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About Me

My name is John Barnett, I am currently enrolled at FIU and I have been a massive fan of Akira Nakai and his company RAUH-Welt Begriff for almost a decade now. His cars, to me, are a work of art and his life story is incredibly interesting, from a drift team owner to a mechanic and then to being an international car community icon is an inspiring story. I hope to use this page to spread awareness about some of these cars that I feel people deserve to know about.

This page is a project for Visual Design for Globalized Media.

Banner and Profile Picture Image Credits: https://cutt.ly/8xh8kCJ

https://cutt.ly/Vxh8vAY

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RWB 993 – Medusa. This beautiful 993 is nicknamed “Medusa” and is certainly a very unique build unlike many others. “Medusa” was built in North America and the build number for the car isn’t known but the iconic body shape and branding lets everyone immediately know from one glance that its a RWB. The thing that makes this car unique is that it appears to be built to look like a rally race version of a Porsche, similar to the Safari 911. The four protruding lights from the hood are a very recognizable feature that most rally cars have in order to better see in dark environments. With how low this car is though, it probably shouldn’t leave the asphalt.

Image Credits: https://cutt.ly/cxh3RXl

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France #1 RWB Champagne. Similar to the American 911, this car was the French trailblazer for RWB as it was the first one built in France. This car was built to be a track monster rather than the more show-car aesthetic Nakai typically does. Here’s a list of some of the mods this animal has: 

-High compression pistons -Forged connecting rods -Custom camshafts -Custom cylinder heads -Reinforced valve springs / Titanium cups -993 custom intake -993 flowmeter -Dynamic admission -High flow injectors -High flow gasoline pump -Collectors / silencers -Lightened engine flywheel -Single-belt lightweight pulley kit

Nakai himself drove this car in France and along with being a master mechanic, he is also a phenomenal driver. This should be obvious to anyone who knows anything about Nakai’s past as he was the leader of a drift crew in Japan for numerous years. 

Image Credits: https://cutt.ly/txhMGIR

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This 1990 Porsche 964 Carrera 4 was the first American RWB 911 in the history of the company. This beautiful Mignonette Green 911 was the pioneer of RWB into the United States of America where it was meet with overwhelmingly positive feedback from RWB enthusiasts who hadn’t been able to access RWB in their country until now. This singular car opened the doors for RWB all around the globe as they had previously only done work in Japan. Also since Nakai does all his work with his own hands and at the clients garage, he had to fly down with his tools and finish the whole project within a couple of days, then fly back and continue on to the next one. This shows Nakai’s deep dedication to his craft and his willingness to cater to the customer.

Image Credits: https://cutt.ly/MxhNqjG

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Two RWB Porsches that stand out from the crowd are these Porsche 997′s pictured above. Typically, Nakai only worked on the air-cooled 911′s, however, these two are water-cooled Porsches that have received the RWB treatment. The water-cooled Porsches are looked down upon in the community due to them being so different from was made the original Porsches so great. Although hesitant at first, the RWB community slowly accepted them into the fold trusting in the master of Porsches, Akira Nakai. There would only be a handful of 997 RWB’s ever made but they are still an important part of the companies history as this led to the company branching out of just air-cooled Porsches.

Image Credit: https://cutt.ly/xxhVqrk

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Build number #001. The first ever RWB build ever made, the Stella Artois is the pinnacle of Akira Nakai’s ingenuity and creativity. One of one, this 12 year project is the most original and unique of any of the RWB’s and is Akira Nakai’s personal car that got him into the industry. This work of art speaks for itself by smashing typical Porsche standards with its wide fender flairs, massive wing, and ground-scraping bumpers. This car sparked the creation of hundreds of other handmade masterpieces just like this one, each tailor-made for it’s owner and handmade by Nakai himself.

Image Credits: https://cutt.ly/cxhZGcj