RWB stands for Rauh-Welt Begriff, or “rough-world concept.” The construction comes from Akira Nakai of Chiba-Ken, southeast of Tokyo. Nakai is famous for his bigger constructions: crazy builds of 911s. He works on other marques, but Porsche is dear to his heart, hence the Japanese idea expressed in German.
Darren Yoo, 34, lives in Glendale, California, northeast of Los Angeles. To own an RWB 911 has been his goal since 2008 when he saw one featured in the now-defunct Euro Tuner magazine. He bought a 1995 Porsche 911 C2 (993) on December 28, 2014 and started working on it January 7, 2015. “It took eight months. We stripped the car down to the bare shell, shaved the interior, engine bay and hood area with the help of Phaze2 and Jorgie Built. It’s fully re-sprayed in and out, and we replaced a lot of parts that looked old or needed changing.” Long and the crew at LTMW offered much inspiration as well.
Nakai came over from Japan and he’s not known for his command of English. “Believe it or not, communication wasn’t an issue. It was fun interacting with him, saying why I picked the color and the whole theme. My first image of Nakai-san was him wearing a black T-shirt and camo pants, so I knew I had to use that for the interior. Rogelio’s Auto Upholstery nailed it. I was fortunate to witness the first RWB build in Los Angeles by my friend Vince Wong of iForged, so I knew what to expect when it came to my turn, but the overall experience exceeded those expectations.”
The build’s most difficult aspect turned out to be, well, everything. “Putting the whole car together after it was sprayed with the new color. It’s easier taking things off, but there was so much that needed to be put back properly, it was no fun. Especially doing a full wire tuck, individual throttle bodies, tuning, etc. Bisi at Bisimoto Engineering brought the car back to life.”
Speaking of the new color: “It’s Sealing Wax Red from the old VW bus. And all RWB kits are sealed by Nakai-san at the finish. It’s a sort of silent agreement between him and the owner that no one should tamper with the car once the kit is put on by Nakai-san himself.”
Which brings us to the question of how much did it cost? “Last time I sat down to calculate, I was at $157,000. It’s part of the deal that besides the bodykit, you cover Nakai-san’s hotel and food.” The bodykit, by the way, is fiberglass.
As for engine work, Yoo says “nothing too crazy” went on. “It was fully torn apart to clean and reseal.” He added an AEM Infinity ECU and a Fabspeed exhaust.
“My intention wasn’t to build a fast RWB. I wanted it to look good, sound good and, of course, be reliable. The throttle bodies were neo-chromed by Floss Design to add a little personal touch.” This same finish adorns the BBS E88 wheels and the CAE short shifter from Hard Motorsports. “The way it shifts, how crisp and precise it feels, you really have to drive the car to appreciate it.”
“This whole build to me was a redemption. I had some mishaps with my previous 997 GT3 build. I was called a ‘hackjob builder.’ I wanted to prove people wrong by taking this project seriously, which is why I wanted to strip the whole car down so I could see what was going on and what needed to be replaced.
“The car is properly put together now. I am proud to show this build to anyone without hiding anything. It was awesome to work with the best and put our heads together. It’s what car building should be about — strong friendship.”
– This post originally appeared in Super Street Magazine.