While most automotive freaks on a trip to Kansai would have jumped onto a bullet train and headed towards the capital of Tokyo, our more leisurely holiday saw us instead, taking in the sights, smells and sounds of cultural Kyoto, quirky Nara, and vibrant Osaka. And as our vacation came to an end, there was just one more place for us to visit.
See the rather muted building back there? Look closely and you might just make out the words, "RAUH WELT". I think it is safe to assume most viewers would have seen the articles and photos of the main shop in Chiba, but as that is of somewhat considerable distance away from where i was based, we visited the next best thing. RWB Kansai!
Located pretty much in between the cities of Osaka and Kobe, i'm guessing this is where the Kinki RWBs hang out. One part sales office for niche automobiles, the other half houses Kansai's RWB base.
I wondered what conversations went on within these walls.
Jamie sitting inside the RWB office. I think not many Singaporean girls will get this chance. :P
Plenty of quality literature here... Strange thing i realised was finding these "mooks" even within Japan, isn't that easy when you're not within the confines of the Auto Salon.
Which is your favourite?
Maybe i should have bought one of these... Hmm...
Mini Porsches on the table. There was Porsche memorabilia pretty much everywhere. Awesome.
Is this the Tamiya built with the special RWB transkit?
Or do you prefer something smaller?
Looking outside the windows, i spot a familiar shape or two. It was by this time, Ichiraku Toshi-san arrived after taking time of his busy schedule. We had a brief chat and shortly after, headed outside to take a look at the compound.
So... How does one feel when standing in front of an RWB Porsche? I don't know about you but it sure feels great! Although not my first time seeing an RWB in the flesh, the same feeling of awe and amazement still fills me up inside. These cars just have such presence. Even the local on the bicycle had to stop to take a look.
My previous encounters with RWBs earlier this year at the 2012 Tokyo Auto Salon and in RWB Thailand have both been 993s. Today, in front of me, is a viper green 964 and an absolutely stunning 930 coated with the sweetest sugary hue of metallic burgundy.
So sweet you can almost lick it! It was at this point some rain started to drizzle down, and Toshi-san brought out a couple of brollys for us.
You might imagine the slight drizzle to dampen our mood, but on the contrary. The little raindrops just made the cars pop even more and giving some extra depth to the pictures. Check out the little dribbles of water on that those curvaceous hip. That's just duuuuurrrteh...
As you can see, i totally geeked out.
And fell in love with the 930.
How much is it kind sir?
Ah, about 428mang Yens. (That'd be 4,280,000 Yens)
*Faints* (That's about SGD$64,000... For overseas readers, that sort of money can't even buy you a brand new Corolla here)
Local automotive laws be damned!!!
If you coughed up what it roughly cost to buy a brand new Corolla in Singapore, this is what you can see in your driveway for the same amount of money. Such thoughts make us sad...
Sitting within the same compound under a tarp was another Porsche, not an RWB though. This is a 964 RSR that's not registered for us on the street and has seen plenty of use on the circuits of Japan. Check out that center exhaust.
Onto something a little closer to my heart, I spotted this pair on the way to the office. I have seen pictures of Toshi-San's E36 on the internets and from what i remember it was black. I was actually secretly hoping to see it here because i was secretly hoping to see a BMW decked out in RWB colors.
So imagine my surprise when i see not one but two E36s!
Nothing really wild about these cars other though. From what i learnt from Toshi-San, E36 318is's are actually quite popular track-day cars here in Japan. Does this make my car cooler now? RWB approved!!!
After much more oogling, it was time for us to leave. Hopefully we did not take up too much of Toshi-San's time and not wanting to use up even more of it, we declined his offer of a ride to the train station. The weather was still good, so we decided to make our way back by foot.
But of course, before we parted and said our goodbyes, i had to have a shot with the cars. Purple 930, you will be mine one day... Oh yes... You will be mine...
As we made our way back to the station, i made a hasty u-turn to pick up a RWB sticker! Big thanks to RWB Kansai and especially to Ichiraku Toshi-San for being so kind to let us poke around. One day perhaps...For higher res. images, click the thumbnails below.
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