Dark heart rising: Mercedes Bent

California might be the home of human cosmetic surgery, but it's also worth reminding yourself that it's also the world epicentre of automotive plastic and metal surgery.

The story you are about to read simply couldn't, wouldn't have come about in any other country than the USA, nor any state not called California. The mix of available cash, open-minded thinking, custom-car lust and concentration of high-precision, custom-car builders here just doesn't exist anywhere else on the planet on this scale. In the SoCal automotive space, there's no such thing as impossible, just improbable.

Words: Pat Devereux
Photography: Fly

This article was originally published in the October issue of Top Gear magazine