Shock to the SYSTEM
THEY’RE PORSCHES, YES, BUT NOT AS WE NORMALLY KNOW THEM
There’s noise. It leaks through the sills, pumps through the guards and reverberates around the tiny cabin space.
Everyone’s looking at us — pedestrians and other drivers at the lights, fumbling over their smart phones in the hopes of a photo.
A pair of Porsche 964 Carrera 4s driving in tandem through Hamilton is a rare sight. These are often held up high by purists as one of the last ‘ true’ generations of 911 the German manufacturer made — one of the last to flaunt the classic compact 911 silhouette and an air- cooled engine.
As someone who’s never driven a Porsche before, you’d think that being offered the keys to a 964 — the ‘ purest’ of Porsches — would be a perfect means of introduction. But then again these two 911s aren’t exactly pure.
The letters RWB won’t mean much to those picking up today’s paper — but they mean the world to a thick legion of the performance- car segment. It stands for Rauh- Welt Begriff — translating to Rough World Concept in German. It’s a tuning firm based in Japan, helmed by Akira Nakai San. I’ve never met him, but his fingers are caked in oil and dirt in every single photo of him taken.
He travels the world, transforming 911s of various generations into what you see here — extreme, wide- bodied
monsters that mimic elements of Porsche’s racing history. The nature of his hands- on work ethic, the speed and precision he brings, makes him one of the world’s most popular, and controversial, car builders.
“The wheel alignment was what blew me away,” says Anthony Wong. He owns ‘ Waikato’, the grey 964. The other, ‘ Hekigyoku’, is owned by Nan Su. Each car is named.
“Literally, [ he used] two marks on the concrete pad, fishing line, and a tape measure. And his steelcap boots to kick the bolts undone.
“Me being me, I chucked it on the wheel- alignment machine to check it out. I think the front camber was slightly out, one side was a degree more than the other. For someone just using fishing line and tape, it was unreal.”
There are three RWB Porsches in New Zealand. One was imported, while the other two — Waikato and Hekigyoku — were crafted in the same shed last year; Nakai- san assembling them by hand alongside a captive audience.
“He’s very focused, very structured. He’d pick up things wrong with it that you wouldn’t even think of.
“In a nutshell, he’s your typical guy who’s away every wintry night tinkering on his car, every Saturday, Sunday afternoon. Making sure it’s all perfect.”
The notion of ‘ cutting up’ a Porsche is an extreme one — and something that Anthony didn’t take lightly.
“Remember that back then, even going back two or three years ago when I first bought my car, it was worth nothing.
“The original concept of these 911s was that they were made to hot rod, that concept was always there. It’s just in the recent years that people have become so precious about them.
“I see the purist side of it. But, at the end of the day, it’s just a car. To me, it’s not a special model — it’s not the RS, it’s not the 2.7 RS. [ But] I think these two cars, in their own right, are now special.”
Behind the wheel of Waikato, everything feels quintessentially old school. The steering is heavy but direct, the howl from the RSspecification 3.6- litre flat six arrives like a flood with every prolonged depression of the throttle, and the suspension is no more confronting than that of other ‘ raw’ sports cars.
It’s the clutch everyone struggles with, Anthony says. It’s a race- spec clutch, suited well to track use but a challenge for the unwashed like me. The high pedal placement lends itself to only making the process harder.
As strange as it might sound, the experience feels distinctively Porsche — as if everything underneath is there for no purpose other than to emphasise and magnify all of the elements that make a classic Porsche a . . . classic Porsche.
Not that the point will matter to the detractors, who will continue to be critical not only of these incredible machines, but of mod culture at large.
“Styles change, they come and go. I have my moans about it, but then you understand that everyone’s tastes are different.
“You’ve got so many guys hating on things, it’s someone’s pride and joy, someone’s passion . . . it doesn’t affect you.
“Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t see it that way.”