His barmy builds in the Far East have cultivated a new expression of 911 styling

Controversial his work might be, but there’s no doubt Akira Nakai has had a big influence on how some interpret the 911, particularly in the Far East. His brand, RWB (which stands for RAUH-WELT Begriff) started life as a small body shop in Chiba-ken, a region within Greater Tokyo. Nakai’s formative years in automotive culture were spent within the Japanese drift car scene, but the appearance at his body shop of a tired old Porsche soon gave rise to a bold new direction for both Nakai and the 911.

Nakai soon cultivated his own expression of what the 911 could look like: a wider track, tacked-on wide arches and outlandish aerodynamics all carry more than a hint of ‘bosozoku’ about them (another Japanese automotive sub-genre), bringing aggression and a sense of the underworld to the prim-andproper classic 911.

His methods are unique, his designs often appearing ad-hoc, but RWB has cultivated a loyal following, particularly among a younger audience. Working from a classic 911, 964 or 993 only, each project is different, and each has to be built personally by Nakai-san himself. His travelling of the world to build these cars means there are hundreds of RWB 911s now roaming the planet, and these cars aren’t mere show ponies either: many enthusiasts take their RWBS to the track.

Purists might see an RWB as extreme sacrilege to the 911’s subtleties, but there’s no doubt Nakai-san has brought the 911 to a new audience and cultivated a popular new expression of the 911 and its design philosophy, as referenced by his appearing in the 2015 version of EA Sports’ acclaimed Playstation game,

Need For Speed. Nakai’s work is the outstanding example of the 911 community’s sheer strength in diversity, something which arguably wasn’t there before the turn of the Millennium.