After 18 years walking the SEMA Show floor, our editor has seen plenty of trends come and go. At the 2026 show, old-school cool met modern capability in a big way — here are the 11 adventure vehicles that stood out from the crowd.
Our Top 11 Adventure Vehicles From the 2026 SEMA Show
Sometimes referred to as “the pulse of the automotive industry,” the annual SEMA Show in Las Vegas features hot trends and creates new ones.
With around 1,500 vehicles at the event, including a wide swath of 4x4s and adventure vehicles, the SEMA Show brings in over 150,000 from nearly 140 countries.
The 2026 show was my 18th. I didn’t see as many modern 4Runners, Broncos, Tacomas, and Wranglers as in the past. Instead, there were many 4WD restomods taking old-school cool and mixing in modern touches to make awesome blends of old and new.
Don’t worry, there were still many modern rigs, too. So, without further ado, here are my 11 favorite adventure vehicles from the 2026 SEMA Show.
1979 Toyota Pickup
In terms of old-school cool, this ’79 Toyota Pickup in the Mickey Thompson booth, doesn’t get much cooler. While many of the adventure vehicles at this year’s show had muted colors, this Yota was vibrant orange with shiny polished wheels.
This classic wore the company’s new LT255/90R16 Baja Boss A/T tires, one of the brand’s new “pizza cutter” sizes, on 16x8 Canyon wheels. This awesome orange truck was a definite head turner for any 4WD fan.
Mitsubishi Delica D:5 Ultimate Gear
This was Mitsubishi’s first appearance at the SEMA Show since 2012. They debuted their new Outlander Diamond Trail Edition, and also brought a couple of JDM vehicles, including this Delica D:5 Ultimate Gear.
This AWD adventure van debuted at the 2026 Tokyo Auto Salon, and has a host of upgrades. This includes a 1.1” lift, 235/70R16 Toyo Open Country R/T tires, grille protection, rack, bedliner finish, and custom interior.
This is the kind of van I’d love to see make its way to North American dealers. This one had the 2.3-liter turbodiesel, too.
Ford Frostwarden Bronco
Is the Bronco Raptor not enough for you? Ford built the Frostwarden Bronco with a 7.3-liter supercharged Megazilla 2.0 crate engine making 1,200 horsepower and 1,000 lb-ft of torque. How’s that for power? Clearly, this isn’t the only impressive modification.
It also features 74Weld portal axles, Bilstein dampers, and 17” Weld beadlock wheels wrapped in 42” BFGoodrich Baja T/a tires all around. Billed as a snow rescue vehicle, we’re guessing this Bronco one-off Bronco would go anywhere you point it.
Grasshopper Daihatsu Hijet Jumbo
One of several JDM kei vehicles at SEMA, this is the Grasshopper by Kyoritsu Industry Co. Ltd. They’ve transformed this little Daihatsu Hijet Jumbo into a JDM adventure truck, complete with pull-out cooking galley, sleeping quarters in the canopy, and other great features.
Kyoritsu’s website says the Grasshopper is based on the concept of “driving in style for both work and play.”
Other goods include a include custom front bumper, sidesteps, and rear steps, aluminum over-fenders, a 1.4” lift, pull-out drawers, and that super cool slant-back camper.
1976 Jeep J10 Honcho
This old-school Jeep Honcho body rides atop a modern stretched Jeep Wrangler frame for a just-right restomod. Located in the Dana/Spicer booth, it had a perfect patina, the original AMC 360 V8 with fuel injection, and all the right accessories. This included a WARN M8274 winch and great bed cap and rack.
These old-school bits were mixed with modern mods like Baja Designs headlights, Ultimate Dana 60 axles, 40” Milestar Patagonia tires, and 17” on Raceline wheels. Open the bed, and there’s a pull-out mini R/C crawler track.
Land Rover Series 88
Himalaya builds bespoke Land Rovers. This is a Series 88 “Project Osprey,” which was in the Optima Batteries area.
Simple and clean looking, under the hood is a new GM LS3 V8 mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. At the ends of the upgraded axles are Toyo MT tires on white steel wheels.
Nearly every aspect of this vehicle has been modernized and upgraded, from its white interior to the brakes.
Finished in this light mint green color, this modernized Series Land Rover is a great example of not going too over the top with a retro build.
Pinzgauer 712
Everyone loves a Pinzgauer, especially the 712 6x6 versions. This Austrian-made six-wheeler was in the Pelican booth and featured a massive custom roof rack laden with the company’s Crate 45 and Crate 90 boxes secured with The Mounting Co. mounts.
The rack also featured Baja Deigns lights, a 23Zero awning, and extra fuel cans. Even unmodified, a Pinz is a rad ride. With a few extra bits, they’re not only cool looking, but nearly unstoppable.
Toyota Sequoia
Located in the Rays wheels area outside of South Hall, this great green Toyota Sequoia from Showstoppers Off Road looked ready for adventure.
Rolling on 18”x8.5” bronze Rays 05X wheels wrapped with 35” Toyo Open Country rubber, this full-size SUV also had a Prinzu rack, Baja Designs lights, CBI bumper, a WARN EVO 10-S winch, Icon Stage 12 suspension, and a Siebon carbon-fiber hood among other bits. This was a great example of a well-built rig with premium parts.
1988 Jeep Comanche
This amazing Jeep Comanche build by Rockstar Garage was in the Scosche booth. Truth be told, this isn’t the first time it’s been to SEMA. Regardless of its SEMA status, it’s a heck of a build.
From the Bowen bed and GFC camper on the back to the Dynatrac axles and Icon wheels; this is a stellar build.
Other features include 37” Mickey Thompson wheels, King suspension, Magnaflow exhaust, a WARN VR EVO winch, Baja Designs lights, and on and on. The Rockstar Garage has a great build video about this wild rig. It’s truly impressive.
1994 Toyota Pickup
It’s vehicles like this that always catch my eye at SEMA. Not over the top but tastefully modified with some period-correctness.
This 1994 Toyota Pickup has old-school KC Daylighter lights, retro Nomad 504 Field wheels, LT285/75R16 BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO3 tires, great graphics, a just-right lift, and a host of Yakima racking in the bed including cargo boxes, a surfboard rack, MOLLE panels, and a bike rack.
This V6 truck was pretty much perfect and I loved it—and so many other showgoers did too.
1953 Volvo TP21 Suga
The Volvo Suga was designed to be a military vehicle, but this one is meant to be a head-turner and a rock crawler. Built by Utah’s Adrenalin Industries, a company known for wild builds, this rig is on a Jeep Wrangler 392 platform, complete with the V8 engine.
It has Currie 60 Extreme axles, 43” Mickey Thompson tires and wheels, Rigid lights, and loads of other modifications to make it one wild ride. This 4x4 was definitely a standout.
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