Shadowing the Rockstar: Beneath RWB Noah

“Let me smoke” was Akira Nakai’s first words as he landed last February 8 from a late night flight from Tokyo. The man behind RAUH-Welt Begriff was in town for Car Porn Racing’s 12th RWB masterpiece.

Behind the drawing board this 964 is no ordinary widebody creation, as this was a build that was carefully thought of. After more than a year of planning, Angie King’s follow-up to the polarizing “RWB Victoria” is unique in the Rough World realm in its own right. Featuring a backdated front mated with 964 side skirts and a full rear end, this mix of aesthetics hints at her penchant for breaking the norm - even with something already outlandish as an RWB. To top things off, the rear ducktail receives an ultra-aggressive additional championship wing stacked on top of the ducktail. Angie’s dream was to build a 964 for the road which can perform on the occasional visits to the track - and be simply beautiful just by staring at it.

Known for its bespoke creations, Car Porn Racing added new tricks to the old 964 such as a modern RWB LED projector headlamps and a full carbon fiber interior. Retro-modern is the key theme for this build, and Angie King stuck to it to a tee.

Nakai-San’s itinerary was simple: Arrive Thursday night, build two days straight, hang out after the build and leave back to Japan. Rockstar.

During the early stages of the build, Nakai-San lays out his tools fresh from an aluminum Rimowa luggage carrier adorned with stickers from the RWB community around the globe. Once he shifts into work mode, Nakai-San turns into a man of a few words with several essentials. To keep him fueled throughout the build, the following items are supplied to him 24/7: power tools, his signature coconut drink, and a pack of cigarettes – in red.

Bearing witness to the first backdate build in Manila, I was dying curious as to how he would execute this particular build. He started off by cutting a few parts off the front cowl to make way for the signature early-generation Porsche signal lamps. The modifications made to the front end are quite extensive as the hood is extended by 3 inches to complement the shorter front bumper and the new front grill.

As the new front fascia is set and aligned, Nakai-San fits the rear ducktail immediately after. Next thing we know we’re at the crossroads already, as the pristine condition manual 964 was ready to its fenders to be cut. The 13.5 inch wide rear fenders were about to be grafted on the body. And after briefly measuring, the factory fenders were cut and RWB’s signature wide fenders were installed.

After taking a 30-minute lunch break, Nakai-San then proceeds with cutting front fenders – a ritual that by this time is already second nature to him. With the first day about to end, he decides to improvise an additional front bumper vent by cutting it manually. Just like that, day one was done.

Fast forward to the second day, I asked Nakai-San his target completion time for the car. He quickly responded, “5 PM. Okay, dinner and then car meet.” By this time, I quickly messaged a few friends for an intimate RWB late night meet with the Car Porn Racing and Stance Pilipinas family. This was something different for the local car scene. This was for Manila.

While I was behind the computer sketching a quick flyer for the meet, down at the build floor Nakai-San was already working on the front fender seals - making sure that the car was 100% aligned… all by using his trained eyes. Being curious as to how he aligns the car, I get a conventional tape to measure and check. Let’s just say I’m beyond impressed with his measurements. With more than 200 builds under his belt, Nakai-San simply knows Porsches by heart. Everything felt and looked fresh as if it rolled out from a special division in Stuttgart.

With the car almost complete, Nakai-San installs its signature RAUH-Welt Begriff banner and shakes hands with Angie. RWB Noah is born - a tribute to Angie’s beloved departed pet. Painted in a special hue of Porsche Satin Black Metallic with a few hints of carbon fiber and decked out with constrasting gold racing stripes and matching 3-piece Magnus Walker x 1552 Outlaw 3pc wheels, Noah was simply gorgeous from any angle. The total work-hours for the transformation? 22 hours, including breaks to check on his pink flip phone while smoking his cigarette.

RWB Noah is deemed to compliment Victoria’s path of being a fully-built car from ground up. Despite its transformation to an RWB, Noah is far from done, and i’ll be right there to bring you up to speed once some updates have been made to it later this year.

After a quick drive for a meet at Fort Bonifacio, Akira Nakai bids farewell to his latest creation and takes the first flight the following morning just like nothing happened. On the other hand, the owner, Angie King is about to take her car out for Sunday breakfast.

I recall Nakai-San’s words while driving him back to his hotel. I look back on a small snippet of our conversation that sums it up from the man himself:

“Do you ever get tired Nakai-San?”

“No, this is my style.. Rough”

Words by Kevin Carlos

Photos by Kevin Carlos, Jakob Go