Baja Designs took to Las Vegas, Nevada for the 2022 SEMA Show, the largest aftermarket automotive trade show where businesses show off everything from insane builds to unique and new products. Baja Designs was among 1900 manufacturers exhibiting at the show, where we were chosen as this year’s SEMA Manufacturer of the year.
We are delighted to receive this award and will continue to develop superior aftermarket products for consumers. As a company, this is a milestone accomplishment in our 30-year history. We will continue to push the envelope and develop the best lighting solutions for years to come.
With that said, we didn’t just show up to receive SEMA Manufacturer of the year; we were there in Las Vegas to introduce the new standard in measuring off-road lighting known as “Effective Lighting Score, (ELS)”. Baja Designs launched (ELS) for one reason; to better describe lighting performance in the off-road space, which uses four key factors that illustrate the true performance of an off-road light giving a (ELS) score. Blend Angle/ Blendability / Distance / Output.
Along with sharing the excitement behind (ELS) in our booth, it is hard to ignore the incredible builds and vehicles rocking our lights. We lost count after 100-something vehicles with our lights, but here’s our list of what we think are the five most exciting builds we saw at the 2022 SEMA show.
First up, you can’t not mention the giant 1962 Dodge D200 Power Wagon built by SMP Fabworks in the Baja Designs booth. This truck is hard to miss, with four Baja Designs LP4s tucked up in the bumper. Outback, there is the Baja Designs RTL and two Baja Designs S1s.
Without a doubt, the @thebaja911 might be our favorite. The Baja 911 started life as an early 90 Porsche 964 built by TJ Russell, who made it to the Top 4 Battle of the Builders. We are so excited we could play a part in the build. The details of this build are absolutely incredible. TJ used Baja Designs XL Pros and Sports, painted the bezel, and made a carbon fiber pod around it to achieve the look of a vintage rally pod you would normally see on older rally cars.
On the rear, are flush mounted two Baja Designs S1 on the inside of the bumper for seamless integration.
Our good friends at Rockstar Performance Garage are known for executing crazy builds, and their Volkswagen Bug is no exception… or what started out as a Volkswagen. What started out as a Beetle to-go race in the desert experienced a serious case of scope creep. Now it is a full-out rock crawler built out of a Jeep JK chassis with 1-ton axles affectionately named “Rok Buggy.” Well done, boys; this Buggy turned out incredible with the amber Baja Designs LP6 and S2 lights.
Another vehicle in the Baja Designs booth which isn’t a vehicle at all is former Supercross racer Weston Peick’s Harley- Davidson Road Glide with two Baja Designs LP6 mounted in the front fairing. Is it a crazy amount of light for a street motorcycle that most people don’t need? Yes. Is it awesome and does it look beautiful? Yes.
It is hard not to say our last favorite vehicle on this list wouldn’t be complete without the RPM Garage Land Cruiser 70 Series. Since this is a vehicle we aren’t offered in the US, seeing them in them in the wild is rare enough but seeing them built up with Baja Designs is the perfect storm. This Land Cruiser had two Baja Designs LP9s mounted directly to the Dissent Bumper with our Baja Designs Squadron SAE mounted flush. This truck, I mean “Ute” as they would call it in Australia, would be a blast on the trail and the guys over at RPM Garage absolutely nailed it.
Check out more photos from SEMA.