2006 SEMA Show by TCC Team (10/30/2006)
All our coverage from the Las Vegas aftermarket extravaganza.

by Rex Roy

Photos by Rex Roy

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Two automakers elected to use SEMA to make new product announcements. First, Honda announced that the four-door Civic will now be available in Si trim. What's even better is that the manufacturer has teamed with longtime Honda tuner Mugen. The result is that Honda dealers will sell up to 500 Mugen Si models per year, each covered by a full factory warranty. The Mugen mods include a stiffer high-performance suspension, lighter forged aluminum wheels, a body kit, and a sport exhaust system.

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Honda also featured a modified Fit at their booth, one of many at the show. Decked out with high-performance hardware sourced mostly from Japan , the exercise was done to prove that little cars can be fun - something tuners already knew.

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The Honda piece that was easily the most fun was an Element. Yes, an Element. What you see under the hood is a twin-turbocharged 3.2-liter Acura V-6 making around 500 horsepower. The engine is hooked to a rear-wheel-drive setup. Honda engineers from Ohio put the trucklet together, and plan on campaigning it in the 2007 Formula Drift Series.