Art of Gears
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Philippines President Aquino Took A Nissan GT-R Out For A 300-Mile Drive

By Paulo Acoba

Photo Credit: Nissan
Photo Credit: Nissan /
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When the President of the Philippines wanted to blow off a bit of steam before the New Year, he took a private security detail and a Nissan GT-R on a 300-mile roundtrip drive to Baguio City

If there ever was a leader of a country out for the gearhead’s heart, it just might be the current President of the Philippines, Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III. According to the Philippine Star on one of their first stories on President Aquino earlier Sunday afternoon, on the cusp of the New Year, President Aquino wanted to ring in January 1 in Baguio City, which is about 150 miles away. Instead of taking a plane or riding in an escorted SUV/Limo, the bachelor President opted to borrow a bright red Nissan GT-R from his good friend and drive the 545-HP Godzilla to Baguio City himself.

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Witnesses recount seeing President Aquino speeding out of Malacanang Palace (a.k.a. The White House of the Philippines) with a large convoy of black SUV’s in tow. Aquino was later spotted at a gas station in Baguio City filling up next to the red Nissan GT-R in question. After spending three days wining and dining as well as hosting a private dinner with top military brass, Aquino hopped in his borrowed GT-R and returned back to Malacanang Palace.

According to the story, in his younger days Aquino would often spend some time behind the wheel of whatever car he owned at the time, going on long drives for the fun of it. In an informal interview with one of the Philippines most popular reporters, Aquino was quoted to have said in regards to driving, “It’s like you’re in control of your life, like everything’s normal again, you have time to think, you’re not worrying about anything.”

During the beginning of his Presidential career, Aquino was infamous for having traded in his used BMW to buy a third-hand Porsche. Aquino only had that Porsche for five months before he was forced to sell it, bowing to protests that the car wasn’t setting a good example for good government spending.

Porsche or no Porsche, it seems you can’t strip the urge for a good old fashioned drive out of a gearhead once it’s in his blood. Contrast that desire fulfilled to our own President, Barack Obama in his latest appearance with Jerry Seinfeld in Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. Although Barack Obama isn’t a proclaimed car guy, even if he wanted to take a drive in the beautiful surrounding Maryland countryside, he probably couldn’t do so without a serious security detail and significant planning. Then again, it’s not really an apples to apples comparison between the two leaders.

More cars: Tuner shop crashes Liberty Walk Nissan GT-R into canal

Nevertheless, something has to be said about a man who can literally do anything he wants in the Philippines but opts to take a seat in a twin-turbo charged Nissan and take it for a rip. That’s our kind of President.

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