By SEMA Editors

Ford has unveiled the Mustang GT3 race car, based on the all-new '24 Mustang Dark Horse, during a special ceremony as part of this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans. 

The automaker also announced plans to enter the GT3 into the iconic endurance race's FIA GT3 category in 2024, along with an entry in the 2024 World Endurance Championship season under Proton Competition, the German team led by team principal Christian Ried.

"It is not Ford versus Ferrari anymore. It is Ford versus everyone," said Jim Farley, CEO of Ford Motor Co.

Multimatic will build and support the GT3s, while M-Sport will assemble the Ford Performance-developed 5.4 L Coyote-based V8 engines. The GT3 features a bespoke short-long arm suspension, rear-mounted transaxle gearbox, carbon fiber body panels, and an aero package developed to meet GT3 targets.

In addition, the automaker announced a new Ford Performance branding described as a "cleaner, simplified look" that will be integrated across its racing vehicles.

New E1 World Championship to Launch Inaugural Electric Powerboat Racing Season

UIM E1 World Championship--the world's first all-electric powerboat racing championship--has unveiled the venues that will host the first-ever racing season beginning in January 2024.

The season will launch in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, followed by a to-be-determined location in the Middle East in February 2024. Two events--set for April and May 2024--will take place in the waters of Venice, Italy. Then, competitors will visit Monaco in July 2024, followed by Rotterdam, Netherlands, in September 2024.

Teams will race RaceBirds boats near the shore, allowing fans to view the action from land.

WyoTech Announces Inaugural Hall of Fame Class

WyoTech--the U.S. automotive, diesel and collision trade school based in Laramie, Wyoming--has announced its inaugural Hall of Fame class, with alumni including the late trailblazer known as "The Fastest Woman on Earth, a John Deere master tech whose YouTube videos have garnered 8 million views, a custom car builder who returned as an instructor and more.

"Each of the six alumni has achieved tremendous career success and demonstrates WyoTech's capability of training students to succeed across the entire spectrum of the trade industry," said Jim Mathis, president and CEO of WyoTech. "We're honored to recognize them as the first inductees of WyoTech's Hall of Fame and to show the public the kind of impact our graduates have on the trade industry and the world."

To be eligible for the WyoTech Hall of Fame, alumni must be five years post-graduation and established in the industry.

The inaugural WyoTech Hall of Fame Class is (in alphabetical order):

• John Alonzo is the racing operations-marketing director for the race shop at Scoggin Dickey Parts Center in Lubbock, Texas, one of the world's leading dealers of high-performance engines and GM parts. 
• Jessi Combs (1980-2019): The late Combs broke stereotypes and records by joining the North American Eagle Supersonic Speed Challenger team and, in 2013, became "The Fastest Woman on Four Wheels" at 398 mph, with a top speed of 440 mph. In 2019, she set a new women's landspeed world record at 522.783 mph before the accident that took her life. That feat and her career were memorialized in the HBO Max documentary "The Fastest Woman on Earth."
• Dave Gilley is the founder and owner of Gilleyfab Enterprises, near Salt Lake City, Utah, known for top-tier, fine-quality fabrication in the UTV industry.
• Levi Green is the owner and instructor of HammerFab near Austin, Texas, which specializes in handcrafting upscale turnkey customs and industry-leading fabrication tools and parts.
• Zeth Key is a Master John Deere service technician at a Sloan Implement location in Illinois. In April 2008, he launched a YouTube channel in honor of his late friend Jake to promote the trade they loved and to "inspire a younger generation to pick up a wrench and start a great career" keeping agriculture running. In two years, the channel grew to 63,000 subscribers and 8 million views.
• Randy Svalina is a WyoTech specialties instructor who teaches students a curriculum and a way of life that helps their families and communities. "As a part of WyoTech, we help others reach their goals, their dreams, raise their families and succeed in their journey," he said.

For more racing news, visit performanceracing.com/industry-news.

By SEMA Editors

Briggs Automotive Company (BAC)--the Liverpool, United Kingdom-based car manufacturer known for the road-legal, single-seater Mono supercar--has announced an expansion with three new, state-of-the-art locations in the United States.

BAC Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), BAC Greenwich (Connecticut) and BAC Newport Beach (California) will be overseen by company partner RDS Automotive. 

"The USA is already BAC's largest primary global market. With the addition of these three new locations, the company will be able to meet increasing demand for the Mono range as well as BAC's revered bespoke and one-of-a-kind craftsmanship customization services," said Chris Lockhart, BAC's head of global sales.

