The 2015 SEMA Show was a huge success! It was a homecoming of sorts as tons of Factory Five customers visited us throughout the show. The Factory Five booth showcased the new 818 Coupe, the 20th Anniversary Mk4 Roadster, a beautiful ’33 Hot Rod built by customer Rod Bennett, and a race GTM built by customer John Kabacinski. We also brought our ’33 Hot Rod rolling chassis featuring the new 2015 Mustang IRS and Ford’s EcoBoost 6 engine. Here is the play-by-play, tons of photos, and some cool videos from SEMA 2015!
The Factory Five booth was jammed all four days. Customers stole the show as the most popular cars in the booth were Factory Five customer Rod Bennett’s beautiful orange ’33 Hot Rod and John Kabacinski’s stunning white race GTM.
New Production 818C Coupe Unveiled at SEMA
The new 818C painted by Carl’s Collision in Factory Five-Sherwin Williams Sinister Black also witnessed crowds through the four day show. It was great to meet with a handful of 818 customers who are eagerly awaiting shipment of fender kits and hard tops that are now in production.
Customer Rod Bennett’s beautiful ’33 Hot Rod (above) was staged next to Dave Smith’s personal 20th Anniversary Mk4 Roadster (below).
The 20th Anniversary Mk4 is powered by a 420 HP Ford 5.0L Coyote engine with CobraJet intake.
We brought three vehicles to SEMA that feature our all-new Independent Rear Suspension. The new IRS is in the 20th Anniversary Mk4 Roadster, our ’33 Hot Rod rolling chassis (above), and a ’33 Hot Rod that we brought for our partners at Ford Racing, and was part of the “Ford Out Front” display.
Above: Factory Five customer John Kabacinski’s race GTM with graphics by Susie at Graffiti Works flanked the all-new 818 Coupe on the other side of the booth.
Below: John with Auto Trader Classic’s Andrea Valenti.
This year, we tried something new at SEMA with these cool floor tile ads that were placed in the Main Hall.
Doors officially opened to SEMA at 8 AM on Tuesday, and the show was over Friday at 4 PM. This year, SEMA had a Friday night event called “SEMA Ignited” that extended the fun into Friday night. More on that later in this post.
Factory Five Racing Type 65 Coupe at Snap-On Tools Display
Our partners at Snap-On Tools asked us to borrow the Factory Five Type 65 Coupe for this year’s SEMA Show. Judging by the crowds around the car, and the dramatic lift display, it was a good call.
The car was mounted on a Snap-On 14,000 lbs. vehicle lift for the show. The Coupe weighs just over 2,200 lbs!
Factory Five and the guys from Snap-On will be building a car for Snap-On’s 2016 dealer give-a-way, and the car will be unveiled in a few months. Snap-On is an official sponsor of Factory Five Racing.
PowerNation TV and Factory Five at SEMA 2015
We love working with the team at PowerNation, and have done several shows with them over the years. One of the best shows was an original 427 Cobra against a Factory Five Mk4 Roadster. Most recently, we did a show on PowerNation’s “Detroit Muscle” where five industry women built a Factory Five in five days!
PowerNation TV host Ian Johnson likes the wheels on the 818C! Next month, we will be filming a new show PowerNation’s “Detroit Muscle” installing a 310 HP Ford EcoBoost 4 from the new 2015 Mustang into our new 818 Coupe.
“Detroit Muscle” host Tommy Boshers (middle) with Factory Fives Jim Schenck and Dave Smith.
PowerNation’s new host Katie Osborne was scheduled to be at Factory Five’s booth on Thursday from 3-4 PM. Katie will be taking over from long-standing host Courtney Hansen on TV’s most popular how-to car show.
Factory Five President Dave Smith showed Katie and Jo Coddington the cars in the Factory Five booth.
Katie and Jo LOVED Factory Five customer John Kabacinski’s GTM (above).
Katie Osborne and Jo Coddington were available for autographs to lucky SEMA Show attendees.
Dupli-Color’s Factory Five Rattle Can Rod Sweepstakes!
Factory Five Racing and Dupli-Color partnered earlier this year to build a give-a-way car ’33 Hot Rod using Factory Five parts, Ford Racing running gear, and Dupli-Color-Sherwin Williams paints. The winning drawing for the car was announced on Tuesday, the first day of SEMA, and the lucky winner was Rebecca Abbott of Mount Vernon, OH!
The Rattle Can Rod built on PowerNation TV looked great!
The Rattle Can Hot Rod was built on PowerNation’s “Detroit Muscle,” and is powered by Ford Performance Racing Parts’ 345 HP 302 V8, automatic transmission, and rode-on Factory Five’s new 18″ and 20″ Bonneville-style wheels. The interior is clean, purposeful, and well executed.
