LAS VEGAS, NV – The annual Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show filled the Las Vegas Convention Center again this year as the automotive aftermarket and custom builders came together to show and discuss the latest new products, custom vehicle builds and marketing opportunities. Thousands of industry insiders and automotive enthusiasts came out to experience the freshest ideas that the automotive aftermarket has in the pipeline for the coming year. Although private builds and displays featured every sort of vehicle imaginable, our focus – as always – was to find the coolest and most notable Ford cars and trucks that we could spot among all the wild and colorful rides spread across the multitude of display areas at the show.
SEMA is a professional trade association whose mission is to support the needs and growth of the automotive aftermarket industry. Its huge convention in Las Vegas on the first weekend in November each fall is meant to showcase everything from high performance parts, wheels, tires, and go-fast goodies to replacement parts, body shop equipment and tools – even new offerings in the electrification world. One of the most popular attractions is “the “Battle of The Builders” where a judging process chooses a dozen of its favorite custom vehicle creations. For 2025, the top winner was Troy Trepanier’s hand-built 1936 Ford Roadster powered by a supercharged Ford 312 cubic-inch V8.
With SEMA research showing that exactly 50 percent of today’s vehicle accessory purchasers are young enthusiasts, it’s no wonder that attractions such as the world debut of The RingBrothers latest creation made headlines. Their reimagined and modernized 1969 Mustang Mach 1 powered by an 800-horsepower Coyote V8, was a Ford fan favorite, as was Chip Foose’s purely magical 1956 Continental Mark II custom build (despite being LS-powered). Although Ford corporate and some of the other auto manufacturers again sat out as major display participants at this year’s 58th annual show, Ford Performance Parts was there with a booth featuring a special SEMA project vehicle dubbed the “Maverick 300T” built by the Ford Custom Garage Team. Its larger turbo and intercooler pushes power that goes beyond the factory’s Maverick Lobo street truck, good for 300 horsepower and 317 pounds-feet of torque.
“Maverick owners are some of the most passionate and creative enthusiasts we have,” said Matt Simpson, Executive Director, Ford Accessories and Personalization. “They’ve shown us incredible builds online and at meetups across the country. The Maverick 300T package gives them a factory-engineered and backed way to unlock serious performance while maintaining the practicality and efficiency that made them fall in love with Maverick in the first place. We’ve heard from Maverick customers that they want to personalize their Maverick with unique looks and better performance, so we created the Maverick 300T. The upgraded suspension, wheels, tires and brakes work together to make a more capable, more confident truck whether you’re merging onto the highway with a trailer, carving through canyon roads, or just enjoying your daily commute.”
In addition to the 300T, Ford also showed off a truck on the other end of its performance spectrum, a super-supercharged version of its F-150 Raptor R, with the supercharger upgrade also becoming available for owners who want to further max out Ford’s already insane off-road conquering Raptor. For this report, we decided to concentrate on finding the Ford and Ford-powered custom builds among the multitude of private rides of nearly every brand and nameplate imaginable.
As we had expected, Ford super-enthusiast and FordRacing.com contributing photographer Mark Storm attended the SEMA show again this year to get a firsthand look at many of the builds on display there. While it’s impossible for us to capture each and every car at SEMA in our photo gallery, Mark sent dozens of shots to us for review. We’ve selected some of our favorites to share with you below:
FORD RACING PHOTOS / COURTESY MARK STORM
