These Tuner Cars Were So Insane, Even Dom Toretto Would Be Jealous

Wekfest is a globetrotting exhibition and love letter to anything custom, from the four-pot JDM tuners all the way to downright diabolical supercar and off-roading builds, and the whole shebang just came through Los Angeles. I went and, as contractually bound by the deal I signed with Baphomet upon elementary school graduation, I had my camera with me to shoot all that I saw.

With hundreds of cars spread across the Los Angeles Convention Center’s West hall, crowds were treated to a vast array of cars that ranged from the wet dreams of tuners turned spies from The Fast and Furious franchise to offroad builds lowsy with carbon fiber that’ll surely make you shriek if you pinstriped it on the trail. While the show was only a one-day affair, it succeeded at bringing the feverish LA car community out to play and look at the builds.

As contractually bound by the deal I signed with Baphomet upon elementary school graduation, I had my camera with me to shoot all that I saw. Let’s take a gander on this journey, shall we, my Baphominions?

A Tale of Two Trucks

These two cars were pretty close to the front and demanded your attention, and how could they not?

The first one that we’re looking at is a Ford Bronco from “The Bronco Adventures,” a couple who took everything to the next level. It looks like any opportunity they had to strip weight and add carbon fiber, they took. The seats? Carbon fiber. Hood? Carbon fiber. Dashboard? Carbon fiber. We’re talking damn near everything carbon fiber.

One of the only things that seemed untouched was the grab handle, because the rest was thoroughly tinkered with, even removing what seems like everything in the rear that wasn’t a part of the car’s base frame. Also, shoutout to the tube frame doors; I’ll always love that look, no matter what.

Next to the carbon behemoth is an ‘85 Toyota Pickup, which is comparatively tame both in its stature and the breadth of its modifications. Like most cars in the hall, the pickup is pretty extensively lowered, and the nice pistachio green paint job is perfectly complemented by a pink everything else, making the truck feel like your Barbie Dream House transformed into an automotive automaton. While the die shifter and lock bezels were cute, I think the best part of the pickup is easily the disco ball dipstick.

I would’ve loved the Pickup no matter where on the convention center floor it was placed, but placing it next to an SUV that would bully it for lunch money just made it a lil bit better for the passerby.

The Lamborghini She Told You Not To Worry About

I don’t even know where to begin on this car. Is it the fact that it stripped so much weight out of it that the Bronco would be jealous? Or the turbocharger that is probably adding more power to the engine than what our cars made brand new?

I first saw this car from the rear, where its loins are on full display for the hedonist pervs to look at. Out of my peripheral vision, I could’ve sworn I was walking by the Tumbler from those really old Christian Bale Batman movies that came out when I was in middle school, and while (I think) the car isn’t refurbished military equipment like the old guy’s Tumbler, it’s equal in terms of its lack of subtlety.

A few particular details I love: exposed suspension, simple plexiglass “fenders,” a skeleton of a headlight, and the removed gas tank cover, because why not save another half pound of weight?

A Jimny and RX7

The Jimny is a super rad car made for the Japanese market that can be kei compliant for its local market, or can be a full-sized vehicle abroad, with a more extreme culmination of its size on full display with this lifted monster that looks like a teeny tiny two-door Jeep. It’d be worth talking about more if not for the fact that it was next to a gorgeous, kitbashed RX7 with a Martini-style racing livery.

Coolest features on it for me are the dope suspension display that gave me flashbacks of the super rad Ford GTD’s pushrod setup *link*, and the mechanized front latch that automatically opens and closes.

The Teslas

Gotta admit, I was not expecting to see the handful of Teslas that I did, but that doesn’t mean they were any less cool. Some were brought by the team at Ruined, who rose to fame for being instrumental in bringing the age of hammered Teslas to the automotive world. The interiors on the Ruined Teslas weren’t over the top, mainly just neon lining with a galaxy star roof, but they had some fun details like the shaved metal flakes around the front badge of the salmon Model X and the 8-bit airbag setup on the fuchsia Y.

One Tesla I did really enjoy was the Autofashion Model 3 with a very Japanese trunk complete with a display of Mt. Fuji and fake cherry blossoms blowing around it, a roof rack that’s probably never seen luggage, a bar setup in the rear, and a widebody that makes the rear fenders look a bit like a newer Civic Type R.

Speed Run The Other Fun

If I sat here and talked about every car I saw there that I was obsessed with, it honestly wouldn’t be that much of an ordeal, but it’s certainly not a small undertaking, so let me power through a couple more.

This cute Honda N600 was aggressively simple with its mods, going for a conservative hippy approach with a little picnic basket and the floral seat liners.

Here’s a Porsche with a lowrider tuner approach that feels almost sacrilegious to see. There’s a flashy air suspension setup on display in the backseat and mirrors on the ground for you to look at its meticulous underside, just like a lowrider show.

A Century is always cool, and so is this lowered one that’s sagging to the point of maybe just two inches of clearance, has some out of place but tasteful bicycle spoke wheels, and a bar in the rear.

A Datsun 240Z (which increasingly becomes the apple of my eye most days) with the Speed Forme S30Z kit. It actually shares two things with my Corvette as well: 1) a clamshell hood, and 2) being frickin badass.

And speak of the devil, here’s a Corvette. It wins best in show on principle from me. Sorry about it. Not pictured were the endless Honda Civics and BRZs/GR 86s that were incredibly rad as well.

I’ve never been much of a traditional “tuner” car kind of guy, but I love events like this that ooze passion from all the attendees because it’s nothing short of infectious in the end. Thanks for opening my eyes a bit, Wekfest.