► AMG teams up with will.i.am
► GT4 with the face of a G-wagen
► Built by West Coast Customs
Mercedes has revealed a new collaboration at the Miami GP, this time with will.i.am. The new joint project follows a partnership with the late Virgil Abloh, and this time the donor car isn’t a Mercedes Maybach or a G-Wagen, but an AMG GT-four door Coupe.
Called the Flip, it’s an interesting mixture of SLS Gullwing, Maybach and G-Wagen, and grafts the face of the latter on the donor car’s front end. Smoked out rear lights and suicide doors also feature on the one-off project.
Interestingly, it hasn’t been built by Mercedes or in Stuttgart; the work was carried out by West Coast Customs – the same West Coast Customs responsible for some of the contraptions on the popular Pimp My Ride show.
Looks are subjective but the Will.i.AMG is certainly memorable, and the front three-quarters arguably looks pretty good. What’s less excusable is the amended Mercedes logo, which has now been fashioned to look like a bear: will.i.am is calling the new badge ‘Bear Witness.’
Why?
Other than an interesting design study, the car also exists for a good cause; activities around the car should support will.i.am’s i.am/Angel Foundation, which works on helping the underprivileged get into STEM. There’ll be a range of limited-edition apparel and accessories for sale in Miami and online, and a portion of the process will go to will.i.am’s foundation. It’ll be revealed online on May 6th 18:00 CET.
The success of Mercedes-AMG as a Performance Luxury brand also depends to a large extent on inspiring the next generation and giving them easy access to the latest technologies and digital progress,’ said Philipp Schiemer, chairman of the board of management of Mercedes-AMG.
‘It is part of our tradition to always be pioneers and to dare to do something new. We are continuing this legacy into the future together with will.i.am and ‘The Flip.’