Ford Goes All In at SEMA With 10 Custom Builds
Ford
Ford is making the most of the SEMA show by taking the wraps off a wide assortment of accessorized and custom-built vehicles in Las Vegas. These projects run the gamut from an overland-ready Transit full-size van to trail-tackling takes on the already off-road-focused Ford Bronco and Bronco Sport.
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Warn really should call this the Bronco Extreme Fishing Support, because this tweaked four-door SUV aims to improve its owner’s time at the local fishing hole. Fit with an awning, fishing-rod box, and small refrigerator, the V-6 Bronco Extreme Beach/Extreme Sports Support has everything its driver needs for a long day of fishing.
The SEMA Businesswomen’s Network left its mark on the Ford Bronco, with this custom Off-Roading Performance build. As its name implies, this four-door SUV aims to push the Bronco’s off-road dynamics to its limits. Starting life as a V-6 Bronco Wildtrak, the Bronco Off-Roading Performance features a special tuning calibration by Ford and short 4.70:1 gearing at both axles. A Warn winch and ARB jack at the rear of the vehicle all but eliminate any chance of this SUV getting stuck. That said, there is a two-person Yakima tent for catching some sleep in the event the Bronco Off-Roading Performance finds itself in need of a tow that may take hours to arrive.
Like the Bronco Off-Roading Performance build, the Bronco Service Unit Vehicle started out as a four-door V-6 Bronco Wildtrak. ARB then added tube doors, a winch, an underhood air compressor, and a light bar to create a vehicle that’s designed to bring medical service to those in need in all sorts of environments, regardless of the terrain it needs to cross to get there.
Yakima and Hypertech raided the Ford Performance Parts bin to make an already capable Bronco Sport Badlands even more capable off the beaten path. Yet the Bronco Sport Off-Roading Heritage is more than just a trusty little off-roader. It’s also an overlanding rig, with a rooftop tent and shower to allow the driver and passenger(s) to temporarily live out of this compact SUV. Equipped with an array of off-road lights, an ARB portable air compressor, an off-road recovery kit, and a Borla exhaust, this Bronco build packs the looks, gear, and sound we expect of an off-road machine. If only Ford gave us the chance to test this SUV out by letting us take it for a few days of off-tarmac adventures.
The folks at Real Truck and Motor City Solutions took a Ford F-150 Lightning XLT with the bigger 131.0-kWh battery pack and turned it into a bona fide off-road race support truck. To accomplish this mission, the F-150 Lightning Race Support comes with a mobile toolbox replete with welding equipment. A retractable tonneau cover complements a bed-mounted rail system with crossbars. Recaro seats help keep the driver and passengers in place over rough terrain, while off-road recovery boards, chunky tires wrapped around 18-inch Method 706 wheels, and an underbody skidplate help ensure this electric truck is more capable off-road than your run-of-the-mill F-150 Lightning.
The Tjin Edition and Thule’s custom F-150 Lightning is a tool capable of meeting multiple needs. Though its green paint, 24-inch Vossen wheels, and custom front-end Lightning badge may steal the show, the F-150 Lightning Swiss Army Knife packs plenty of other goodies that are worthy of attention, including its roof- and bed-mounted Thule accessory cargo boxes and a pair of Super73 e-bikes out back. Tjin Edition and Thule made sure to zhush up the insides, too, fitting it with Recaro seats, a console vault, and a refrigerator.
BDS Suspension leaves its mark on the F-150 PowerBoost hybrid with its Remote Off-Roading build. The jacked-up four-door pickup combines style and capability. Orange decor complements 20-inch Method 301 wheels and a set of Fox 2.5 Performance Elite
dampers. A K&N cold-air intake and Borla cat-back exhaust system, meanwhile, attempt to make the most of the twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6 engine’s available power.
Looks like we’re not the only ones yearning for a Ford Maverick ST, as Leer’s built one of its own. In this case, ST is our shorthand for this custom compact pickup’s given name: Maverick Street Truck. Riding on a set of 20-inch Rotoform OZR wheels, the truck includes a slick bed cap, sliding bed-mounted work station, and roof racks. Despite its sporty looks, the Street Truck forgoes the Maverick’s optional turbocharged four-cylinder engine for the truck’s standard hybrid powertrain that fails to cash the check this truck’s exterior decor writes. Then again, this Maverick bears the name Street Truck, not Sport Truck.
Is the Mustang Mach-E truly deserving of the Mustang name? Tucci Hot Rods and Kay Automotive Graphics seem to think so, as the two organizations worked together to create the Mustang Mach-E True Mustang Persona. Based on the dual-motor all-wheel-drive Mustang Mach-E GT, the Mustang Mach-E True Mustang Persona certainly looks the part of a dyed-in-the-wool muscle car. Credit custom 3D-printed fender flares and a menacing stance, the latter of which comes courtesy of an ISC-sourced coil-over suspension kit. Transparent wheel covers cling to Rotiform wheels wrapped in 20-inch Toyo R888R tires that ought to help this electric stallion clip apexes with the tenacity of a true sports car.
John Pangilinan turns Ford’s full-size Transit into an overlander’s dream machine. Dubbed the Digital Nomad, this all-wheel-drive van includes niceties such as a slide-out kitchen, a rooftop tent, and an exterior awning to make off-the-grid living a reasonably comfortable affair. Getting to those out-of-the-way locations is made easier by the Transit Digital Nomad’s array of off-road accessories, which includes ta front skid plate, meaty tires mounted to 16-inch Black Rhino Arsenal AT wheels, a bevy of high-powered exterior lights, and a winch. Additionally, the van is accompanied by a Stark Varg electric dirt bike that’s capable of reaching remote areas the giant Transit Digital Nomad cannot reach.
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