NPW Acquires 20 Former Auto Plus Locations in Florida

National Performance Warehouse Companies (NPW)--the warehouse distributor of traditional, performance and truck parts and accessories based in Hialeah, Florida--has announced the acquisition of 20 former Auto Plus locations in Florida.

The newly acquired branches expand NPW's Florida market to 28 locations.

NPW, an Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance shareholder, will rebrand the 20 new locations as Auto Value.

Power Automedia Launches Electrified: A New Digital Brand Dedicated to Electric Vehicles

Power Automedia--the media and automotive digital publishing company based in Temecula, California--has announced the official launch of "Electrified," a cutting-edge digital brand focused exclusively on electric vehicles (EVs).

"Electrified" is designed to deliver entertaining and informative content to EV enthusiasts worldwide through feature articles, industry news, reviews, EV swaps, editorial videos and related content.

Ian Lehn, the founder and CEO of BOOSTane--a leader in octane engineering--spoke to ABC News 5 in Cleveland, Ohio, about how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) new pollution standards for the auto industry could unfairly tilt the market toward electric vehicles (EVs) over the next decade. View the discussion in the YouTube video here.

Click here to sign a letter opposing the EPA's proposal, which provides an opportunity to personalize the text and explain how the agency's push to an all-electric future will impact your business.

For more information, including how to take action against unfair policies like the proposed EPA emissions regulations, visit here. 

Ian Lehn, the founder and CEO of BOOSTane--a leader in octane engineering--spoke to ABC News 5 in Cleveland, Ohio, about how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) new pollution standards for the auto industry could unfairly tilt the market toward electric vehicles (EVs) over the next decade. View the discussion in the YouTube video here.

Click here to sign a letter opposing the EPA's proposal, which provides an opportunity to personalize the text and explain how the agency's push to an all-electric future will impact your business.

For more information, including how to take action against unfair policies like the proposed EPA emissions regulations, visit here. 

By Kristin Goodwin

The SEMA Leaders & Legends Gala (formerly the SEMA Awards Gala) is a long-established tradition to honor and celebrate the individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the automotive industry.

Join SEMA leadership, volunteers and industry icons at this year's Gala, Friday, July 21, in Anaheim, California, to honor the 2023 SEMA Hall of Fame Inductees.

Since its inception in 1976, the Gala has served as the formal gathering where new SEMA Hall of Fame inductees are introduced, the incoming Board of Directors are recognized and the outgoing Directors are thanked. In addition, SEMA council, network and industry leaders are also highlighted during the event.

Connect with friends and family who share a passion and love for the industry--and join others in helping celebrate Hall of Fame inductees' lifetime achievements--during an evening with cocktails, networking and dinner. Seating is limited; a full table can be purchased by selecting 10 tickets. 

The event will take place at the Anaheim Marriott (700 W. Convention Way).

Register for the 2023 SEMA Leaders & Legends Gala here.

By SEMA Editors

Arnold "Arnie" Kuhns--the motorsports safety pioneer and founder of SFI Foundation--has passed away. He was 83. Kuhns was inducted into the SEMA Hall of Fame in 2002 and the SEMA Motorsports Parts Manufacturers Council (MPMC) Hall of Fame in 2016.

In 1984, Kuhns was approached by his peers in the automotive industry to lead the newly formed SFI Foundation to address the increasing concern of inferior parts that posed a risk to safety at the race track. He developed what was, at the time, an innovative system to create minimum performance testing standards for race products.

Initially, SFI had only two employees managing four product standards for one sanctioning body. Now, SFI testing and certification has grown to more than 100 quality-assurance specifications utilized by hundreds of international sanctioning bodies.

During his career, Kuhns served as president of the International Council of Motorsports Sciences (ICMS) and was an active member of the NFPA 610 Committee for Safety at Motorsports Venues and the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine.

Kuhns was honored with several accolades, including the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) George Snively Award for Outstanding Contributions to Motorsports Safety (1995); the United States Auto Club Jack O'Neal Award for Motorsports Safety (1996); awarded an NHRA Wally for Valued Personal Contributions to the Sport of Drag Racing and High Performance Industries (2002); British Drag Racing Hall of Fame's Lucas Oil Global Achievement Award (2018); and Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) John Melvin Motorsport Safety Award (2021). 

By SEMA Editors

Sources have caught the '24 Jeep Gladiator, which features a refreshed grille and alterations to the rear end.

Camouflage covered the interior dashboard, instrument panel and center stack, which might indicate a revamped cabin.

'24 VW Golf Breaks Cover

Sources have sighted the eighth-generation Volkswagen Golf undergoing testing with minimum camouflage in Austria.

The changes to the front show a new bumper layout, a redesigned lower grille and sleeker headlight units. At the rear is a new bumper design and revised inner graphics for the taillights.