Legendary Coupe Designer Peter Brock Visits FFR!
One of the great things about SEMA is that you get to rub elbows with the leaders in the automotive industry. This year’s attendees who visited the Factory Five booth were able to meet with the legendary Peter Brock, the designer of the original Daytona Coupe.
Above: Factory Five President Dave Smith shows Peter Brock the most recent Factory Five cars.
Below: Factory Five Director of R&D Jim Schenck discusses the aerodynamics and wind tunnel testing results of the new Factory Five 818. Peter Brock is renowned for his aerodynamic design of the original Daytona Coupe which enabled the Shelby American team to win the 1965 FIA World Championship.
Factory Five is excited to be working with Peter Brock on a potential new design. Factory Five customers (below) Garry Bopp and Wayne Presley listen in on Dave Smith and Peter Brock along with Ohio Cobra Club President George Daulton.
Peter Brock gave Dave Smith an autographed copy of Historic Racing Magazine featuring the legendary Daytona Coupe.
Left to Right: Car Builder Magazine’ Steve Temple, Peter Brock, and Dave Smith. Steve Temple was the former Director of Marketing at Shelby American and both Steve and Peter were Factory Five’s guests at the 2015 Huntington Beach Cruise-In.
Peter Brock was generous with his time, and signed autographs and posed for pictures with Factory Five customers and SEMA Show attendees.
NFL Pro-Bowler Al Toon Visits the Factory Five Booth
One of the fun projects for 2016 is going to be building a Factory Five with NFL great Al Toon to benefit the University of Wisconsin Athletic Department. Al ran on the UW Track team with Factory Five President Dave Smith in college. Al would go on to play in the NFL for 8 seasons with the New York Jets (3 time Pro bowl, AFC player of the year ’86), and Dave Smith would become a slightly different kind of speed merchant! Al’s daughter Kirby played Volleyball at UW, and Dave Smith’s daughter Madison is on the UW Women’s Track team currently.
Above: The guys from Wisconsin Hot Rod Radio (left – Captain Bob, right – Arlo) are going to help promote the car this coming summer, and it will be auctioned to raise money for UW women’s athletics.
Dave Smith’s special guest and good friend NFL player Al Toon checking out the ’33 Hot Rod.
Al spent some time at the Factory Five booth on Wednesday checking out the cars and catching up.
Jo Coddington and the Wisconsin Hot Rod Radio Guys!
Jo Coddington has become a good friend of Factory Five Racing, and we were honored to have her in the booth on Thursday to sign autographs along with the guys from Wisconsin Hot Rod Radio.
Jo Coddington signs a copy of the new Factory Five brochure.
Jo Coddington and Dave Smith
Above: Arlo and Captain Bob from Wisconsin Hot Rod Radio.
Below: Jo Coddington checked out Rod Bennett’s Factory Five ’33 Hot Rod. Jo knows a few things about hot rods as she was married to Boyd Coddington and worked on “American Hot Rod.” She loved Rod’s car!
2015 Ford SEMA Display
Big news from Ford is obviously their flat-plane crank 350 HP Mustang GT350 and their unbelievable all-new Ford GT Supercar powered by a highly modified EcoBoost 6-cylinder engine. The Ford display was massive and jaw-dropping!
This police cruiser Mustang is NOT what you want to see in your rear view on a Saturday night.
Ford’s new GT Supercar doesn’t take a bad picture and looks even better in real life.
Ford Performance Racing’s Jesse Kershaw spent time with Factory Five’s Director of Engineering Jesper Ingerslev and Director of R&D Jim Schenck.
The Ford display featured a number of modified F-150s and a new Raptor!
The Ford GT street car was mounted at an insane angle that really shows off the aero-derived lines of the car from above.
Ford’s display always includes a nod to their remarkable racing heritage.
Friendly Faces and Customers Crowd the Factory Five Display
SEMA has become part Factory Five reunion as customers in the auto industry stop by the booth to say hello and to catch up on the latest Factory Five news.
Factory Five customer Garry Bopp (above with Factory Five’s Tony Zullo) has built a reputation in the Factory Five community for his never-ending road trips and award-winning Coupe. Garry is a good friend and will be helping Factory Five at the Emerald Coast Cruizin’ in Panama City, FL.
Customers enjoyed getting a close-up look at the ’33 rolling chassis.
Factory Five’s Jim Schenck goes over the features of the 20th Anniversary Mk4 Roadster.
Factory Five customer John Kabacinski discusses his GTM build with customers.
