For as long as he can remember, Greg Tariff has always had a love for cars, especially the classics. As a child, he remembers going with his dad to various local classic car cruise nights and learned to appreciate the time and craftsmanship owners put into their restorations. As he grew older, he noticed more and more tuner cars showing up at local cruise nights, and soon found himself converted to the sport compact way of auto worship.

Tariff, who currently resides in Sarasota, Fla., as a student at Ringling College of Art and Design, picked up this pre-owned 2002 Toyota Celica GT-S when he was in high school back in his native Massachusetts in 2003. It's his first car, and throughout high school he spent days in class drawing cars while saving up money working as a cashier at a local supermarket so that he could add bolt-ons from time to time. When he reached college, he knew he wanted to take the Celica to the next level, and by his sophomore year he had saved up enough to bring his computer rendering to life.

Tariff wanted to create something that no one else had and that he could truly call his own, but not once did he ever imagine the car going to this level. After the passing of his grandmother a few years ago, however, he decided that he would build a full-bore custom show car in her memory.

For the design stage, Tariff didn't want the car to look like every other wide-bodied Celica out there; rather, he sought to create something that flowed with the natural lines of the vehicle. After researching various shops for the custom build, Tariff decided on Justin Beamon of Automotive Progression in Tampa to handle the project. He handed over the keys and then watched as his Photoshop creation became reality.

The GT-S rocks a one-of-a-kind wide-body kit that cannibalizes a Bomex front bumper, TRD side skirts and TRD rear valence. The entire kit was hand made with metal and fiberglass.

The rear quarter panels were made in all hand-shaped metal. Fiberglass fender flares were also utilized and the sides of the front bumper had to be widened in order to accommodate the widened fenders. Furthermore, the side skirts were molded to the body of the car. The fin-like flaring that extends from the sides of the side skirt in front of the rear wheels were stretched and altered extensively to work with the rear quarter panels' wider stance.

The TRD rear valence was molded to the rear bumper and the sides were altered, as well, to match the widened rear quarter panels. The car also sports carbon-fiber front and rear canards and a TRD spoiler.

The functional vents on the sides of the car are cut all the way through and allow for more airflow to cool the brakes. Since the side vents interfered with the fuel door, it was relocated, which meant extending the fuel tank filler lines and relocating the door with a Sparco cap molded into the back of the rear quarter panel.

The car was painted in a custom silver called Dupont Cosmic Dust. The carbon VIS Racing Invader hood was painted to match, but some of the composite material was left unpainted as an accent, primarily the parts that lined up to the vent.

The entire interior of the car was then gutted and every single interior piece was sanded down to a smooth finish. The interior pieces were painted in a two-tone of silver and blue to reflect the Celica's color theme. The six-point Autopower roll cage was also painted to match, and Jims Body Shop of Seminole handled all of the paintwork.

At first Tariff was nervous seeing his once perfectly good car being torn apart into a million pieces, but as the build progressed he was able to envision the final outcome. Every couple weeks would go by and stop in to see the different updates, getting more eager and anxious on each visit. "Seeing something that I created come to life is probably one of the most satisfying feelings of accomplishment I have ever experienced in my life," he admits.

When the work was completed, Tariff retired the Toyota to strictly a show vehicle, and it's made quite a splash. Last year alone the Team Solo car club Celica earned third place in the Best Import category at Slamfest and first place, Best Custom, and Top 20 Pick at a benefit, both in Tampa, and also first in the Hottest Wild Toyota group at HIN Miami.

Tariff is now gearing up for the 2009 show season, but does have some ideas about where to take the GT-S next. He's toying with the idea of a custom supercharger or turbo build and wants to either reupholster the rear seats in matching Bride gradation fabric or remove them altogether and build a larger stereo system. He'd also like to switch out the current suspension for an airbag setup so that the car can sit on the ground when at shows.

As for Tariff, he'll be graduating in May and joining the job force. This past summer he was an intern for General Motors doing graphic design media work for the concept cars of 2020, and looks to find a gig in the graphic design/new media industry.

Every now and then Tariff will just stare at the finished Celica and think about how hard he worked to bring his creation to life, and how thankful he is for the help of his friends and family. That pride is evident in our photo gallery, and in the stories he tells about the project's roots. To view some photos from the build process, go to: www.myspace.com/widecelicagts.

Photo Gallery