What was seen at SEMA

SEMA, known for its wild and wacky vehicles and accessories, came back from its pandemic hiatus with Broncos, a Beast and beautiful paint. At least six automakers showed concept versions of their latest pickups, SUVs and powertrains last week in Las Vegas. Here are some highlights from the Specialty Equipment Market Association’s once-again-annual show.

Chevy calls its Beast concept (above) a "vision of the ultimate in high-performance desert running" and says it was conceived to "demonstrate the capability of Chevy trucks and Chevrolet Performance Components." The four-passenger off-road concept is based on a modified Silverado pickup chassis and is powered by a Chevrolet Performance LT4 supercharged crate engine producing 650 hp.

Chevrolet also showed an electric hot rod called Project X, a classic '57 Chevy using a 340-hp electric motor. Chevrolet collaborated with Hot Rod magazine, which bought the car for $250 in 1965 and over the years used it as a test bed for various powertrain configurations. It has been powered by inline-six and V-8 engines and has used carburetors, fuel injection and supercharging. The battery, which Chevrolet Performance is evaluating for potential use, has been developed around a modular concept that could allow customers to scale the capacity based on range, cost, packaging and weight. In Project X, the 400-volt proof-of-concept lithium ion battery stores 30 kilowatt-hours of electricity, providing enough range "for weekend cruising," Chevrolet said.

Custom pickups and utility vehicles dominated Ford's stand, including tuned Mavericks, Mustang Mach-Es and no fewer than six Broncos. The street-racer Maverick is built by Tucci Hot Rods in Marcy, N.Y. The truck starts as a Maverick XLT powered by a 2.0-liter EcoBoost with all-wheel drive. Tucci widened the truck, added wheel archers, a front spoiler and performance exhaust.

Ford Performance driver and builder Vaughn Gittin Jr. created the Bronco RTR concept using Ford Performance parts and accessories installed. The build features a 2021 two-door Bronco Badlands, and additions include a sound bar, paint protection film and doorsill plates. The 2.3-liter EcoBoost gets a sport exhaust.

Honda showed two performance versions of the new Civic the automaker unveiled last month. The Honda Performance Development Civic was created, developed and tested in-house by HPD engineers, while a one-off racer was built to run the National Auto Sports Association's 25 Hours of Thunderhill race in December.

Nissan's Project Overland Pathfinder and Project Overland Frontier are special off-road enhanced versions of the company's crossover and midsize pickup. The two trucks use Nismo off-road parts, including a 2-inch lift kit with Bilstein shocks, 18-inch Nismo wheels, a prototype expedition roof rack and 6-inch driving lights.

Jeeps and Rams dominated Stellantis' SEMA booth, including the Jeep Wrangler Overlook Concept, which stretched the Wrangler 12 inches to accommodate a third row. The custom roofline is 5 inches taller than on the standard SUV.

Toyota says its Tacoma-based Tacozilla (a take on Taco, the midsize pickup's nickname) is a camper that nods to the tiny house craze, describing it as a "backwoods overlanding-ready 'micro-house' rig that pays tribute to Toyota campers from the '70s and '80s." Toyota's Motorsports Garage designed and built the Tacozilla. The company says the truck has a custom-fabricated frame and an aluminum exterior with smooth, rounded surfaces and has a unique pass-through opening between the Tacoma's cabin and the camper structure. The camper's interior is fully insulated with teak sauna-style flooring and offers a full bathroom with hot-water shower and a kitchen with a stove and sink. There's even a 3D-printed dining table that converts into a backlit piece of wall art.