By SEMA News Editors
SEMA has announced that the 2026 Best Engineered Vehicle of the Year Award has been presented to Thomas Kincer of Kincer Chassis for his '77 Ford F-100. The annual award recognizes a feature vehicle at the SEMA Show that demonstrates exceptional engineering.
A stunning but unassuming F-Series with little exterior modifications, this build is a true sleeper, hiding a marvel of modern automotive engineering underneath its modest appearance: an all-wheel-drive chassis developed by Kincer and team.
Designed to fit '61 to '96 two-door, short-bed Fords, the Kincer Chassis operation sourced parts and inspiration from a multitude of Ford models to create this game-changing new base for a wide range of Ford F-Series Truck platforms.
Initial development of the chassis started with 3D scans of every generation of Ford Truck from 1961 to 1996 and compiled in CAD. From there, the Kincer Chassis team used the scans and OEM data from the SEMA Garage Tech Transfer program to design one base chassis capable of supporting each generation of Ford Truck.
"When it comes to the control arms, front differential and powertrain, it's all Ford-based, but it's not from one vehicle. We took a little bit from here and a little bit from there to get everything working properly and achieve the right stance and track width without needing wide fenders or other modifications. We used different components from different Ford vehicles to make this come to life," Kincer said.
Kincer credits Product Development Engineer Austin Armstrong and Operations Manager Scott Tolliver with turning an idea and a barn-find F-100 into a head-turning new product ready to hit the market.
"It's OE-based on some components, but where it really shines is the engineering that Austin and the guys did to bring this chassis to life," Kincer said. It's a super robust system. This is a vehicle that you could pull up at a red light, and a Corvette just doesn't have a chance."
Collaborating on the project directly with Ford and Ford Racing Parts, the F-100 is powered by a yet-unreleased crate package: a Whipple Supercharged Gen 4 5.0L Coyote engine paired with a 10R100 10-speed transmission.
The Kincer Chassis team (Left to Right): Emily Kincer, Thomas Kincer, Austin Armstrong and Scott Tolliver of Kincer Chassis, and John Jinnings (vehicle owner).
The real star of the show, however, is its underlying platform, designed with all vehicle dynamics taken into account and a suite of chassis-specific control systems to support the four-link rear suspension and independent front suspension. The platform features a Ford control pack for engine and transmission, an all-wheel-drive transfer case and wheel-speed sensors, an electronic steering rack, and Tractive shocks, which are fully integrated electronically, adjustable with an in-cab controller and automatically adjusted dampening every six milliseconds.
When you put it all together, you have a product that could only come from a true team effort filled with countless hours of brainstorming, strategizing and designing, Kincer said. And to have that effort recognized with the Best Engineered Vehicle Award is something the Louisville, Tennessee-based builder is still wrapping his head around.
"I'm still pinching myself," Kincer said. "I'm grateful. I'm lost for words. Tons of people put effort into this at the shop. I'm really thankful that other people can see what our vision was with this, too."
For more information, visit kincerchassis.com/muscle.
