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Greg DiBenedetto’s speech is all high-octane and rapid-fire—much like his limited-edition Porsche 911 GT2.

It’s the kind of car that fuels adolescent fantasies, draws bohemian scorn, and empties wallets—the 2007 model costs upwards of $122,000. And though the Porsche badge is synonymous with luxury, even excess, this one wasn’t purchased for the bling factor.

“It’s not jewelry,” DiBenedetto says. “For me, it’s like a Thoroughbred racehorse, and I’m the rider. It’s meant to be driven.”

The 45-year-old publisher of Guitar World is familiar with boy toys. When he isn’t producing stories about the most famous ax slingers on earth, he’s flogging his car down some of the East Coast’s best-known racetracks. He has clocked hundreds of miles at Lime Rock, in Connecticut; Watkins Glen, in New York; and Mont Tremblant, in Montreal, where he’s achieved speeds as high as 147 miles per hour.

Purchased two years ago, DiBenedetto’s Porsche is surprisingly free of frills, which include an air conditioner, a clear protective film coating on the hood and grille, and a five-point harness and a roll bar. The car also gets detailed twice a year.

Despite the breathtaking speed and the fact that racing involves countless tiny decisions that could spell the difference between diversion and disaster, the married father of two young boys says racing relaxes him and relieves the stress caused by the rigors of his job.

DiBenedetto races about eight times a year in noncompetitive events. He has had instructors, but these days he’s driving solo and still learning.

“It’s a series of Zen moments,” he says. “It reminds me of skiing, in that you’re always aware of every little movement. There’s a rhythm to the track that you get into the whole way around too. It’s physically exhausting but completely mentally rewarding.”

DiBenedetto’s car fever goes back to his teen years in New York’s Westchester County. His father owned a 1969 Austin Healey Mark 3300, and when dad was at work, DiBenedetto would sneak the car out for a ride. “I got the car bug then,” he says.

His first car was far less impressive—a used ’73 Firebird Esprit he bought for $1,500—but he loved it. “I had it restored and painted it bright red. I found a Formula hood and put that on too.”

After graduating from Pace University with a marketing degree, DiBenedetto moved to Manhattan. He gave the Firebird to his brother, who ran it into the ground. “My next set of wheels was a new Nissan Pathfinder, which, believe it or not, was trendy during the ’80s.”

DiBenedetto’s gig at Guitar World stoked his long-standing Porsche jones. He started at the magazine selling classified ads. In 1987, when the ad director left, DiBenedetto inherited the job. He eventually became associate publisher and was promoted to publisher in 2003. Needless to say, the position came with some enviable perks, including the opportunity to meet rock stars like Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin.

“I went to meet Eddie Van Halen at his house to do an interview, and I saw his Porsche in the driveway,” DiBenedetto recalls. “The very first thing I said to him was ‘Can I sit in your car?’ He said, ‘Yeah, go check it out.’ ”

But it took years for him to work his way up to the GT2. He went through two Harley-Davidson Softails (the first one was stolen outside a restaurant where he had been dining: “Of course I was just stunned—but the people I was with just said, ‘Okay, take care!’ ”); a new 1994 Land Rover Defender that he broke even on a decade later; and a 1984 Porsche 930 Turbo, purchased in 2002.

Two years later, he traded in the Land Rover and the 930 and took possession of a year-old GT2 with only 3,000 miles on it. “You couldn’t buy this car new—the demand was just so high,” he says. “It’s one of only approximately 300 manufactured between 2002 and 2005. But the deal fell into my lap, and I jumped. After September 11, I decided not to put off things I really wanted to do, and buying this car was one of them.”