The SEMA show opened its doors in Las Vegas… and every boy wished he could go

Jeep’s off-road concept at SEMA was the Wrangler “Lower Forty” – it looks like a mini monster truck. Rolling on ridiculously oversized 1m tall tyres on completely stock Wrangler suspension is some achievement. The only modifications done to accommodate those huge tyres were by moving the wheel arches higher up and further out. The “Lower Forty” benefits from Mopar’s 5.7L HEMI V8 engine, driving through a six-speed manual gearbox. The Hemi V8’s engine should have around 270Kw of power, which is more than enough to push those huge wheels around. I would have to say this Wrangler has Tonka toy styling, made more appealing by a 75mm drop in the roofline and having the windscreen tilted back 10 degrees more than the standard one.

To make the muscle car lover in me happy, Dodge had an ultimate version of the Challenger at SEMA. This version has the Dodge Vipers 8.4L V10 engine giving over 450Kw of power. It’s painted in Tornado Red with a carbon fiber boot and bonnet, all to make it look as fast as possible. To keep the Viper engine on the road, it’s been fitted with Bilstein shocks. The interior is very race-car styled with race seats and carbon fiber accents. What I love most is the big red push start button on the dash!