The All-Encompassing SEMA Preview Coverage, Pt II

Here's Part II of the SEMA Preview coverage.  Alternative title: Turbos, widebodies, big brakes and roll bars, oh my!  In the previous post I covered GM, Mopar, Mazda, and Hyundai.  Now we're moving on to Toyota.

Toyota, Lexus, and Scion have always had a strong presence at SEMA. This year will be no different, with all three divisions bringing concept cars in a futile attempt to convince us the brand is still interesting. Toyota's "big announcement" was the introduction of the F-Sport package for the new-generation Lexus GS350 sedan, which makes the car better looking (negotiable) but not any faster. The exterior gets 19" alloy wheels with 235/40/19 tires (RWD F-sports get 265/35/19 rears, AWD's are square), a more aggressive front and rear bumper and a lip spoiler. The 3.5L V6 retains it's stock 306bhp, but there are a few chassis mods: the adaptive suspension gets a more aggressive tune, bushings are stiffer, anti-roll bars are thicker, and there's the option of an active-rear-steer system that can turn the rear wheels up to 2°. Otherwise, it's just a GS350. Kinda dull.

Thankfully someone has already fixed it. Five:Axis Tuning will be bringing a custom GS F-Sport to SEMA as well, and it's a lot more aggressive looking. The biggest change is the custom Five:Axis widebody conversion kit, which covers the fenders, bumpers, and side skirts. The FA GS F Sport sits low on an AirRunner TC-5 air suspension setup, and of course has massive rolling stock: Five Axis S5:F 20" wheels, 9.5" wide at front and 10.5" at rear, mounting 245 and 285 width tires. There's a huge brake kit too: 380mm 6-piston fixed calipers up front and 355mm 4-piston fixed calipers at back. Other than a custom exhaust, that's it.

Lexus will also be displaying an IS350C (hardtop convertible) done up by VIP Auto Salon, and a slammed-to-the-ground CT200h by Fixe:Axis.  The IS350C (pictured) has a color-shifting paint job (think Cobra Mystichrome or TVR Tuscan) and a Seibon carbon fibre hood, sitting on forged 19" wheels.  There's carbon fibre everywhere: front lip, side diffusers, rear diffusers, trunk spoiler, and headlight "eyebrows."  While a regular IS350 is no slouch (306bhp), VIP Auto Salon bolted on an Apexi Rotrex supercharger kit, which boosts output to 386bhp and 372lb-ft, along with a custom ECU tune and header-back exhaust.  The Five:Axis CT200h is stock power-wise, but has a widebody kit housing 19x8.5" Fixe:Axis alloys and Tein coilovers.  Even though it's a stock Prius underneath, there is a 328mm StopTech 4-piston big brake kit - ahh, show cars.

Toyota will soon be marketing their iQ microcar as a Scion in the US, and to raise interest they're bringing four  iQ concepts to SEMA.  The Pit Boss iQ by Cartel answers the question "what would a two-seat drop top Scion iQ look like?"  (I know you were asking.)  The roof is gone, as are the back seats - replaced by two spare tires.  There's a Snap-On jack in the back, and an impact wrench between the seats.  I have to wonder - is this because they want it to look like a drift car?  Because the iQ is front wheel drive.  And it has a 1.3L engine with a CVT.  I doubt there's a lot of drifting going on, to be honest.  Scion is bringing three other iQ's to SEMA, all modified in different ways.  The IQ-RX by John Sibal has big wheels, nitrous, air-ride suspension, and custom bodywork and interior.  The IQ-RS by Michael Chang has wide fenders, lots of spoilers, and a mildly tuned engine.  The interior is partially stripped and has a carbon dash with a pair of Sparco buckets.

Way, way cooler is the IQ-MR by Tatsu.  As you might guess, the MR denotes that this one is mid engine and rear drive.  The stock IQ motor was pulled apart and rebuilt with a Web 292° duration camshaft, JE 12.0:1 pistons, ARP fastening hardware, a Micro Image clutch & lightweight flywheel, and AEM engine management - then it was stuffed in the trunk.  The interior is totally stripped, with a single racing bucket, a Wilwood pedal box, and a serious roll cage.  Custom flares and a brushed-aluminum look paint job don't hurt either.

Toyota's recently debuted the third-generation Yaris subcompact, and with it comes Toyota's factory-prepped racer for SCCA B-Spec.  Competing against the likes of the Mazda2, Ford Fiesta and Fiat 500, the Yaris B-Spec club racer is painted like Toyota's 1998 GT-One LeMans car.  The usual racing gear is there:  stripped interior, roll cage, six-point harnesses, data acquisition system, Cusco suspension with pillow-ball upper control arm mounts, and 15x7 Enkeis mounting Hoosier racing slicks.  The 1.5L 1NZ-FE is mostly stock, except for induction and exhaust modifications and a custom tune on an AEM EMS2 stand-alone management system.  What, no 2ZZ-GE?

Ford is bringing a lot of cars to SEMA as well.  Most of them will be the Focus and Fiesta compacts; Ford's been pushing their new small car line hard lately, so it makes a lot of sense.  There will be an incredible 7 different Focuses present, each done up by a different firm.  Traditional Ford tuners Roush and Steeda will be bringing Focuses, as well as Cobb Tuning, 3dCarbon, Capaldi Racing, the ID Agency, and Bojix Design.

The Fiesta will be represented by three different concepts, with input from M2-Motoring, Aaron Vaccar, and Gold Coast Automotive (pictured, left.)  Expect all sorts of lowered suspension, custom vinyl, turbocharging and body work - Ford hasn't released any details except for single pictures at this point.

Ford is also bringing an Explorer and Mustang GT modified by Tjin edition to SEMA.  The Explorer has custom paint, gigantic 24" iForged wheels and larger Baer brakes, along with a custom interior with some Recaro baby seats in the back (pimp!)  The Mustang is more my taste: custom paintwork, 20" wheels, Baer brakes and a Paxton supercharger.  The Mustang was developed in conjunction with UTI as well.

And last for the preview coverage is this: called "Le Monstre" after the 1950 Cadillac coupe of the same nickname that Briggs Cunningham drove at LeMans, it's obviously based on a CTS-V Coupe.  While the regular 556 horsepower and 551 lb-ft is enough for most sane people, this one's in the true spirit of SEMA.  The engine is enlarged to 427ci (7.0L, up from 6.2L) and has been internally fortified.  Total output?  1,001bhp and 1,000lb-ft of torque is claimed.

The bodywork is custom, with a large ventilated hood, low-hanging side skirts, and a gigantic rear spoiler.  The whole shebang is wrapped in a matte-black vinyl, and there are chassis and brake modifications to suit.  Worthy of mention is the rolling stock: 20" wheels with Toyo T1R's at all four corners, a wide 275/30/ZR20 at front, and an insane 345/25/ZR20 in the back.  Over the top?  Absolutely.  Insane.  That's SEMA!

The doors to the SEMA show opened today and the press releases are flowing like a busted water main.  I'll be manning the keyboard, trying to keep up with new debuts - stay tuned!