The '24 model is expected to be the final internal combustion engine (ICE)-powered Golf before VW transitions to exclusively electric vehicles (EV) in 2033.

In addition to cab updates such as physical controls on the steering wheel, a new touchscreen display and digitally controlled "Smart Air Vents," the new Golf is expected to offer a more extensive range of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS).

By Ashley Reyes

SEMA members are invited to submit their nominations for the prestigious SEMA Industry Awards, which recognize outstanding businesses and individuals who have made significant contributions to the industry.

By recognizing the companies and individuals who have developed innovative solutions that meet the needs of passionate automotive enthusiasts everywhere, SEMA promotes the vitality of the specialty-equipment market and the achievements of its members.

Nominations are now open for:  

• Person of the Year: Established to honor a person for their outstanding contributions to the automotive specialty-equipment market.  
• Manufacturer of the Year: Honors a manufacturing company for its outstanding contributions and innovations.  
• Channel Partner of the Year: Honors a sales channel partner for its outstanding service to the sales, distribution, retail and/or e-commerce channel(s) of the industry. This includes maintaining proper inventories to service its respective channel and exceeding standards in providing suppliers with input and regular communication to help their products and programs succeed. 
• Gen-III Innovator of the Year: Honors a young, entrepreneurial individual, 40 years old or younger, who is creating innovative breakthroughs within the area(s) of industry opportunities, advancement, best business practices, technology and/or trends. 
• Content Creator of the Year: Honors a content creator for their outstanding contributions to the automotive culture and for creating a positive impact with automotive enthusiasts. 

The Industry Awards are presented to honorees during the SEMA Show, October 31-November 3, 2023. The Kickoff Breakfast, held Tuesday, October 31, will honor the Manufacturer of the Year and Channel Partner of the Year. On Thursday, November 2, the SEMA Show Industry Awards Banquet will be highlighted by the Gen-III Innovator of the Year, Person of the Year and Content Creator of the Year presentations.

Recognize the hard work and dedication of the people and businesses who make a difference in our industry and nominate now. Submissions close July 14.

Note: You can also submit a recommendation form if you don’t have all the requested information to complete the nomination form. When you submit a recommendation form, the awards committee sends a nomination form to the person or business you recommend so they can complete their nomination.

By Ashley Reyes

Designing wheels can be challenging. So what can designers do--within the confines of a circle--that will meet buyers' needs for both style and functionality?

Wheel and tire industry members are invited to learn new approaches to wheel designs that will sell in the live webinar "How to Design the Latest Wheels Fashion" on Thursday, June 15, at 9:00 a.m. PDT. 

Led by industry experts and presented by the SEMA Wheel & Tire Council (WTC), the webinar will inspire participants to create new designs. Attendees will discover the following:

• New design inspiration, from classic styles to cutting-edge innovations.
• Key principles of the design process.
• Examples of design failures and successes.
• How to overcome the challenges of creating something new within the confines of a circle.
• Physical challenges to designing wheels.
• The lifespan of design trends.

The webinar includes a Q&A with presenters Aston Liyanarchi of Liyanarchi Design, Scott Weiss of Konig American, George Finch of The Carlstar Group LLC and Alex Martinez of MetaMartini. Register now!

By SEMA Editors

Registration for the 2023 SEMA Show, October 31-November 3 in Las Vegas, is open at SEMAShow.com/register. Show management is dedicated to making the event as cost-effective as possible for all. Register by June 30 for just $40. Registration is $60 through September 29 and $120 after that date.

Registering early allows attendees to take advantage of the best rates and receive all the necessary information to plan their SEMA Show experience. Early registration also ensures that attendees will receive their badges in the mail before this year's event.

This year's SEMA Show will offer an attendee and buyer experience like no other automotive trade show on the planet. The event is the best place to see thousands of the newest automotive performance products from new and iconic exhibitors, discover the latest product and vehicle trends, and tailor a professional development plan with best-in-class education programs led by subject-matter experts, thought leaders and industry leaders.

Get started on your road to the 2023 SEMA Show by registering today at SEMAShow.com/register!

International Buyers and Attendees

International travelers can request a letter of invitation during the registration process. Unsure if you will require a visa from your country of origin? Use the U.S. Department of State's handy Visa Wizard to determine your needs. In addition, many countries are eligible for the U.S. Visa Waiver Program. If you are traveling from any eligible country, register for your Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) approval before your travel.

If you have questions or need assistance, contact customer service at 866-229-3687. International callers dial direct +1-224-563-3154 or email aapexsema@csreg.zohodesk.com. Service is available Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. CDT.