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Event Coverage: The 2008 SEMA ShowPlenty of Mustangs, Plenty of New Products, and a Ton of ExcitementBy Jonathan Lamas, About.com Guide

As quickly as it arrived, another SEMA Show has come and gone; and what a show it was. Although some folks reported a smaller turn out than last year, I found the show to be as busy as ever. Just ask anyone who walked through the Performance Hall.



It was shoulder-to-shoulder foot traffic with folks drafting and jockeying for a first place position from point A to Z. Best of all, I think I saw more Mustangs at this year’s show than ever before. That said, yes, there were plenty of modified Challengers there as well, but we Mustang guys love a little friendly competition.

Shelby Makes the RoundsAs for highlights from the show, Carroll Shelby was spotted out and about making plenty of stops to sign autographs for adoring fans and Shelby Mustang enthusiasts. In fact, I personally spotted Shelby signing autographs at his booth and at the Ford Booth.

He also attended Food Network Star Guy Fieri’s live demonstration of his new recipe, Racing Slick Shrimp in a Snakebite sauce. The dish will be featured at the Shelby Corner Café in the near future. During the presentation Shelby showed off his new line of wines by DenBeste Vineyards, which was used as an ingredient in the recipe. I taste tested the shrimp afterwards and honestly give it two thumbs up. If you’re at the Shelby Corner Café in the future, be sure to check it out.

Another Shelby highlight from this year’s show was Shelby’s announcement to sponsor an upcoming NASCAR Sprint Cup race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 1, 2009. To commemorate the classic Cobra 427, the event will be lengthened to 427 miles.

Shelby will also produce a Las Vegas Motor Speedway Limited Edition Shelby 427 package for the Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang. According to Shelby, owners of 2007 or 2008 Shelby GT500s, with an existing post title Super Snake package, can purchase the limited edition "pace car” upgrade on a first-come, first-served basis by e-mailing shelby427@lvms.com. Only 427 of the packages will be made available.

Return of the Cobra JetThe return of Ford’s Cobra Jet Mustang also made SEMA headlines. Ford unveiled their new FR500CJ Mustang the first day of the show. Similar to last year’s FR500S Mustang, the 400hp FR500CJ is a race-only model that will be limited to a production run of 50. The cars will cost around $69,900 and can be ordered through your local Ford dealer. Of course, with such limited models allocated for production, they’re sure to go fast.

Galpin Auto Sport’s ScytheSpeaking of fast, Beau Boeckmann and the Galpin Auto Sports team were at the show talking about their new 1,000 + horsepower Scythe Concept car. The car, which started off as a 2008 Ford Mustang Convertible, debuted at this year’s show to much fanfare. During my photo shoot with the car, an attendee walked up to me and said, “What’s that?” I responded with, “It’s Galpin Auto Sport’s Scythe.”

He looked a bit puzzled and said, “Whatever it is, it’s cool.” Yes, ‘cool’ is a good choice of words for this car that can send photographs to your cell phone in the event someone tries to mess with the ride. Oh, and it responds to voice commands and features a steering wheel that can be moved to either side of the car. Can you say “the real life Knight Rider”?

Classic Recreations’ “Eleanor” MustangI also had a chance to catch up with Jason Engel of Classic Recreations LLC. Engel’s shop is the only authorized dealer of the classic 1967 “Eleanor” Mustang seen in the Nic Cage version of the movie “Gone in 60 Seconds”.

In discussing the Eleanor Mustang with Engel, he was very excited about the business and says that sales have been strong. He said more than 70 percent of his existing business is international, which means the car is not just a domestic sensation, but an internationally admired ride. The cars, a 535 hp FI model, or a 750+hp SFI model, go for $139,000 and $189,900 respectively. The cars can be built brand new from the ground up using Dynacorn’s authorized 1967 Ford Mustang body, or buyers can opt to use an original body.

Engel attended this year’s show with a one-of-a-kind red “Eleanor” Mustang with wimbledon white racing stripes. Denice Halicki, CEO of Halicki Films, was also at this year’s show. Engel and the stunning Halicki posed for a photo in front of the brand new Mustang “classic”.

On the topic of new Mustang bodies, Dynacorn announced they will now offer 1969 and 1970 bodies for those seeking to build from the ground up.



Mustang Show CarsIn all, there were many Mustang head turners at this show. For instance, Doug Pelmear's Hp2g Mustang, which is said to get 110 mpg, drew a crowd of onlookers in SEMA’s green vehicles display. KAO Auto Stylings’ Mustang turned heads near the entrance to the South Hall, while I stopped in my tracks at the sight of Classic Design Concepts’ classic pony ride.

Other notable rides included a 1970 Sportsroof Mustang, a Black Widow Mustang, the APR Performance Mustang, and the Hardcore Knight Mustang. Oh, and I can’t forget about KITT and the Ghostbuster’s Ecto I ride which were both at this year’s show. Speaking of movies and television, the celebrities were out and about. I spotted Hulk Hogan chatting it up with Mad Mike from “Pimp My Ride” in the Cooper Tires booth.

Funkmaster Flex and Nelly were both at the show, as was design guru Chip Foose. Heck, this year’s SEMA Show even featured a marching band. The competition was also out in full force, with a complete display set up for the 2010 Camaro. According to the display, the V6 Camaro will sport a 3.7L V6 engine capable of producing 300 hp. The car will start at $22,995. A performance Camaro LS7 was also on display, sporting a 7.0L engine capable of producing 586 hp.

All-in-all, it was a great way to spend a week. Although SEMA 2008 is over, you can bet I’ll be there again next year to celebrate the SEMA Show 2009.Retrieve from online on 9/25/2011, visit http://blog.americanmuscle.com/. Return from Mustang to Muscle Cars