Above & Below: Factory Five’s Jim Schenck, Director of R&D, talks to customers about the new 818C.
Above: Factory Five Racing Build School Director Doris Stromer was on hand everyday through the show to answer questions have about the Factory Five Build School. She was joined by Build School instructors Jim and Todd (not pictured).
Below: Susie (right) helped in the Factory Five booth with customer leads and brochures.
Factory Five Bobby Fukao presented Dave Smith with a gift of Hawaiian macadamia nuts at SEMA.
Factory Five customer Rod Bennett was great all four days talking to customers about his build and highlighting features of his beautiful ’33 Hot Rod.
Rod with Dave Smith.
Rod’s engine reminds us of the expression, “Cutting butter with a chainsaw.”
We love to bring a rolling chassis to shows because it shows off the beautiful Factory Five tubular steel chassis and race-derived suspensions. Above: Factory Five’s Tony Zullo goes over the Hot Rod rolling chassis with a customer.
Factory Five customer John Kabacinski shows off the features on the new 818 Coupe.
Factory Five Videos at SEMA with Power Automedia!
Photos of the SEMA Show are great, but there’s nothing like seeing these cars and the show in 3-dimensions. Jessica Barton from Power Automedia interviewed Factory Five Racing and our partners at Carl’s Collision and Sherwin Williams about the Factory Five paint line.
Above and Below: Dave Smith was interviewed with Carl’s Collision Center’s Carl Garcia (right) and Sherwin Williams Automotive Finishes with Jessica Barton from Power Automedia.
Carl Garcia is one of the finest automotive painters in the country, and all Factory Five demo cars are painted by Carl’s Collision. Above: Carl is interviewed by Jessica Barton.
Above and Below: Jessica also talked with Jim Schenck and Dave about the 20th Anniversary Special Edition Mk4 Roadster.
Above and Below: They also discussed the new 818C.
Power Automedia’s Jessica Barton really liked the 818C!
Why is Dave smiling? I think he likes his job.
Mark Gearhart and Turnology Unveil Ultimate Challenge Car!
Mark Gearhart and the team at Power Automedia have been working hard all year long on their Ultimate Factory Five Challenge Car build. The car was unveiled at the 2015 SEMA Show in the Toyo Tire Tread Pass Area. The build has been documented on their website Turnology.com.
Factory Five President Dave Smith (right) with the Power Automedia crew Lloyd Hunt (left) and Mark Gearhart (center) accepts a nice award plaque on behalf of everyone at Factory Five who helped with the project. Power Automedia produced a nice video on the car. Check it out below.
The Ultimate Factory Five Challenge Car features a 625 HP Ford Coyote 5.1 liter engine, Baer 6P 6-piston brakes, CCW 18″ x 9.5″ front and 18″ x 11″ rear wheels with Toyo Proxes Tires, a Moser rear end, and KONI coil over shocks. The paint is from Sherwin Williams and was done by 3rd Gear Garage. Click here for their complete build summary.
Courtney Hansen Visits the Factory Five Crew
It’s no secret that Courtney Hansen is one of our favorite people to work with. We’ve done projects with her for years on PowerNation TV, and now we are excited to hear her new plans going forward. Courtney stopped by the Factory Five booth to sign autographs for customers and check out the latest Factory Fives.
Left to Right: John Kabacinski, Dave Smith, Courtney Hansen, and Wayne Presley
Dave Smith showed Courtney the ’33 Hot Rod. Courtney will be driving a Factory Five ’33 Hot Rod at the Emerald Coast Cruizin’ the following week after SEMA.
Courtney will also be driving the 20th Anniversary Mk4 Roadster at the Emerald Coast Cruizin’ in Panama City, FL.
We think she liked the Roadster best!
Question: How do you make a Factory Five GTM Supercar disappear? Answer: Have Courtney Hansen stand next to it!
SEMA Ignited Friday Night Cruise!
The only thing better than four exciting days of seeing the world’s finest custom cars is taking part in a cruise with all of them! The SEMA Ignited event opens the doors to the convention center and the best custom cars take part in a parade to wrap up the show.
Susie and Kathy joined Factory Five’s Tony Zullo on the Friday night cruise which was open to the public.
Factory Five’s Dave Smith drove his favorite car to Ignited, the Factory Five Type 65 Coupe.
There were a ton of other highlights from SEMA like the annual awards dinner, dirt bike riding in the desert, and a day after SEMA hike in Zion National Park. Saturday morning, Scott “Honey Badger” Bell had the big rig loaded up, and headed to Florida for the Emerald Coast Cruizin’ in Panama City. Click here for more details.