I met Darren Aki back in 2006. It was at one of our monthly G35 meets in Redondo Beach when he first pulled up. The memories from that night are pretty clear for a couple of reasons; first, I remember wondering how long it would take for him to get out and actually come talk to us. Second, and more importantly, I remember how the black paint on his car stood out. It was by far the cleanest, most flawless black finish on a car I’d ever seen!

Jump ahead to today, and I am proud to say that I now call Mr. Aki a good friend. Fortunately for me, I have also had the pleasure of watching his build take place over the past few years. The word “meticulous” always comes to mind when I think about the attention to detail Darren shows when modifying his car.

At first glance, the thing everyone notices is the overall cleanliness of the car. The black finish looks wet, and better than the day it came off the showroom floor. Thanks to Esteban and his team over at Auto Explosions, Darren was able to take care of a few exterior modifications he had in mind. Adding a new Kurookie front bumper and a custom molded rear trunk spoiler, gave him the look he was going for. Should you ever have a chance to see this G up close, you’ll see what I mean, the finish is flawless. Just remember, please don’t touch!

Darren’s passion for perfection didn’t stop there. About a year ago, Darren fell off the radar for a few weeks. Darren was back in the lab, AKA his garage, putting the finishing touches on a jaw dropping engine bay. Every wire was sleeved and tucked, every bolt was changed out for a polished one and every piece of his motor was given the utmost care as it was removed, polished and re-installed, to give it the look it has today.

With the body and engine bay complete, Darren moved onto addressing the cars handling. A set of BC Racing coils gives the car its aggressive stance, and alignment is kept in spec with 350 Evo front camber arms and an SPC rear kit. Darren had his choice of wheels, and finally decided on a set of BBS RS-GT’s wrapped in Nitto 555’s to finish off his masterpiece.

Some of you may have seen Darren cruising around the streets of LA, or maybe gracing us with his presence at various shows and meets throughout the year. Unfortunately for his fans, Darren has been putting some work in on the east coast, so his baby has been tucked away in his top secret bat cave. Fear not, Darren has promised to come back from time to time to take her out and give us all a little reminder of how CLEAN a ride can truly be.

Darren would like to thank his friends over at Rare JDM, Dave’s Garage, Marty and Viet and the rest of the guys from TWC, Team Rare JDM, Auto Explosion’s and everyone else that has given a hand or moral support along the way.

Vehicle Specs
2006 Infiniti G35 Sedan, 6MT

Photos: Marcus Cooke
Story: Gabe Estrada