Being a young upstart in any industry is tough. You can’t get a job without experience, but few are willing to roll the dice on a newb. So ‘round and ‘round it goes, until you either get a break or get off the ride altogether. But the automotive industry? That can be a particularly tough nut to crack.
Even a phenom like Brad DeBerti—talented, clever, full of potential, and a legacy to out-of-the-box thinking—has had to face his fair share of critics. Faultfinders seemingly irritated that one so young could not only recognize opportunity when it appeared, but seize it—with a graciousness that usually comes from years of character-building letdowns.
Son of Doug DeBerti, a well-respected automotive designer and founder of the largest aftermarket aluminum manufacturer in the country, it’s safe to say Brad was raised on more than a passing acquaintance with car culture. And now, as an accomplished designer in his own right, recipient of the 2016, 2017, and 2018 SEMA Young Gun Award, co-host on Discovery Channel’s Twin Turbos, and burgeoning racing prodigy, there’s seemingly nothing this talented young‘un can’t do—including serve as a next-generation influencer in custom automotive design.
Brad DeBerti Design Inspo
Today, the father-son duo has its audience hooked, crafting some seriously jaw-dropping builds. Through all the success, Brad remains grounded and humble, recalling some of the earliest project cars that inspired his personal catapult to stardom.
Terminator
“Anything my dad has ever built is so far out of the norm that it’s inspired me somehow. Whether we’re building off-road, drift cars, sports car, or show cars, it’s always crazy unique,” he says. “Specifically, I remember back in the day when he built a F350 4×4 diesel called Terminator. It had raw billet aluminum, unbreakable Mattracks, and flames shooting from the rollbar… long before anyone was doing that.”
“Designed, built, and debuted in only 90 days, the Terminator—as owner Doug DeBerti affectionately titled it—is a brilliant masterpiece of craftsmanship and dedication. This truck doesn’t impress people: It beats them over the head with custom touches and induces episodes of shock and awe. Starting life as a stock ’04 F-350 4×4 diesel, the truck was the perfect canvas for Doug and his design team to go crazy on.” –Truck Trend Network
“There was such a cool factor about this truck. Bolt-on isn’t our thing—everything was machined. My dad fabricated chunks of metal foot by foot until he achieved his desired look,” says Brad.“I remember when he brought it to SEMA. Ford literally didn’t know what to do… they were like ‘What is this?!’ It stopped everyone dead in their tracks,” he laughs.
While the painting was going on, the DeBerti design team was busy calculating, machining, and using a waterjet machine to fabricate each piece of the one-off suspension lift. Madera Brothers covered each piece of the lift with protective powder-coating. And with R&D’s 12-hour days going well, the final four-link bars were waterjet cut from a solid chunk of billet, with flames cut into each piece. Yes, the four-link bars are solid and cost nearly $30,000. Other custom pieces include: aluminum door handles, door sills, a pedal kit, the steering wheel, the rearview mirror, bumper hooks, and grab handles. –Truck Trend Network
Brad DeBerti Custom Vehicles
Lucky for us, Doug DeBerti’s talents rubbed off on junior. We’ll be deep diving Brad DeBerti coverage further, including his insights from a one-on-one interview. Until then, we’ll leave you in the presence of some drool-worthy builds… so you can get to know what this Young Gun is truly capable of in the garage.
2017 Raptor Trophy Truck
At first glance, this truck looks like a factory rig and that’s exactly what makes it so unbelievable.
At the point in time that Deberti and his father took this build on, no aftermarket parts were available for this model year. That meant everything they used to transform this Raptor into a true luxury prerunner needed to be custom-made. Honestly, the closer you look at this build, the more amazing it becomes. The workmanship and the attention to detail. The fact that it features just about everything you could possibly dream of adding to a truck. Its flawless execution.
It should come as no surprise that this DeBerti design earned Brad a spot in the Top 10 of the 2016 SEMABattle of the Builders.
“Our mindset was, ‘Let’s make this crazy prerunner like Ford built it, so that all the details are really built in, as if you don’t know what’s been truly done unless you know what you’re looking for. A purpose-built race truck that you’re comfortable in,” says DeBerti. To do that, he says they chopped up a brand new Raptor.
