The Wheelchair-Bound Architect Wheeling a Rally Porsche 911 Harder Than You

It's lifted. It's got mismatched bumpers and a custom skid plate. It races off-road. These are not phrases you'd expect to describe a 997 Porsche 911. But owner and enthusiast Kyle Benedict is not a typical Porsche purist. Or a typical rally driver, for that matter.

Benedict, an architect out of Atlanta, is clearly a creative and
courageous individual. As you hear him speak in this interview, you'll quickly understand why he's a car enthusiast. A love of art, design, and feeling the rush of motion is like a trifecta of qualities guaranteed to get you hooked on vehicles.

If you're going to make cars a big part of your life for the long haul, and especially if you're going to get into racing, you also need one other attribute: resilience. And that is one thing that this driver has proven to have in a particularly major way.

Benedict lost the use of his legs as a result of a snowboarding accident. That took away his ability to do some things many of us can, including driving a traditional three-pedal manual car. But it sure as hell didn't sideline him from motorsports. His car is driven with hand controls entirely.

This 997 rally rig is not just uniquely set up and styled, it's a monument to overcoming challenges. And if all goes according to plan, it's going to keep evolving from rallycross to stage rally.

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Produced, shot, and edited by   / tomgorelik  

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