"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.
By the time you read this post, Nakai-san would have already boarded his flight back to Japan and Singapore's 1st ever RWB would have been completed and let loose on our streets.
But let's rewind back a couple of days (before the weekend) to build day 3. With most of the work completed the night before, i pretty much figured the final day of the build would be a short one, so instead of dropping by after work, i drove over during my lunch break to have a final peek at the build process.
As you can see from the above pictures, the car was already pretty much complete by the time i got there, they even washed it!
The lucky and very brave owner even got his very own RWB Singapore T-shirt for the occasion.
Cameo photobomb by Sasha Grey the E36 behind a visibly focused Nakai.
Nakai-san carefully working on some minor finishing touches.
Windscreen decal backing pulled off, Singapore very 1st RWB is good to go!
RED meets red.
As the owner of the car also runs his very own bicycle shop/cafe, he brought along a custom made matching two-wheeler which received a RWB-lite treatment shortly after i left.
Some light buffing by the master builder.
With some last photos taken i said my goodbyes to both Nakai-san and the very friendly owner for sharing and letting us in on the entire build process of his RWB. If you ever see a bright red 911 with "Rauh Welt" emblazoned on the windscreen, be sure to give a friendly wave!
Passion, focus, dedication and as it turns out, speed. Such is the level of experience the Grand Meister of RWB has, that by the time i arrived straight after a day of work, Nakai-san and the team of people helping out at the shop have already begun packing up for the day and as you can see from the opening shot, Singapore's RWB #01 is almost complete.
With the majority of work already accomplished by the end of the first day, subsequent build days allowed Nakai-san the time to fine tune the details of the car.
For those who know, the beauty of RWBs lie in the details.
The finishing touches to some very wide rubber.
With most of the work done for the day, Nakai-san got to chill out.
Plenty of pictures were taken...
...And the lucky owner fired up the car for some early seat time. Looks like Christmas has come early for him!
Leftovers?
As everyone called it a day, it looks like Build Day 3 will be a rather quick one and i'm guessing by the time you're reading this, Singapore's very first RWB will be pretty much done!
