West Coast Customs has had a major role in realizing Will.i.am's automotive visions
Will.i.am is a golden name in the music industry, and played a major role in making electronic music boom during the early 2000s. But we can't say the same about his custom car collection which includes some seriously questionable builds like the infamous Delorean that was modified to look "ugly" futuristic and the VW Beetle-based "The Monster" that took forever to build.
West Coast Customs has had a major role in realizing Will.i.am's automotive visions. The duo is back again with another build, and this time it's with a Mercedes-Benz. Will.i.am partnered up with the German automaker to create a one-off WILL.I.AMG. Based on the 2022 Mercedes-AMG GT 4-door, this custom creation has the face of a G-Class, the hood vents of an SLS AMG, and is allegedly Will.i.am's dream build.
The rapper had always dreamt of owning a Mercedes-Benz right from his humble beginning days. And he made it a reality for a very noble cause. The custom build is not everyone's cup of tea, but it reciprocates with Will.i.am's eccentric taste in custom cars.
Mercedes-AMG and Will.i.am transform a GT 4-door into a bold one-off "WILL.I.AMG" with mono-block wheels, huge suicide doors, a G-Wagon's face, and a bear badge!
Will.i.am's latest automotive creation in collaboration with Mercedes-AMG is not a pretty sight, but the cause that it stands for makes us forget all its shortcomings. This car spearheads Will.i.am's latest noble work called "The Flip - Innovation for Purpose". This cause intends to provide access to STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) education to struggling youth from disadvantaged communities.
It will provide the right guidance to build up skills needed to excel in our tech-focused world and provide food on the table for them and their families. This "Flip" program isn't new as Will.i.am's Angel Foundation has been a ray of hope for many with various STEAM educational motives for over a decade now.
Will.i.am is known for his outlandish taste in custom cars. He always has this angle of fusing in retro designs with a futuristic twist. But unlike his older custom car creations, this build uses a fairly new car - the 2022 Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe. The build was done by none other than West Coast Customs. The front fascia has been heavily modified in the guise of a G-Class.
Now we know that a G-Class won't look pretty as a sports coupe! The round headlamps and boxy layout doesn't sit well with the sleek and curvy design of the AMG GT. But hey! It is Will.i.am, and being eccentric with cars in his blood. The exterior also has a subtle throwback design bit to the iconic Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG with those chunky vents on the hood.
The side profile will mess with your head as the front boxy design slowly fades into a sleek and sporty rear section. And it is highlighted with those huge mono-block wheels that, for some reason, remind us of the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class. Then there are the custom suicide doors which we believe have to be the largest on any car. The donor car had 4 doors, but this one has just two, which can give you an idea of its size! There are loads of custom badges on this car with our favorite being the "Will.i.amg" ones.
Related: 5 Celebrity Muscle Cars We'd Blow Our Savings On (5 We'd Pass On)
At first look, you would say "What in the....?!!" But then upon closer inspection, everything will make sense. The rear fascia is the best place to remind you of the car this one-off once was. The Will.i.amg is a 2022 Mercedes-AMG GT underneath. We aren't sure if it's the GT43 or GT53, but either way, it packs a 3.0-Liter inline-6 motor than churns out a maximum of 429 hp.
It gets a 9-Speed Automatic that rolls all four wheels. Even with the questionable face, Will.i.am's creation has the muscle to do 0-60 mph in a swift 4.1 seconds. The underpinnings are mostly left unchanged and so, the Will.i.amg is still as athletic as its donor.
The interior of Will.i.am's one-off Mercedes-AMG GT W1X gets subtle tweaks. The build's interior flaunts a dual-tone dashboard with black and white and a chunk of carbon-fiber trimming dividing the two. The seats are wrapped in white and there is no compromise on its luxury appeal.
Everything from the comfort and technology features remains unchanged from the standard AMG GT 4-door. The coolest changes come in the form of various "Will.i.amg" logos spread out across the cabin, including the speaker casing and the floor mats.
Related: 10 Coolest Muscle Cars Owned And Driven By A-List Celebrities
As you might have already noticed, you get a "mouth open bear" badge instead of the famed three-pointed star on this Will.i.am'ed Merc. This bear symbolizes " Bear Witness" which is the name of his limited-edition apparel and accessories. Ain't that the smartest way to market your stuff?! The bear badge ironically goes well with the Will.i.amg!
This is not the first time we were pained by Will.i.am. His taste for custom cars has always been "unconventional". Look, we are trying to be as diplomatic as possible, but his custom cars are mostly ugly. The saving grace that this Merc has is the noble cause it has been made for. And this is also why we are not adding it to Will.i.am's ugly car collection that includes the infamous DELOR.I.AM that was part of a theft stunt, and the VW "The Monster" that looks like a Morgan Aero 8.
Sources: Will.i.am, Mercedes-amg.com, Media.mbusa.com, Facebook.com/westcoastcustoms, Instagram.com/westcoastcustoms, Caranddriver.com
Tijo is an engineer, mechanic, gamer, and an avid content creator. He is a grease-monkey who loves tinkering with automobiles every now and then, when not busy penning down his passion for them. He has always had a soft spot for JDM and is keen on diving deep in for anything that involves wheels and engines.