Compiled by Cristian Gonzalez
Last year's SEMA Battle of the Builders overall winner crown went to Noah Alexander and the '68 Dodge Charger from the Hot Rod/Hot Rod Truck category.
A new band of builders is readying their project vehicles to take the stage at the 2025 SEMA Show in Las Vegas for the ultimate car-building competition: Battle of the Builders (BOTB) Presented by Mothers Polish. The annual competition sets out to find the most well-built and innovative vehicles in the automotive aftermarket across four unique categories: 4 Wheel Drive & Off-Road; Hot Rod & Hot Rod Truck; Sport Compact, Import Performance, Luxury & Exotic; and Young Guns (contestants 29 and under).
In the short period leading up to the SEMA Show, a four-judge panel comprised of industry leaders will narrow the field from hundreds of vehicles to 40--10 from each category--which will be announced on the first day of Show Week at the BOTB stage in North Hall (booth #10168). As the week progresses, the contenders are further winnowed as the competition intensifies.
BOTB is an exciting outlet that showcases the creativity, ingenuity and style driving the current state of the aftermarket. Winners walk away with unmatched bragging rights, along with new marketing and networking opportunities. What makes BOTB especially unique is that once the final four builds are selected--one from each category--the builders themselves come together to decide who among them deserves the top honor.
What follows is a sneak peek at a small handful of contending cars, trucks, hot-rods and more, and what about their construction makes them unique. Keep an eye on SEMA News for more Battle of the Builders previews, and visit SEMAShow.com for event scheduling. Can't make it to Vegas this November? Be sure to follow along on SEMA Live, the SEMA Show's live virtual broadcast capturing all key moments of BOTB and the biggest activations happening during Show Week.
RON JONES
'73 VOLKSWAGEN THING
Category: 4 WHEEL DRIVE & OFF-ROAD
This '73 Volkswagen Thing was coachbuilt entirely from the ground up by the Ron Jones Garage with enough modifications to make it unrecognizable from its stock format. Fox long-travel coilovers attach to the one-off chromoly long-travel chassis. Apart from the windshield frame, every body panel on the Thing was handbuilt and boasts more than 350 machined parts. Staying true to its German heritage, a fuel-injected Porsche Type 930/50 engine stroked to a 3.2L with a MoTeC standalone ECU powers the build and pairs to a gearbox pulled from a 996. Also harvested from a Porsche 997 is the torque tube and front differential. The custom interior was designed and installed by PJ's Upholstery in Commerce City, Colorado.
TROY TREPANIER
'36 FORD ROADSTER
Category: HOT ROD & HOT ROD TRUCK
Winner of the America's Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) award at the Grand National Roadster Show in January, this art piece was built from the ground up by Troy Trepanier and his team at Rad Rides. Designed to resemble a '36 roadster, the build required reworking the proportions to suit an open-wheel configuration—meaning every component, from the body and chassis to the suspension and machined parts, was designed and fabricated in-house. Furthermore, all paint and interior work was done in-house as well. A supercharged Ford 312ci Y-block engine paired with a quick-change rear axle powers the custom hot rod, which features a torsion-bar suspension. The roadster may be an AMBR winner, but how will it fare against other builds yet to be revealed?
CHANCE DIXON
'46 CHEVROLET 3100
Category: HOT ROD & HOT ROD TRUCK
What do you get out of Chance Dixon's Grim Reaper Speed Shop? A Mad Max-style hot-rod truck ready to cause some havoc in the wastelands. The heavily patinaed body is joined to a custom-built chassis fabricated by Dixon, utilizing Village Customs' front cantilever air ride and a triangle four-link rear setup. The exposed twin-turbo third-gen LS features Texas Speed internals and ICT Billet parts. Its most unique feature is the intriguing intake that comes up into the cab, allowing for a 180-degree turn back out. "It leaves many people scratching their heads wondering how it works," says Dixon. At car meets, he allows youngsters to play with the air ride, spreading interest and curiosity for the next generation of enthusiasts.
CODY DABNEY
'69 CHEVROLET CHEVELLE
Category: SPORT COMPACT, IMPORT PERFORMANCE, LUXURY & EXOTIC
Concept art for Cody Dabney's Chevelle project offers a competitive look into what's in store for this year's BOTB. Three-stage aurelium bronze pearl paint highlights the sharp body lines. The rear features a custom rear diffuser with integrated dual-exhaust outlets, and Greening wheels with mini tubs and flush-mounted glass complete the exterior. The cockpit is entirely bespoke, featuring a Velocity hand-built leather interior, leather-wrapped six-point roll cage, custom Velocity billet components and boasts Holley EFI digital gauges. A Roadster Shop Fast Track chassis serves as the foundation for the Chevy, bearing a Nelson twin-turbo LS 427 V8 bolted to a Tremec T-56 manual transmission.
TRAVIS SANCHEZ
'66 CHEVROLET CORVETTE
Category: YOUNG GUNS
The C2 Corvettes have aged like fine wines, fitting for the paint job Travis Sanchez has chosen for his. The custom widebody and scoops bring new life to the already timeless model. Adding to the modernization are Restomod-Tech's hide-away headlights, which provide a more aggressive lighting pose. Equipped with an LS3 engine and a 6L80E transmission, the build comes alive with full 3-in. Borla exhausts with cutouts for side pipes. The powertrain locks into a Roadster Shop chassis and is cradled by a smooth fabricated firewall. Performance Baer brakes complement one-off luxury wheels from Avant Garde, making this restomod a formidable contender.
Attendee registration for the 2025 SEMA Show, November 4-7 in Las Vegas, is now available online here. Online registration for qualified professional attendees is $75 per person through Friday, September 26. Starting September 27, the rate increases to $100 for both online and onsite registration. A SEMA Show badge includes access to both the SEMA Show and AAPEX.
For updates on SEMA Fest, the one-day musical and motorsports festival on Friday, November 7, or to purchase "SEMA Show Friday – Open to the Public" tickets, visit semafest.com.
