One of the coolest things about working for CarDomain is hitting the road and going to car shows. Meeting CarDomain members face to face is great, and getting to check out some of the hottest rides on the planet is a nice perk. That's why everybody here is just chomping at the bit to get to SEMA. It's like prom, Christmas and New Years Eve mashed together, shaken with a few hundred gallons of booze, then turbocharged. It's going to be awesome.
Over the years, we've had all kinds of rides in the CarDomain booth, from old-school hot rods to uber-tuned Skylines to blingtastic SUVs. We could have chosen any of them to be in this year's SEMA booth, but there's one vehicle that has generated more excitement than anything—Project Gotham.
It rolled off the line as a humble Ford Explorer, and at least initially, owner Jeff Gould was determined to keep it that way. He got a vanity plate which read ALLSTOCK. If he did this to deter himself from dumping piles of cash and thousands of hours into a perfectly fine vehicle, it's safe to say he failed. Miserably. This thing is almost as tricked out as the Batmobile.
Today, there's nothing stock about Project Gotham. Gould and partner in crime Reuben Barkin made sure of that. There's so little original equipment left, that most people don't have a clue what they're looking at. In person, it's difficult to get your eyes to focus on any one thing, and it doesn't help that there are more than sixty LCD screens competing for your attention. There's enough fiberglass resin inside this car to fill—or maybe even construct—a small swimming pool. And the monster system sounds crystal clear, even from ten blocks away.
It takes a moment to notice the details, like the rearview mirrors that have been replaced by LCD screens. Or billet bat symbol steering wheel fitted with a Sony PSP. Or the refrigerator to keep beverages cold for the rear passengers. While the passenger compartment is beyond impressive—just check the speaker enclosure behind the rear seats—some of the biggest tricks have been reserved for the storage space in the back.
First off, the tail lights have been replaced by speakers, and at the push of a button, a forty-two inch plasma screen ejects itself from the rear window. Similarly, the side windows pop up to reveal the Kicker amps driving the system. Oh, and there's also a bat signal on the roof. This may come in handy if we ever need to call Batman, but Gould and Barkin are already acting like a couple of superheroes. In their spare time, they take their baby around to local children's hospitals and entertain the kids too sick to hit the jungle gym. With the Batman theme and the endless screens, it always gets lots of smiles.
Project Gotham already defines off the hook, and the dynamic duo have assured us that by SEMA there will be even more crazy mods, which are still top secret at press time. Until then, check out these wicked photos!
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