Story and photos by Bryan Irons @Bryanirons
We were enamored at SEMA 2017 with the variety of off-road rigs in attendance. Sure, the glittered up, unibrow JK’s were breeding in the off season with chromed out one-ton deer stands, but the quality oversea trail runners were a spectacle to behold. Anything from Toyota offerings to the likes of Land Rover could be seen with a peppering of Volkswagen and Subaru mixed in… so, here is our top 5 Imports at SEMA this year.
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Bilstein FJ40
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Bilstein FJ40
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Bilstein FJ40
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Bilstein FJ40
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Bilstein FJ40
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Bilstein FJ40
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Bilstein FJ40
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Bilstein FJ40
Bilstein FJ40
We’re not gonna lie, it was love at first sight when Editor Irons gazed across a crowded hallway at the Bilstein Booth, and this beauty of an FJ is our top pick of the show, hands down. This show stopper has as many OEM Toyota parts in it as could possible be managed. With the Toyota mantra in mind, the interior of this masterpieces was all Toyota, even if it was not from the original 72’ cruiser that left the factory. A Toyota 3FE motor and automatic transmission propel the BJ60 axles through a stock cruiser T-case. The smidgeon of non-yota hardware include the three and four link suspension setup, and wheels with Maxxis 40’s, but an original hubcap is still at home on each corner, so we’ll let it slide.
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KMC Volkswagen
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KMC Volkswagen
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KMC Volkswagen
KMC Volkswagen
Ya, we’re not entirely sure why either, but this 35” tire shod Volkswagen Atlas kept us coming back for more. Normally “dare to be different” is akin to “weird” but we would be proud to have this parked in our driveway as builder Tanner Foust nailed the razors edge between comfort and capability. Well done sir, who do we make the rubber cheque out to?
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Expedition SEMA FJ
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Expedition SEMA FJ
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Expedition SEMA FJ
Expedition SEMA FJ
Better known as the “Trail Rat”, this trail hardened piece of overseas iron was rolled onto the SEMA grounds right off the trail. No water was wasted cleaning the 70 FJ40 as team Expedition SEMA rolled in from Independence, Missouri hitting as much dirt along the way as they could. Built the way any expedition style rig should be, a reliable 350 Chevy resides under the hood to propel the rig the 6000 km (3800 mi) without a hitch. Living out of a rig this size, every nook and cranny is stuffed to the gills with survival gear for the adventure.
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ATEQ Land Rover Defender
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ATEQ Land Rover Defender
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ATEQ Land Rover Defender
ATEQ Land Rover Defender
Simply utilitarian is how we would describe our favourite Landy of the show. Original inception of the Defender was to be a tractor you could take to town, and that’s just what we’d do with this one. The defender 90 and 110’s are much more common overseas, and as result of North American scarcity, the price tags here are soaring. The well-worn undercarriage on this one just makes us smile and think of the places it has seen.
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Weistec G Wagon
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Weistec G Wagon
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Weistec G Wagon
Weistec G Wagon
From the outside, this G550 Biturbo looks like a luxo mall crawler with a set of mud tires, but it’s what lurks underneath that get our blood pumping. Weistec is a premier Mercedes tuning and upgrade shop that transformed the spiffy looking 4x4 here into a 1000+ hp road eater. With a healthy dose of 106 octane race fuel, this European hot-rod will eagerly smoulder all four 33” tires with a blistering 810 ft-lbs of torque AT THE WHEELS… all while the AC runs cool. We need a raise and a cold shower.
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