GM Dominates 2020 Battle of the Builders Top 40 at SEMA360
GM vehicles take up nearly half of the 2020 SEMA Battle of the Builders Top 40 spots in a dominant showing.
Each year, the SEMA Battle of the Builders rounds up the most talented automotive craftsman in the business and pits them against each other in an epic showdown. And even though 2020 effectively cancelled the SEMA Show as we know it, the show is quite literally going on this week, at least virtually.
SEMA360 is carrying on the tradition of the Battle of the Builders in an online format, and the show just announced its top 40 builders and rides. Perhaps unsurprisingly, General Motors vehicles dominated that list, taking 16 of those spots. That’s even more impressive when you consider the fact that 10 of them belong to the Sport Compact class, which is filled with imports. However, in the other three divisions – Hot Rod, Trucks/Off-Road, and Young Guns – GM quite literally stole the show.
Hot Rods
The Hot Rods division of the Battle of the Builders top 40 is filled with amazing custom Corvettes, including Tony Arme‘s 1964 C2 seen above. This slammed and sinister pro touring machine is stuffed with goodies including Wilwood brakes, Toyo tires, Dakota Digital instrumentation, Billet Specialties jewelry, and a Roadster Shop chassis, to name a few. The rest of the GM category winners for the Hot Rods segment include the following builders and rides:
Peter (PJ) Burchett – 1967 Chevrolet Corvette
Tim Kilkeary – 1956 Pontiac Star Chief Convertible
Kyle Kuhnhausen – 1964 Chevrolet Corvette
Joe Lutz – 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air
Brady Ranweiler – 1963 Chevrolet Full Custom 2 Door Wagon
Chris Smith – 1970 Chevrolet Camaro
Trucks/Off-Road
As usual, the Trucks/Off-Road category at SEMA is chock full of top notch builds as well, ones that rival their passenger car counterparts in every conceivable way. Mark Giambalvo‘s 1965 Chevrolet C10 seen above would certainly be competitive at any kind of car show it chooses to attend, with a perfectly slick and shaven exterior, matte trim, and six stacks hanging out of the hood. It’s joined by this pair of pickups in the top 40:
Darin Smith – 1964 Chevrolet C10 Shortbed
Chad Whitlock – 1970 Chevrolet C10
Young Guns
Our third and final category in the 2020 SEMA Battle of the Builders is the Young Guns division. This segment pits young and up-and-coming builders against each other, and it certainly gives us hope that this hobby is in good hands moving forward. Unsurprisingly, Eli DeWitt’s 1967 Pontiac LeMans, which we just featured, is one of the finalists.
Another standout in the Young Guns division is Joe Wilder‘s 1969 Chevrolet Camaro, seen above. This first-gen Camaro combines a host of modern parts with a look that stays true to the original. Aside from a slew of Ring Brothers bits and pieces, the Camaro is packing a Chevrolet Performance 502 crate motor under the hood, which sends copious amounts of power to the rear wheels via a 5-speed manual. The rest of the stacked Young Guns division rounds out as follows:
Cody Medeisis – 1968 Chevrolet Camaro
Jonas Neels – 2008 GMC Sierra 4×4
Austin Phipps – 1968 Chevrolet Camaro RS
Darren Sammartino – 1970 Chevrolet K20
Now, we’re just waiting for this packed field to be narrowed down to the top 12 finalists, which happens next before a winner is ultimately chosen. So stay tuned for the exciting conclusion!
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