The Most Expensive Cars In Will.i.am's Collection

The name William James Adams Jr. may not ring any bells, but we're betting his nom de guerre, will.i.am, does. Rapper, record producer, songwriter, and founder of the music group, Black Eyed Peas, will.i.am is every bit a car lover as he is a musician. And his eclectic auto collection is every bit as quirky as the man who refers to himself in a Yoda third-person sort of way.

Adams grew up in the ghetto listening to hip-hop artists talking about cars, specifically Mercedes Benz, so when he was able to buy luxury vehicles for himself it soon became apparent the man didn't want to be confined by standard automobile designs. Adams has a penchant for taking old, well-established makes and models and customizing them to the point where they're wholly unrecognizable from their previous stylings. 

In fact, he's done it so often — and in some instances has gone to such great lengths to conceal their original provenance — that he's earned himself a rather dubious reputation within the auto enthusiast world.

In January 2012, Adams appeared on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" and announced that he was starting a car company called IAMAUTO in the East Los Angeles neighborhood where he grew up. He said the first original, custom-designed car would even use "OEM parts from Chrysler" and showed a picture of a stark white vehicle with gull-wing doors lines reminiscent of a DeLorean — if you squint really hard.

Turns out, there was nothing "original" about the car. It was a highly customized DeLorean built by West Coast Customs (WCC) in Burbank, California, a company Adams has used many times for his other custom rides. In addition to adding a widebody kit, it modified every square inch of the body, added a bunch of air vents, slapped on 20-inch wheels, and dropped in a GM LS3 E-Rod V8 engine. Not to mention completely redoing the interior.

#tbt who remembers the Famous WCC x https://t.co/j64PMbusyB DeLorean?? It's time to bring it back and it's time for a new look. We have our #Duralast tools ready to go 🛠 #duralasttools #delorean pic.twitter.com/IofZwnHmOL

— West Coast Customs (@officialwcc) September 5, 2019

In an episode of "Under The Hood," Ryan Friedlinghaus, owner and CEO of WCC, said the rapper initially brought in the DeLorean DMC-12 for some "interior work" but ended up giving it "a total transformation" into what one might look like if they were still being made in the year 2020. It originally had the name IAMAUTO but is now called "The DELOR.I.AM." According to Jalopnik, Adams claims the customization for the DeLorean cost $700,000.

If only the zaniness around this car had stopped there. Later in 2012, Adams was pulled over by Los Angeles Police because it didn't have a license plate displayed. After discovering that it also didn't have a VIN and was never registered with the DMV, they impounded the DeLorean. A few months later Adams blasted on social media that the car had been stolen. Oddly, it was quickly found by none other than WCC. It seems like will.i.am wanted to test out P.T. Barnum's quote, "There's no such thing as bad publicity." 

According to most sources, Adams' "VETTE.I.AM" is a highly modified 1959 Corvette again built by West Coast Customs. That model year is probably accurate based on the "WCC 59" badge on the right rear bumper area. Friedlinghaus claims it's an old Corvette body on a new chassis and drivetrain, updated with all the latest technology, including an iPad in the center console.

For the most part, Adams WCC customized 'Vette looks strikingly similar to the original, keeping many of the same lines intact while maintaining the red color scheme on the body and white highlights for the "coves" (sculpted side scoops).

CarBuzz claims the front end was thoroughly modified and the interior was reupholstered from a 2008 Vette. While the Daily Mail UK says, the body is from a C1 slapped on a custom tube chassis using the running gear and interior from a C6 (2008) Corvette.

CarHP adds that they retained the original LS3 4.6-liter V8 engine, which bangs out 270 hp and 285 lb-ft of torque and goes from zero to sixty in 7.0 seconds at a top speed of 128 MPH. Given the amount of money it took WCC to modify the DeLorean, a reported price of $687,500 for the "Willvette" (he definitely has a thing for names, doesn't he?) isn't probably too far off the mark.

At first glance, you would never in a million years think the car known as "The Monster" started off life as a Volkswagen Bug. Of course, the story attached to this car (which starts in 2009) is even wilder than the one about the IAMAUTO DeLorean.

According to Jalopnik, Adams took a 1958 VW Beetle to Austin Weiss at The Garage in Stuart, Florida. He wanted them to build a "SoCal Speedster" powered by a twin-turbo Porsche flat-six. A few weeks into the build Adams called Weiss wanting "something crazy futuristic" and totally different from the original plan. Weiss went along and even dropped a supercharged LS3 engine in the front (instead of the back), but Adams continued changing his mind repeatedly until the VW Beetle's cowl was the only original part left.

Six weeks before Super Bowl XLV (2011) the car was still unfinished. The Black Eyed Peas were scheduled to play the halftime show, and Adams wanted it to appear alongside them. Weiss tried and failed to get it done, and Adams shipped it out to West Coast Customs ... where it took another two years to finish. 

The vehicle has elongated fenders with lots of chrome venting, a huge front grill, suicide doors, and what appears to be very little interior room; possibly even less than an actual 1958 VW Bug. Friedlinghaus refers to it as "The Monster," but likes to call it "The Morgan" because it has similar lines as a Morgan roadster. 

The Monster has a price tag of around one million dollars, but the actual number remains unclear due to all the time, energy, and changes done to the car throughout its lengthy build.