“We cut everything out of the truck… all that nice stuff,” he laughs. “Since we planned to widen the truck, we got with Ford and started designing fenders with them. We built a long-travel suspension, with bypass shocks that were four inches around, a custom roll cage, etc.,” adds DeBerti.
“This finished product is like Lambo meets off-road truck,” he chuckles. “My dad took about a 10-year break when he sold his company—just stopped building. That Raptor build for the 2016 SEMA Show was like a resurrection for him. He was out of the game for so long, and we show up with this truck. It’s like, ‘Hey, I still got it!’ It was so much fun to go to a show like that with my dad and show what we’ve built together,” junior says proudly of his father.
More than just a feather in Doug’s cap, it was the build that put Brad on the map. He won the 2016 SEMA Young Gun Award, the 2016Ford Motor Company Design Award, and snagged a Top 10 Awardin the Battle of the Builders competition. Soon after, Discovery Channel came knocking. And ever since, the duo has been going wide open on builds.
Hellcat Jeep
What’s everything good about building a Jeep Wrangler? Big tires? Long travel suspension? A rad paint job? How about all of that and a bag of chips—only the chips are from hell. This rig is seriously ridiculous. It’s got so many goodies stuffed into it and is actually built to perform.
The first thing you’ll notice are the monstrous 42-inch Maxxis tires. And in every shot you’ll find of this beast, you’ll be blown away by the suspension travel.But the real showstopper of this DeBerti Design build is the Hellcat engine stuffed under the hood. Why, you ask? Why the hell not?!
2018 Mustang GT
I’m a muscle car guy, so to see DeBerti and his team stretch their talents into this division of the industry really hits home. Again, we find that DeBerti’s work is seamlessly wrapped into a build to make it look near-factory.
Personally, my favorite part is the work on the flared fenders. The sheet metal work that goes into something like this, and to make it look as an original piece, can be appreciated by anyone. (Under those flared fenders are 18-inch wide Mickey Thompsons too, so they actually serve a very important purpose.) Beyond that, a 9-inch diff was stuffed underneath to back the engine, a custom billet grille sits front and center, and bulletproof glass was put in place to help handle the outlandish sound system that was stuffed in this car.
“The year after the Raptor, we decided to do a car and built a 2018 Ford Mustang for the SEMA Show,”says DeBerti. “Anyone my age right now would take a 2018 Mustang over a ’65, though I’d still take the classic. But as a builder, I have to cater to both sides,” he reminds. “Since the generational preferences are changing, we wanted the Mustang to sport an old-school look in a new-school car with a very different look at the end of the build process,” he adds.
“I looked to the import side and married various creative influences. The result: we did a wide body on the whole car—3 in rear and 2 in front, tucked to fit an 18” rear wheel tire, which no one has ever done,” he says. Again, old-school accents seamlessly blended with modern style. “We have a 2” cal-induction hood and five-spoke Forgiato wheels. The really cool part about this build is that it landed me in Top 10 Battle of the Builders again with a Young Gun Award and SEMA Best of Show.”
Turbo RZR
A side-by-side may be a little off-beat butanyone with an appreciation for engines loves seeing work from all branches of the industry. Besides, these things are bona fide smile-makers. Especially when they’re hot rodded.
The Polaris RZR is a fast machine as-is, but we’re all chasing “f-a-s-t-e-r.” So what did the DeBerti design team do? Well, they took the RZR and raised the ante with Sparks Racing Stage 3 Performance Package. They also reworked some of the suspension and, trust us, when this setup is paired with the right type of tires—there’s nothing it can’t do well.
Of all the things to notice about Brad DeBerti, perhaps themost important is how he’s always smiling.
The line of work he’s in is not easy. At all. It takes a lot of skill, focus, hard work, and hours and hours of unforgiving labor. Regardless of all of that, this kid is still always happy. He clearly loves what he does and he’s hit a level of success many will only dream of. Quite honestly, his passion shines through in every detail of his work.
Everyone can stand to learn a thing or two from DeBerti—regardless of the age on his driver’s license.