SEMA 2013: The European Touch

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As you have seen from other posts on this blog, I love writing about exotics.  They are easiest to take pictures of, they always have enormous amount of character, and they attract the most views.

So as soon as I stepped into Las Vegas Convention Center for SEMA, I knew that there will be another exotics post coming up.  

 

 And how can I not post about the beautiful rides representing status,

 Performance

 Beauty

 And status... again...

As expected, all cars received plenty of visual upgrades that scream attitude even louder than their modified exhausts.

But the classics were kept at its stock look.  I could look at Jaguar E Type for hours admiring its pure form.

 But we had to move on as Europeans don't like to wait.

There were plenty of unusual rides to choose from, such as this leopard skin wrapped Audi R8.  I guess it's a response to the Lamborghini at Tokyo Auto Salon.

But some cars, such as this awesome Mercedes Benz CLS63 AMG  were kept very clean, with upgrades emphasizing the core beauty of the original car.

One car that was perhaps most prevailent among exotics was the Lamborghini Aventador.  Perhaps the tuners love it, or it could be just the mad appeal of the car itself.  There were at least a dozen of Aventadors across the show,

And when you talk about 500,000 dollar vehicle, a dozen is a lot.  Most were modded, and a lot less subtle than this dark gray with awesome black rims revealing the massive brake rotors.

It was good to see some of the Mercedes Benz latest offering in the form of this CLA45 AMG with an aftermarket body kit and perfectly matched rims. 

Even more surprising was the appearance of several new Mercedes Benz W222 S Class vehicles.  The car just came out and is already seeing tuner garages across America.

As expected, Lamborghini's were anything but subtle.  This Lamborghini Gallardo by GTHaus sporting their custom exhaust may not be for everyone, but it's hard not appreciate how gold rims go with white body. 

Another Aventador in Roadster variant at Giovanna booth was displayed with its internals exposed, so to speak. 

 With another one behaving a bit better, in it's stock form.

But then there was this.  This candy blue wrapped Aventador was attracting plenty of attention, and was a real test for my camera's circular PLD filter.

Falken Tires meanwhile took a unique approach with displaying their LeMans winner.

And while Falken was crushing the walls, the stunning RWB Porsche was showing its JDM-like attitude in Toyo Tires Booth. 

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On the other side, nothing screams sports luxury like the tuned 550 Horse Power Jaguar XKR-S GT at Pirelli booth with aggressive body kit, sporting air vented hood, dive planes and massive rear wing.

We all know how Audi is installing their air suspension on top end vehicles.  Well, folks at AccuAir had a different approach.  Euro stance is not to be messed with.

Even more super-cars were on the outside however, as loud music, girls, and capacity crowd were all feeling the "living large" attitude.

The Metallic Orange McLaren MP4-12C displayed at full swing was definitely one of the highlights of the show.

Of course, there was a spot for yet another Aventador....

And a mean looking G63 AMG by Hamman Motorsport which attracted lots of happy looking gentlemen from Middle East as well as angry looking Russians in suits. 

In the next hall - this beautifully wrapped Liberty Walk wide-bodied BMW M3 dropped on airbags. Just look at those massive deep dish Rotiform wheels.

This amazing looking SLS by Weistec Engeneering is a true one of a kind machine as the output of the massive 6.2L AMG Engine has been raised to whopping 750 Horse Power and tire shredding 664 ft-lb of torque ...

...with the help of this this 2.3L Twin Screw Supercharger.

There were few Ferrari F12 Berlinetta's at the show as well, but one that caught everybody's eye was this one.  Perhaps it's the simplicity and incredible color contrast that made this car so special.

As usual, carbon fiber was a big hit. I will cover Seibon booth later on, but for now I couldn't appreciate this Mclaren Mercedes SLR enough.  Absolutely stunning looking car.

But the absolute highlight of the show was this carbon fiber Pagani Huayra displayed at GoPro booth

Beatifully crafted in carbon with curved spoked wheels, this 2.4 million dollar vehicle drew the biggest crowd.