Mercedes collaborates with will.i.am on custom supercar

Mercedes has teamed up with musician will.i.am to create a custom take on its AMG GT 4-door saloon.

Called the will.i.AMG, the one-off vehicle has been created with help from famed automotive customising firm West Coast Customs. Revealed ahead of the Formula 1 Miami GP, the will.i.AMG takes elements from other famous Mercedes models, including headlights from the G-Class SUV. It even has a custom badge on the front with a bear-like logo that has been dubbed ‘Bear Witness’.

Musician will.i.am said: “I grew up in a ghetto. I grew up with hip hop. I watched legendary hip hop artists rap about Mercedes, so it was always a dream to own a Mercedes. For a lot of inner-city kids, owning a Mercedes is a symbol of progress and advancing out of struggle.

“Now I’ve reached my goal and pushed even higher by re-imagining and creating my own vision of an AMG model. But I didn’t touch the engine, because AMG really does make the best engines. The story of the founders of AMG truly inspires me and it is energizing to collaborate with like-minded people who also seek continuous improvement.”

The whole car is part of a project called “The Flip – Innovation for Purpose” that aims to give children from disadvantaged communities better access to science, technology, engineering, arts and maths education.

Philipp Schiemer, chairman of the board of management of Mercedes-AMG GmbH, said: “We take our responsibility to society seriously. 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. 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’.”