Slammedenuff GYAT-linburg 2023 – S3Mag Coverage

Gatlinburg, huh? More like… GYAT-linburg, am I right??? That seemed to be the phrase of the weekend at the Sevierville Convention Center. Another year, another amazing show from the fine folks at Slammedenuff. Let’s dive right into it.

Vaded Mob hosts the official Slammedenuff Pre-Meet

Man, let me just start off by saying this… The quality of the cars & people has jumped this year, much like Riverside in the spring time. Folks really are stepping things up in a big way & the Vaded Mob pre-meet was a great taste of things to come.

As usual, the traffic to get into the parking lot for the pre-meet gets pretty crazy. It’s not unusual to wait in line for 10-15 minutes just to get the chance to park. But trust me, it’s ALWAYS worth the wait.

There’s something for everyone here. Looking at the above photo, I wish I would have got a photo of the truck. Wild looking.

Along with the Barbie movie release this summer, pink seemed to be the hottest color this season. I say that, but there will be no more pink cars in this feature from here on lol.

There were also some total shockers. This RWB vert for example. Clean in every aspect.

The VIP builds get more and more serious each year. Custom trunk setups were a pretty big theme. Reminds me of the early 2000’s all over again.

Even a Saab showed up!!! I get geeked when I see one out in the wild.

To the Miata on the right, I am shocked the tag office didn’t yank that one. Well played.

Sunset

This is the beautiful thing about this spot. The lighting gets SO good as the sun sets. Pro tip to everyone that wants good photos here next year – park your car’s front end to the north east if possible. That’s the kind of lighting you’ll get.

Here’s the lighting from the other way around. Anyway, getting carried away. Look at these Z’s. Pretty cool to see side by side.

The vendors were cool to visit!!! Plenty of good booth cars as well.

I’m not normally a fan of this generation of Mopar. However, exceptions will always be made. This is one of them for me.

The 300ZX won best fitment at the show. And I have to say, well done.

PLENTY of JDM goodness here. If you’re a RHD fan, this is the place to be.

How have I never paid attention to Deuster’s plate before now??? lol NOOB

On the subject of amazing Subies, Brendon’s is honestly the most incredible I’ve seen. This car is constantly evolving and I love that he keeps things fresh. Those wheels are the only ones in existence, as well. Unreal.

On the topic of cool builds: this. Homebrew 3.0 CSL widebody car. It’s perfection. Really wishing I had more photos for a full feature on this. Owner is a class act and talked to me at length about how he built it. Larry Chen has featured this car in the past as well.

This is the kind of thing you don’t see in the US. These transit vans are usually modified like this across the pond. So cool to see!

Before the sun set, I was able to get a photoshoot in of this mostly original V8 M3. Personally, my favorite generation of M3. The fact it’s a sedan *chefs kiss*

There’s a looooooooot of car in this photo. Peep the turbo hanging off the back of the R8 in the background.

After The Pre-Meet

The owner of the TCP RX-7 had a pretty gnarly issue in the parking lot. Several guys came together to help and got the car back up and running. Turned out to be a cut harness – not fun!

I’m so glad I brought all of my light painting supplies. I initially wasn’t going to, but man… about a quarter of the photos I got ended up being after the sun went down.

I featured this car on my personal pages. Owner is a good guy. Told me he goes through tires in 1,400 miles. That’s 700 miles per edge before they need to be flipped.

We love the new Z’s here at S3. At first, all of us were a bit skeptical, but all it took was to see one lowered on nice wheels. That’s it! Here’s an article from earlier this year talking about exactly that: New Z

EG Civic Racecar… Need I say more???

One last thing I’d like to mention. Josh Freeman is the man. Him and all of the guys at Vaded are incredible. Something like 5k people showed up to the pre-meet. That’s simply insane. And it all went off, seemingly, without a hitch. Thanks again for getting me in to cover it. I’ll be back next year for sure.

Slammedenuff Gatlinburg Show Day Roll-In

After being up til 3am editing, nothing like waking up at 6am to get right back at it. But for me, it was totally worth it.

I love roll-in at Slammedenuff. Like the calm before the storm.

There’s also quite a few cool cars just hanging out. What’s good, Charlan?!?!?

SHEEEEEEEEEESH. That is all.

Inside The Show

Here we go, inside the show. Us media guys get access before doors officially open. This is your only opportunity for a clear foreground.

Gratuitous rear end shot of the R34… Nice.

Always nice seeing the homies.

Fitment Industries is the official event sponsor this year. They had some excellent booth cars.

This is the main row in front of the stage. As a photographer, I wish all of the rows were like this one. But to accommodate the sheer amount of cars, they really pack them in everywhere else.

Here we go. For yours truly – this is it. It does not get better than this. Nick’s S15 Varietta. It’s perfect in my book. Nick came from 20+ hours away and this was his first Slammedenuff Gatlinburg. If it were just up to me, this is my pick for best of show. However, I’m sure many of you reading this already know who DID win this year. Wooley and I did a podcast discussing Slammedenuff and much more. Listen to it here: GYATT & Stuff

I really enjoyed this EG. Under the hood, there’s a mural of Lil Peep. Good stuff, man.

Here’s a car that flew under the radar. 700+HP Audi S8. Here’s a fun fact. The speedometer resets when you go over 201MPH. This is a bucket list car for yours truly.

Look at all the variety!

Normally, the word “cool” and “Veloster” don’t belong in the same sentence. But, Dru’s is an amazing exception. Especially with the new wrap.

Speaking of Dru, there he is on the left. This was the drivers meeting. The last bit before they let people in.

Doors Open

I’m gonna keep it a buck… I just about put the camera up for the remainder of Slammedenuff. It gets reeeeeeeal crowded in here, fast.

But that didn’t stop this guy from taking pics on his DS. Wild.

I managed to sneak out to the side lot to film this Mugen Odyssey. Ryan has immaculate taste in automobiles.

Roll-Out

Everyone gets kicked out of the venue before cars roll out. This process takes nearly an hour start to finish. But spectators can watch by the road as all of the cars leave. SEMA roll-out vibes for sure.

I’m a sucker for wagons.

Somehow, managed to fuel up at the closest station immediately after the show. Fast & Furious vibes as the cops showed up.

Night Fall

Had to link up with Nick (thanks for sharing your flat, mate!) and Dani – and their bagged Alfas. 10/10 cars.

Lastly, as this now seems like tradition, hanging out with our friend Mike. His Scion xB limo was the last thing I shot last year. Same goes for this year. One of my all time favorite cars & people. What a way to end.

And yes, this is where the article will end as I was unable to attend Sunday this year due to obligations. Wish I could have stayed – next year for sure!!!

I’d like to personally thank Charlan directly here because initially, media registration was full for the year by the time I had decided I could make the show. I appreciate what he has done for the car community and car culture in general. I’m beyond stoked I got to be a part of everything again this year. Thank you for having me.

And to all of the Slammedenuff staff, vendors, volunteers & spectators – you make Slammedenuff Gatlinburg what it is. I hope to see this show continue for years to come.

See you in the mountains. <3 – Ben

 

Text & Photos by Ben Battles