What Makes RWB So Special?
/A couple of years ago, I remember scrolling through my YouTube subscriptions, and seeing a video from one of my favorite automotive videographers, Krispy Media, and it was a video covering RWB Philadelphia’s build process, it was almost like a mini documentary. I found the entire thing so interesting. I had seen a few RWB builds on Instagram and always thought they were really cool, but I didn’t know too much about them at the time.
After watching that one video, I started binge watching all of the other RWB build videos I could find. What I really found interest was that obviously the car is unique, but the stories behind it and the people behind it was the more interesting part for me.
First of all, RWB stands for RAUH-Welt BEGRIFF, and is a Porsche tuner shop based out of Japan. RWB was started by Akira Nakai in the late 90s, and he combines Japanese and European tuning elements on Porsche chassis to bring a unique and distinct style like no other. All of the bodykits are handmade and Nakai travels the world to build the customers’ car.
Photo By: Reijo Sipp
It all starts with first acquiring a 964 or 993 Porsche 911, which is a fairly difficult find especially if you want one in mint condition, then you have to get in contact with either someone that already owns an RWB or go onto the RWB website and fill out a contact form. Once you figure out the route you want to take as far as the bodykit goes, you then pay for the kit, and get put on a wait list. The process usually takes up to a year before Nakai is able to come build your car. In the meantime, the customer needs to get the kit painted, figure out which suspension they want to run, bags or coilovers, and the wheels and tires ready to go.
Photo By: Marcel Lech
To have a car built by Nakai is truly an honor and one of the many things that makes an RWB Porsche so special. The fact that only one RWB Porsche is created for each customer makes it very exclusive. Each car is uniquely named by Nakai. The fact that the passion and interest behind the cars from the owners gives them a sense of community and “family”, because once your car is built, you can be added to an app with a group chat for all the RWB owners, and even be invited to watch the build process of another RWB. It makes the wait well worth it in my opinion.
Nakia’s work has given me a new appreciation for what he does because he hand builds each car by himself within a couple of days and he knows exactly how everything should fit and line up, so he can just freehand all out the cuts in the body, which blew me away. At the end of the day, I believe he is more of an artist than anything. After learning about RWB and the community behind it, I realized that one of my life goals is to have an RWB Porsche built by Nakai someday or own already built by him. It’s just a legendary story to tell…
To really get a sense of everything I’ve mentioned I highly recommend watching one of the linked RWB build videos below if you have time!