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FEATURE INTERVIEWS:

SEMA SHOW SPECIAL 2025 – Episode #2:

SEMA 2025 didn’t just deliver great cars and new parts — it delivered moments. This week, we’re taking you deeper into the stories that happened off the show floor: the unexpected conversations, the builders behind the builds, and the real personalities that made this trip special. These are the laughs, the lessons, and the late-night shop talk you don’t get from a press release.

This is episode two of our four-part SEMA series, where we continue pulling back the curtain on the people, projects, and passion that defined this year’s experience.

Ringbrothers –

Mike and Jim Co-Founders
Gary Regel Vehicle Designer:

Mike and Jim Ring founded Ring Brothers in 1993 and have become true mainstays of SEMA for more than two decades. After winning “Battle of the Builders” so many times, they ultimately chose to step back from competition altogether. Their booth has since become a must-see destination each year, setting benchmarks for innovation, craftsmanship, and design that leave the industry scrambling to catch up. 2025 was no exception — their standards once again raised the bar for what’s possible in automotive customization.

A longtime customer — already the owner of several Ring Brothers builds — approached Mike and Jim with a rare request: start with a completely blank slate. No catalog car. No familiar muscle car platform. Just a vision. The only condition from Ring Brothers? It couldn’t be predictable. Soon after, a 1971 Aston Martin arrived at the shop, launching what would become a multi-million-dollar showpiece.

To bring the project to life, Gary Ragle joined the team. The first step was digitally scanning the entire car into CAD, allowing the team to manipulate and refine the design virtually, down to micron-level precision. While this level of digital dependence was new territory for Ring Brothers, it unlocked unprecedented creative freedom.

The Aston was completely reimagined in carbon fiber, a necessity due to the limitations of the original structure. Gary engineered offset surfaces for interior and exterior materials, precision grooves for trim placement, and structural enhancements directly into the digital model. The body was carefully evolved, with flared fenders and a slightly extended wheelbase, while still honoring the car’s original proportions. Design cues lost in the 1971 model were restored, blending classic Aston heritage with modern performance.

Power comes from a Ford Coyote engine — a fitting choice, considering Ford once owned Aston Martin — tying history and innovation together under one hood.

Octavio became a true team effort, relying on dozens of skilled craftsmen and countless hours of precision work. The result is more than a car; it’s a rolling piece of art that will captivate enthusiasts and builders for decades to come.

Learn more at

Ringbrothers.com
Instagram.com/Ringbrothers
Facebook.com/RingBrothersOfficial

Mothers Car Care

Jim Dvorak Product Specialist – Public Relations: 

Mothers continues to lead the way in innovation, developing products and techniques that keep vehicles cleaner, protected, and looking their best. Every year at SEMA, they unveil new technologies designed to make car care faster, easier, and more effective — and 2025 was no exception.

This year, Jim introduced a new spray wax designed for quick touch-ups between full wax applications, giving enthusiasts a fast way to restore gloss and protection. Ceramic technology was also a major focus, with products that bond at the molecular level to create a durable protective layer that resists dirt, contaminants, and environmental damage while boosting the depth and clarity of your vehicle’s shine.

Mothers also showcased their full range of paint correction solutions, which remove spiderwebbing, light surface scratches, and oxidation caused by sun and pollution. These products dramatically improve paint clarity and can be applied by hand or with a dual-action random orbital polisher, then sealed with wax or ceramic protection for long-lasting results.

One of the standout new products was HydroClay, a next-generation clay system that uses regular car wash soap and water to increase lubrication, making it faster and easier to safely remove embedded contamination from the paint surface.

New additions this year also included a dedicated exhaust tip cleaner and polish that removes soot and hydrocarbon buildup while leaving behind a protective, long-lasting shine. Mothers also introduced a user-friendly ceramic spray coating that applies at the end of a wash with a simple spray-and-rinse process. Applied to clean, wet paint, the coating spreads evenly, then can be air-dried or lightly wiped down with a microfiber towel for a professional-level finish.

Learn more at
Mothers.com
Instagram.com/MothersPolish
Facebook.com/MothersUSA

Trick Rides Fully Custom 1969 Mustang

Jason Engel and Jared Morris:

One year ago at SEMA, we first met Jason and Jared and learned about their vision for a bold new custom Mustang brand called Trick Rides. Their mission was simple, but ambitious: build cars that push boundaries through wild design, advanced digital engineering, and next-level craftsmanship.

This year, they unveiled their first fully carbon-fiber widebody Mustang — not a bolt-on kit, but a widebody built completely from scratch. The car marks the beginning of their exclusive twenty-car series called “Scorched.” The carbon-fiber body panels are produced by Brothers Carbon Fiber and then fully assembled and refined by the Trick Rides team, along with countless modifications they’ve developed through more than twenty years of Mustang building experience.

Underneath the bodywork, the original 1969 Mustang structure remains, with untouched floor pans. Everything surrounding it is carefully cleaned, re-engineered, or replaced by Trick Rides. The entire outer body is carbon fiber, making it exceptionally lightweight, incredibly strong, and fully resistant to rust.

Handling is handled by a Roadster Shop chassis, giving the car modern performance that far exceeds a stock ’69 Mustang — whether carving corners on the track or cruising through traffic on the way to a show.

Jason and Jared are already looking ahead to the next year, with plans to complete the remaining cars in the Scorched series. If this first build is any indication, the next wave of Trick Rides cars will be something truly special — and we can’t wait to see what they create next.

You can learn more at
Trickrides.com