Often times being stubborn can hinder you from certain things in life, whether it be relationships in personal matters or even business. Going with the grain has always made things easier and usually benefits both parties, but there is always someone that just wants to do things their way. Often times this person is so focused and dedicated that there is no mistaking this mindset is not out of spite, but out of desire for perfection. When you enter Platinum VIP, you will understand why Kennedy is the way he is. Kennedy is not only the man behind Platinum VIP, but many will agree that he is also one of the pioneers of US VIP Scene.
Just by walking in to Platinum VIP for the first time you’ll notice the amazing presentation of everything. There is little to no dust on the ground, ever. In fact, he has someone constantly cleaning at all times to ensure that it stays that way. Some will call it over the top, but fact is that the cleaner the shop, the easier it is to get stuff done. While he does collision work for stable work, his custom side is where all the action is at, which is what we are looking at today.
Projects range from Scion’s to Bentley’s, but each car he and the crew touches leaves with one of a kind bodywork and paint. Some say Kennedy is hard to deal with when it comes to suggesting new things, but it all goes back to the old saying, “If something isn’t broken, why fix it?”. Undoubtedly, his methods are not the most cost or time effective either, it is more of a labor of love. Some of the finest VIP cars have come out of Platinum VIP.
One of Platinum’s most well known products on the market today are the Phantom Cup Kits. A cup kit, for those of you that aren’t familiar, is an adjustable suspension, but not your traditional bag system. It is a cylinder based metal chamber that fills with air (like an airbag) but has a lot less risk of being damaged. In fact the only maintenance required is an o-ring which is pennies on the dollar. Another cool thing is that you use your existing coilovers with this system, so you have the handling characteristics of a true coilover and the height adjust-ability of a bag. Only downside to this system is Kennedy machines each center bore per order, so it costs him more to produce and takes longer than a production of air bag system. The product however is so solid that even Wataru Kato of Liberty Walk uses it on his Ferrari 458!
From one-off widebody Supras to high end exotics, there is no limit for Platinum VIP. Collision work is what pays the bills for the most part, where custom aero and body work is done purely out of love for the automotive community.
This past SEMA was a perfect display of how dedicated Kennedy is to his craft. He finished 11 cars before the show, including multiple widebody projects! Jo of Job Design even shipped his car over from Japan and due to the laziness and error of the people at U.S. Customs it sat for weeks and only made it for 1 day of SEMA. There are some people that just want to do things the right way, and that’s who Kennedy is. It may not be done right away and it definitely won’t be the most cost effective, but the finished product will speak for itself.
