West Coast Customs has built quite the reputation for wild modified cars. This was cemented with their involvement on the MTV series Pimp My Ride. While the show has been off the air for years, the shop still exists and continues to create some remarkable vehicles. Not only that, but it started something called the West Coast Customs Academy. It’s a program that lets students of typical college age spend a total of 24 weeks learning how to work on cars, including interior, paint and body, and mechanical work. The program is free for those selected to participate, though that means the shop has to get money from other sources. In order to fundraise, the shop is selling off five of their custom cars from a beautiful Toyota 4Runner to a questionable Volkswagen Passat.
1997 Toyota 4Runner
We’re starting with our absolute favorite, a lowered 1997 Toyota 4Runner. This 4Runner was originally built years ago and featured in a 1999 issue of Minitruckin’. Since then, it found its way to West Coast Customs, and it was overhauled by last year’s class at the Academy. It features beautiful 3D-style flames on the paint, air suspension, and the same 18-inch wheels it had more than two decades ago.
The interior has leather upholstery and a tweed headliner with more flames. The cargo area features a huge array of speakers, which can be viewed more easily by dropping the hatchback’s rear window. It’s powered by the standard four-cylinder engine and is paired with an automatic transmission.
2006 Dodge Charger
One of the more impressive builds is this Dodge Charger. Since Dodge wasn’t building two-door Chargers nearly 20 years ago, West Coast Customs decided to make its own. The whole thing is 8 inches shorter than the four-door, and the roof lowered by 3 inches. The front doors had to be stretched by 9 inches to make them look right and to provide better access to the front and rear. It has a custom audio system, coilover suspension, 22-inch wheels, and the stock 5.7-liter V8 and automatic transmission.
2018 Polaris Slingshot
The strangest-looking vehicle of the group is this Slingshot. It appears to be a promotional vehicle for the Star Trek Discovery TV show. As such, the saucer section of the USS Discovery ship has been slapped on the hood, and a pair of warp nacelles appear on either side. Lights have been added around the saucer section, and at the fronts of the nacelles. On the seats, West Coast Customs added Discovery-style Starfleet badges. The rest appears to be the same as any other Slingshot, so don’t go looking for a warp core or provisions for a tardigrade co-pilot.
2012 Volkswagen Passat
We’ll go from one sci-fi franchise to another with this VW Passat. This Star Wars-themed car focuses on Darth Vader, which is made painfully obvious by Vader’s mask being slapped across the front end. The rest of the car is oddly devoid of other body modifications or even unique paint and vinyl graphics. The interior makes up for the underwhelming exterior somewhat. A custom round sunroof was installed, evocative of the view ports on the Death Star and on Tie Fighters. The center stack also features custom buttons inspired by Vader’s chest plate. The lightsaber hilt as a hand brake handle is another nice touch. The fact that this Passat is also a diesel also seems fitting for a VW on the Dark Side.
2022 Toyota Camry
We wrap things up with one last midsize sedan, a Toyota Camry. This car was built in collaboration with NASCAR driver Tyler Reddick and the 23XI team. It features custom body parts such as a front splitter, side skirts, and a NASCAR-style rear spoiler. Fake exhaust tips poke out each side of the side skirts. It even has authentic center-lock NASCAR wheels with Goodyear tires. The whole thing has a custom race car-style vinyl wrap to finish it off, which includes a decal on the driver window to look like a safety net. The disappointing part is that the interior is completely stock, and so is the powertrain. But at least this Camry has the surprisingly fun 3.5-liter V6 under the hood.
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