I've always enjoyed my travels. When an opportunity comes for me to get unto a plane and set off for another country, it always feels like a new adventure. Perhaps, this comes down to me not really being the sort to have many chances to fly out of our little red dot on a regular basis. But through the course of my limited journeys and the "Speed-Huntings" i manage to sneak in, i have had the pleasure and blessings in being able to meet some very cool people and visiting some awesome car shops and shows. Yasuaki "Bob" Suzuki from Studie AG, Mark from Fatlace, Charles from the Hong Kong BMW Club, Luke from Maiham Media, Dino the real "SpeedHunter", Alexi from Nori-Yaro and so much much more. Yes, even the friendly designer and his hentai colleague i met at a Tempura joint in Shinjuku counts as a memorable experience. With my horrid Japanese and their limited grasp of English, it was thru them that i learnt, "Listening isn't just by using our ears, but our heart". Those kind words stuck with me since.
So where does all this lead? Well, to Thailand i guess. Having pushed my return date to the next evening, i had one mission (besides all the shopping), to make a trip down to RWB Thailand! Sometimes, when visiting a new place, you sort of have an idea of what to expect. For me, on this trip down, i had pretty much no idea at all. Even the taxi driver was stumped after dropping me off, returning twice to ask if i got the right address. As here i was, a tourist, asking to be dropped off in front of a building undergoing final construction work. Of course this was the right place, early pictures and sketches i saw on the interwebs proved this. A sleek edgy looking joint.
I entered the compound and wandered off to the back where i finally met Mr Chin Kanitpong, savvy property businessman and from the looks of it, a big RWB fan. As you are reading this, the building that will eventually house RWB Thailand is probably undergoing final touches to ready it for launch on the 1st of June. Sadly, as there was still construction going on, there were no RWBs sitting inside. As i chatted with Mr Chin, it became apparent he was not only into RWBs and Porsches, but into BMWs too! In fact, a short walk later, he opened the doors to one of his toy rooms. And inside... were these babies...
A full race-spec Mk 1 Golf GTI in Jager-bombing orange! And what's that lurking in the shadows behind?
Only an evil looking E30 M3. Running an E36 M3 engine and also totally stripped out for the tracks. It also sported a RHD conversion done locally.
This was no garage-queen, it's built to go fast!
Lovely carbon bits all around. At this point in time, i would have left happy, just seeing these beauties and having had some awesome car-chat with Mr Chin. But being a truely awesome and gracious host(+ great car-guy all round), he actually brought me over to his home to take a look at his RWB baby.
What does a man have to do to have a garage like this?
I might sound like i'm gushing but that couldn't be further away from the truth. It might not be the first time i've laid my eyes on an RWB car, but these machines are still a sight to behold, they just look soooo mad and soooo crazy.
Rauh Welt Begriff!!!
They might all look quite close, but there really are subtle differences setting each car apart.
And i don't mean the stickers. It seems each hand-crafted build takes Nakai-San a few days of intense work to complete, and he does so without the use of complicated measuring equipment, prefering to build the car with 'feel', rather then science.
This also means, no 2 cars are ever exactly the same.
Peek-a-boo!
As i stood there taking in all the details and shooting as many pictures as i could, Mr Chin fired her up, letting the flat-six sing through a custom built RWB exhaust system. Incorporating a bypass switch should you ever feel the need to wake up the neighbours.
The fitment might look batshit crazy, but it doesn't rub at all. One of the details which takes Nakai-San hours to perfect during the build process.
Custom Work Wheels.
Sharing space with the RWB 993 is this rarely driven 996. Perhaps when a 996 kit comes out, this car will undergo Nakai's craftwork as well?
Sitting inside too, was this Honda Moto Compo. A strange addition to 2 German Powerhouses right? But it seems, this little motorbike was Mr Chin's toy when he was a young lad of 10 years. How lucky! When i was 10, i was overjoyed to receive Legos.
And a parting shot, here's the very friendly Mr Chin. You sir, are a man of great taste, it was great to have met you and big thanks for your wonderful hospitality. Here's to RWB Thailand's success!!!
"The internets is srs biznass". Jokes aside, the World wide web has really transformed the way everyone around the World interacts with one another, allowing each and everyone of us access to all sorts of data with just a few keystrokes and a click of the mouse. This hyper highway of information has also meant that localized car cultures no longer stay within the confines of communities nor countries, and in the past few years, have allowed sharing of automotive cultural ideas and ideologies across all continents. Non more so than the cult of Rauh Welt Begriff (RWB) and the man behind it, Akira Nakai.
After years of visiting other countries to catch glimpses of RWBs, the day has finally come for us to welcome Nakai-san to our local shores where a build has been commissioned by one brave individual.
Taking an electric powered saw to the fenders of a pristine 964 will probably shatter the hearts and minds of many a purist (especially in Singapore where air-cooleds are quite rare with prices reflecting this fact) but for the converts, it's the process of realizing a dream.
I managed to drop by after work on build night 1, to take a peek at RWB's cult artisan at work and to document what i can of Singapore's very first RWB build. And since it's a Rough World build, let's document it in rough monochrome style.
Nakai-san was already deep into his "zone" and fully focused when i arrived.
No one disturbs the man when he's working in his element.
Tools of the trade.
Settling the car down for the night as RWB-SG #01 gets pushed back into the shop and Nakai-san takes a breather, finishing up early for Day 1.
Classic.
Some time off for the owner and the builder.
Working on his stance.
A last look before closing shop and heading out for dinner.
Build day (and night) 2 beckons.
Took a couple of photos after an early morning breakfast run with some friends and decided to do up a "Nostalgic Heroes" parody.
4 cars from 2 different counties.
Best combo of cars ever? I should think so!
