SP Rides: A Dream Ride
BY MICHAEL KITCHENS
Name: Mike Benigno
Age: 39
Occupation: Owner of 808 Smokes
Hobbies: Fishing and gaming
Year/Make/Model: 2015 Nissan GTR Black
Color: INVICTUS Super Shift Pearl from DIDSPADE
Engine: Jotech Stage 2 Package, Cobb Access Port tuned by Kenny Tran, HKS Stainless Mid-pipe, Greddy 94mm Titanium Full Exhaust with Titanium Midpipe, Stainless Downpipes, 3-inch Polished Aluminum Air Intakes and N Filters, 1,000cc Injectors, HKS Fuel Pumps and HKS Iridium Colder Spark Plugs.
Exterior: Custom Auto Flex Coatings paint, APR Performance carbon fiber front lip, APR GTC-500 wing, Rexspeed side skirts and carbon fiber trunk lid.
Wheels: 20-inch Volk GTCs in Top Secret Gold and Bridgestone Potenza RE-070Rs 285/35ZRF20.
Mike Benigno used to play a little game called Gran Turismo in the ’90s and has remained a fan of the legendary Skyline over the years. He also owned a Lexus RC F briefly following an impulse buy, but it didn’t take long for Benigno to realize that he needed a car with more power — and in steps Godzilla.
This 2015 Black Edition is anything but black. It’s absolutely brilliant and one look at it confirms that this car is something special. The entire vehicle has been coated with a removable type of paint created by Auto Flex Coatings and laid down by London Fee of Dip Hawaii. This bad boy is layered in Invictus Supershift Pearls from DIDSPADE — the result of which is a kaleidoscope of colors ranging from gold and purple to green and everything in-between.
The Black Edition is a special version of the standard GTR and features a ton of upgrades. Even-so, Benigno has upgraded many of the components for additional power and looks starting with the engine. The hand-built twin-turbo V6 has been given a Jotech Motorsports Stage 2 makeover for an estimated 550 to 570WHP on pump gas, and features a Cobb Access Port V3 capable of taking custom tunes along with upgraded fuel injectors, HKS Twin Fuel pumps and HKS spark plugs. A titanium mid-pipe, stainless steel downpipes as well as a Greddy 94mm Titanium Full are also showcased in the package.
Extra bits include a carbon fiber front lip by APR Performance, Rexspeed side skirts, as well as a carbon fiber trunk lid. The rear has an absolutely wicked APR carbon fiber GTC-500 wing that gives this ride a super aggressive GT look. For traction, 20-inch Volk GTCs slathered in Top Secret Gold are wrapped in Bridgestone Potenza RE-070Rs; they had to be big to fit over the massive 15.4-inch front and 15-inch rear brake rotors. He also has a lighter set of the original OEM 20-inch RAYS wheels with super-sticky rubber on them.
Benigno has further plans for this ride, including adding air suspension and a possible wide-body, but for now, this hyper-colored fantasy is more than enough to get him going.
“I built and picked this car because it was a childhood dream,” he said.
And, oh, what a dream ride it’s become.
