As an ardent enthusiast, it would be a sin to travel thousands of miles to the Land of the Rising Sun for the love of cars and not come into contact with the befallen beauty of girthed up Porsche 911s the world knows as Rauh-Welt Begriff or more simply; RWB. Especially if you have yet to come across it in your life.
A day before Tokyo Auto Salon 2014 began – we were enthralled with elation to know that Nakai-San will be having a gathering of RWB owners at the Hard Rock Cafe in the district of Roppongi; slap bang in the heart of Tokyo. It was undoubtedly an opportunity not to be missed so we took a short train ride to Roppongi plus a 10 minute walk from the station just before dark to witness these swooned up Beetles in the flesh.
The early sight in the cold, winter weather presented a bright, colourful vision of 911s as we approached the car park and that was the affirmation that we were at the precise location where the gathering will be held. It was love at first sight; just like how you’ve had always imagined meeting the girl of your dreams for the first time.
Of course this shade of Signal Green reminds us of our very own Signal Green Mini back home but lets just admit the fact that it was no where near as epic as this 993. RWB is almost always associated with funky fluorescent colours that is not only eye-catching; but it also pulls it off so elegantly that you most definitely want one in a funky tone.
It was not too long till the cavalry arrived; headed by the man himself.. Nakai-San along with a bunch of other 911 RWBs who brought the party with them for this gathering. Although the gathering was set to go on till pass midnight; it was only 4:30pm then and it was the start of a long night with the elite crew.
It was just going to be a selection of widened-up 911s from very different years with the likes of 930s, 964s and 993s. Much to our surprise though; majority of the RWBs came in 993 form which to us looks the best. However, there was one that really stood out in the crowd and at a far glimpse; honestly we couldn’t believe that it was true…
It was the RWB classic 911 that came in a shade of tiffany blue. Many enthusiasts now will curse in vain knowing that someone had rather ‘ruined’ an original classic 901 into a RWB show machine. Happily however – this was actually a replica crafted and created from a 964 Carrera 2 from early 90s.
It was hard to tell that its a replica; simply because the craftsmanship had been almost flawless to pin point an imperfection. Matched with a little ducktail spoiler in reminisce of the original Carrera 2.7 RS; and a clean cut widebody.. this very one will stand as our favourite from the day. What’s not to love right?
Came to join the party too were a group of big block V8 American Muscles that diversified the sport of eye candies at the little car park in Roponggi. From the raw sound of the flat boxers of the 911s; the big block V8s brought more of a thundering rumble livening up the party.
This 69′ Dodge Charger came in the parking lot with a massive growl from its madly beefed up V8 block. Rumoured to pack over 1000 rampaging American horses – it certainly made even the widened 911s look relatively tiny next to its sheer magnitude of proportion.
They certainly brought a form of variety to the party. Its a surprise for us to come across these American Muscles in Japan when even the parking spaces are just not wide enough to fit its size. Japan accredits itself as a centre of cars for us when we were there; as we discovered just how diversified the Japs are when it comes to their cars. It is not just biased towards JDM nor Euros/Exotics.. but they enjoy a spot of big block V8s too in their neighbourhood. Kudos!
Being winter; it was not too long between the time it was bright daylight and when the sun falls below the horizon.. bringing darkness to the skies. Gladly enough, this was just about the time when the party is about to start. Majority of the elite members had just arrived and gave us more opportunity and time to sit and adore at Nakai-San’s masterpieces.
Although most of the time he was on his phone; Nakai-San was one down to earth man. It was an absolute honour to meet the man himself and a short conversation brought us along his plans to make the trip down to Malaysia to build the first RWB on our shores. At the same time, we managed to grab some merchandise too to bring home. I mean – if you can’t own a RWB 911, at least a sweater would do for now right?
Towards the peak of the night – a nice round number of 30 RWBs had made its way down to the car park of Hard Rock Cafe in Roppongi and it was a nice experience interacting with the owners and speaking to them of their experience on owning these widened beauties. Although communication was a little tricky due to the language barrier; it was clear that their passion and emotion towards these monsters make us lust for it even more.
At the same time – there were also some potential RWB that made their way to the gathering to see these cars; finding some ideas in their mind perhaps.
This lovely turquoise 964 looks fabulously mint already. But soon it might just find its way to Nakai-san’s garage for some widening surgery. Can you imagine what it might just look like?
Perhaps it might just turn out to look something like this? Codenamed ‘Rauh Passion’; this sweet looking 993 RWB is fitted with the most extreme package available from RWB.
With the weather getting absolutely frizzy and chilly, the gathering moved inside into hard rock cafe and we were set to head back to our hotels to get ready for Tokyo Auto Salon the next day. Its a pleasure to see the close relationship between Nakai-san and the RWB owners in Japan; keeping a good repo within the elite community.
Its a whole different scene when we look at how the car culture is like in Japan. Its not just the cars; but its also the people involved in the scene. The living passion that burns inside their hearts is nothing short of spectacular; and as soon as RWB lands in Malaysia.. we just can’t wait to see the kind of impact it will bring to our shores.
As we left Hard Rock Cafe – we knew it was a bittersweet memory that will never be forgotten. Till we meet again Rauh-Welt Begriff..
