, the stance of this rig just plain rocks…
