Ford showcases over 30 custom rides at SEMA 2012 (pictures)

This aggressive 650-horsepower RTR (Ready To Race) Spec 3 Mustang was built using Ford Racing performance parts that any interested builder can order from Ford.

Nearly every part of the power train and suspension are touched or upgraded by the RTR Spec 3 kit.

A total of 750 horsepower is what you get when you cram air and fuel into the Mustang's 5.0-liter V-8 with a Whipple Industries twin-screw supercharger and ignite the mix.

The DSO Eyewear Mustang's suspension and brakes have been augmented with parts by Eibach, Hotchkis, and Brembo.

This drop-top 'Stang gets a performance boost in the form of a Nitrous Express system and a FlowMaster Exhaust.

Stitchcraft chose a convertible so that it could show off its custom, fully upholstered leather interior.

The red-and-yellow color scheme of this "Boy Racer" custom is sort of painful to look at. If Ronald McDonald bought a Mustang, it'd probably end up looking like this.

A full 3dCarbon body kit and accessories help set this Mustang apart. Well, that and the bright-yellow 22-inch Forgiato wheels.

This cool gray GT by Ringbrothers features a carbon fiber body kit and a modular carbon fiber hood with an interchangeable center insert.

Billet aluminum side vents replace the rear quarter glass.

The SVT Raptor is already a pretty boss off-road runner, but this "Rough Riders" custom features power and suspension upgrades that push it to Baja-ready levels.

Kelderman Air Suspension Systems added 8 to 10 more inches of lift to Ford's F-250 PowerStroke V8 Turbo Diesel via an AccuAir TouchPad air suspension management system and Sway-A-Way remote reservoir shock absorbers. Bring a ladder if you want to check out the interior, because I don't see a side step.

This custom Ford features a two-tone paint job and a cold-air intake and intercooler combo to augment its 2.0-liter turbocharged engine.

Dubbed the "Life Escape," this Escape also features accessories, such as this roof rack, that help the driver get away from it all as quickly as possible.

The PPF "Olive Juice" custom paint formulated by HPP that covers this custom Ford Escape wins my unofficial award for Best Paint Color Name at SEMA 2012.

Another custom by 3dCarbon, this 2013 Fusion gets a custom exhaust, lowering springs, 20-inch wheels, and a body kit, but no real performance upgrades to its 2.0-liter Ecoboost engine.

If you really like Monster energy drinks and highly stylized Ford sedans, I've got just the vehicle for you.

Ford has chosen a color scheme of white with black and blue stripes (illustrated here on this Nascar Fusion) to visually identify its racing vehicles.

The blue LED illumination in this shadowy Fusion's grilles and the haloed headlamps and fog lights probably look fantastic at night.

The 2013 Ford Mustang SEMA Build Powered by Women is probably one of my favorite cars at the show. I have a soft spot for brown cars.

The deep-chocolate, satin-finish paint is offset with 20-inch Forgeline wheels finished in rose-gold chrome.

Headlight accents, badges, and other highlights are finished in the same rose-gold chrome.

The interior of this glass-roofed example features custom leather by Katzkin, under-carpet noise deadening, and more rose-gold chrome accents.

This Ecoboost Ford Focus ST-R takes the sporty ST and cranks up the performance. This turn-key high-performance variant was built using Ford Racing performance parts and features Ford's white-with-black-and-blue-stripes paint scheme.

This turbocharged 2011 Fiesta rally car generates an impressive 295 wheel horsepower and tops out at a maximum speed of 130 mph. (There are actually four selectable engine calibrations settings, ranging from 295 horsepower down to 240.)

This is an actual race car that competes in the RallyCar Series two-wheel-drive division. You'll find no bling here, just strong, light wheels wrapped in grippy rubber.

It's funny to see a car in Ford's booth painted "Lamborghini Candy Orange Metallic," but that's the color that Bojix chose for this Focus ST.

A Bojix Design exhaust integrates into the Bojix body kit and is nearly invisible without kneeling down to look for it.

Asymmetrically painted wheels with accents on one or a few spokes was a new theme at this year's show.

You'd think that a magazine called B-Spec would build something ready to run in the SCCA's B-Spec racing series, but this custom Fiesta looks like it would be more comfortable curbside than trackside.

I don't know why, but something about the paint job on this 2013 Fiesta SE reminds me of the Ford Mustang. Perhaps it's the Boss 302-esque side graphics?

This Ford Focus ST gets upgrades to its turbo, intercooler, pistons, connecting rods, and electronic brain courtesy of Cosworth. Bolt-on upgrades, such as the suspension components, big-brake kit, exhaust, and intake are Ford Racing Performance Parts.

Vaccar calls this the Night Walker Focus. The shadowed sedan has been upgraded with a custom turbo kit that features a Street Lethal Performance intercooler, a Turbo XS blow-off valve, and an SPA 500HP turbocharger. If that's not enough, a Ny-Trex EFI nitrous system adds a bit of extra juice to your boost.

Steeda Autosports makes Mustang parts. That's pretty much all it does, but for SEMA 2012, Steeda has made an exception to build this custom Ford Focus ST.

I hope that wing is functional, because it (and the uprights that connect it to the rear hatch) are seriously junking up the rear end of this otherwise impeccable ST.

Some may think of them as tacky, but I'm a huge fan of fluorescent wheels on show cars. The brighter, the better.

However, the purposeful gun-metal 19-inch Motegi wheels on this Tanner Foust Edition ST are pretty sweet, too.

Aside from the dark paint and graphic scheme, the mods on the Tanner Foust Edition seem rather tame, including an upgraded intercooler for the Ecoboost engine, a freer-flowing downpipe and MagnaFlow exhaust, and an ECU reprogram. A KW suspension with Whiteline sway bars and Brembo brakes round out the high points of the mods list. Tanner himself had a part in selecting and optimizing all of the upgrades.

Not every car in Ford's booth was a contemporary model. The automaker knows that its fans cherish customs based on its historic models as well.

So-Cal Speed Shop stuffs new technology into a classic form factor. This '32 Ford Roadster features a Ford Racing Parts 5.0-liter V-8 engine.

Belly Tankers are called such because they're made from the surplus-fuel belly tanks of World War II fighters.

This model 296-cubic-inch Mercury flathead V-8 set a one-way speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1951.

So-Cal Speed Shop is also responsible for restoring this 1927 Ford Indy Speedster, which is coated in Iridium Silver PPG paint that is meant for Mercedes-Benzes.

In 2012, this very car won the Grand National Speedster Show's "America's Most Beautiful Speedster" award.

Even back in 1931, cars were pretty modular. Take a Ford Model A chassis, equip it with a convertible cab, and finish it off with a pickup bed, and you get this Model A Roadster Pickup. Of course, the actual building and restoration process commissioned by Model A Times Magazine was much more involved than that.