Camber Gang - Top 5 VIP Car Builds of All Time

VIP cars are hardly anyone's first build and may seem a little counterintuitive since most of us come into this passion drooling over fast-ish-looking machines. But the best ones are more than just boats and bricks with bling; the best ones are kind of masterpieces of luxury that take customization in entirely new directions—which you can do with a car meant for cruising and not mashing on the throttle all the time. VIP style grants license to inject different kinds of extravagance and craftsmanship into a project car, and we've long been fans.

Not surprisingly, our most popular VIP car features over the years have largely fit the mold: widebody Japanese sedans with ample wheels and tons of style. As we researched, we were momentarily worried it would be an all-Lexus list, but Kaoru Imanishi's Cima added both real JDM credibility and a Nissan to the collection. Probably the most surprising entry is the first one, however; in a scene occupied by GS and LS, Roy Moncada decided to take the VIP path with his Lexus IS (a bright red one, at that, forgoing any subtlety).

• Roy Moncada's 2003 Lexus IS 300
• JC Williams's 1999 Lexus GS 300
• David Adame's 2000 Lexus LS 400
• Nat Huynh's 2007 Lexus LS 460L
• Kaoru Imanishi's 1994 Nissan Cima Limited

See All 23 Photos23

Among VIP builds, a red IS definitely stands out, but owner Roy Moncada wanted the attention to highlight the work he had done on the project and promote his business. The custom vented hood and widebody fenders, as well as the shaved and widened Vertex front bumper, plus the Chargespeed back end that's got an R35 GT-R diffuser built into it—it's all the sort of stuff that Moncada specializes in. The interior—in all its custom diamond stitched and suede wrapped richness—is as wild as it is nice.

See All 23 Photos23

JC Williams's GS has gone through a couple of iterations, but this version—rocking a Mode Parfume GaMu kit, rolling on 19-inch Work Meister S1s—is hard to top. The custom fabricated engine bay covers and splashes of color throughout are some of the sedan's finer points, but everyone's gonna talk about the fur-covered seats. Classic and classy.

See All 23 Photos23

We have to believe there's a hunger to see more VIP cars, considering David Adame's LS wound up on this list and it wasn't even finished yet when we published our story on it. The body has been shaved, fenders rolled and slightly pulled to accommodate a set of 19-inch Work Euroline DH wheels, and the front incorporates a WALD International lip kit. The Lexus gets low with a spring/air hybrid suspension setup featuring BC Racing coils with Aerosport bags and controlled with an Accuair Air Management system.

See All 23 Photos23

If you didn't know, the second "L" in Nat Huynh's LS 460 L stands for "long wheelbase," the fourth-gen. LS being the first to offer the option for the Lexus model line. So the car is a boat, but we wish all boats were this posh; Nat reupholstered the seats, trunk enclosure, and center console using a combination of tan and chocolate brown leather with diamond stitching, also adding VIPStyle pillows, floor mats, and an Endless rear table. Outside, a more modern F Sport front end and Black Pearl Jewelry Line body kit, combined with Wald vented fenders, make this LS one of the most aggressive looking VIP cars we've seen Stateside.

See All 23 Photos23

Leave it to a car from Japan to provide arguably the most extreme VIP example on this list. A set of rare and ultra-wide Work Autostrada Modena wheels sized at a staggering 17x11.5-inch, -45 fronts and 17x12.5-inch, -105 rears are impossible to look away from at first glance, housed under some equally disproportionate retrofitted Pandem E36 over-fenders that owner Kaoru Imanishi somehow got to fit the Cima—even the rear doors still open. A little rough around the edges (some TLC for the engine bay could help the RB26DETT swap shine) but still dope.

Bippu Style 101

Understanding the VIP Scene

AutoFashion's VIP Fest 2019

See All 23 Photos23