Browse by Tags
Posted
Dec 29 2008, 09:23 AM
by
Antonio Alvendia
with 3 comment(s)
Hey guys! Due to popular request, I'd decided to put up a desktop photo of Nakai san's Rauh Welt Porsche 930... I know some of you were requesting other photos from the story, give me a little while, and I can try to put some of those pics up later too. Working on something else the moment, stay tuned to Speedhunters! As usual, you can find the new photos in our Speedhunters Desktops section . Enjoy! -Antonio Alvendia
More >>>
Posted
Dec 27 2008, 11:13 AM
by
Antonio Alvendia
with 32 comment(s)
Porsche month on Speedhunters is long over. So why would I decide to write a story about one of Japan's most influential Porsche builders, and have the aggressive wheel lip and stunningly stylish rear fender of Nakai san's Rauh Welt Porsche as the main leader photo? Because Nakai san isn't just a Porsche guy... his style and his influence has much more effect than you might think. Before I continue too far with this story, I just wanted to point out that all these Rauh Welt shop visit...
More >>>
Posted
Sep 25 2008, 09:59 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 3 comment(s)
News flash: I have just uploaded more high resolution RWB goodness and it's now available in our Desktops section.
Have fun trying to choose which one you want!...
More >>>
Posted
Sep 23 2008, 12:54 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 23 comment(s)
As we get closer to the end of the month and our all out on focus on Porsche, it's time for me to finish up my Rauh Welt car features with the much-anticipated look at Nakai-san's personal 1985 Porsche 930. This is a car over 12 years in the making, and in its current state it is definitely one of the most unique Porsche 911's anywhere in the world. From its extensive bodywork to its laps and laps of racing experience, this car has been a testbed for all of RWB's products, and as you saw in my previous feature, it has inspired Porsche owners all over Japan and more recently all over the world....
More >>>
Posted
Sep 18 2008, 12:06 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 5 comment(s)
While the most well known part of Japanese car culture is of course the tuning of Japanese domestic cars, anyone who has been following Speedhunters or Auto Otaku knows that that foreign cars also have a huge following in Japan whether they are Italian exotics or American customs. As far as tuning goes, Porsche cars are certainly one of the most popular import platforms in Japan. If you visit a Japanese book store, you will see a number of Porsche-only enthusiast magazines such as the very well done publication called "911 Days". To see how influential Japanese Porsche tuning has been, one just needs to look at some of our features on Rauh Welt which we have been posting this month. In addition to the magical RWB creations, there a lot more to the Porsche scene in Japan and that's what I will be looking at in this post....
More >>>
Posted
Sep 16 2008, 12:14 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 6 comment(s)
Ah yes, some of the much-anticipated Rauh Welt hi res desktop wallpapers can now be found in our Desktops section. For this batch we have the shot above with the lime green Porsche alongside the AE86 and another shot of the yellow 911 customer car I featured earlier this month....
More >>>
Posted
Sep 15 2008, 08:51 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 15 comment(s)
It’s time to continue our look at some of the iconic Rauh Welt-tuned Porsche examples from Japan and this time we will be looking at a car that belongs to one of Nakai-san’s most dedicated customers. As with many of the other RWB-built cars, this one was built with a strong emphasis on both on circuit performance and style. As Nakai-san himself said, what's the point in racing if your car doesn't look cool?...
More >>>
Posted
Sep 08 2008, 04:45 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 22 comment(s)
Back in May,my brother came to visit me in Japan and I took him to Tsukuba Circuit to show him the track when we came across a private track session hosted by our friends from Rauh Welt. At the time I posted some photos of the RWB S15 with it's new paintjob, but I have been patiently waiting until our Porsche Month to post a few of the other photos from that day. Besides all of the RWB-tuned cars, there were also a few other machines that joined in on the fun. What could be better than watching tons of cool cars taking to the track on a nice late spring afternoon at Tsukuba?...
More >>>
Posted
Sep 02 2008, 09:03 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 21 comment(s)
In Japanese, there is a term called "omakase" which translates to "leave it to you". Sometimes the term is used at sushi bars when a customer leaves it to the chef to choose the finest fish of the day. When it comes to Nakai-san and his famous Porsche tuning shop, Rauh Welt it is kind of like a sushi restaurant with a seasoned chef. Many of Nakai-san's customers also use the omakase method when it comes to having him build their cars. After all, why would you not trust a guy who holds legendary status for his tuning style?...
More >>>
Posted
Sep 02 2008, 05:29 AM
by
Rod Chong
with 39 comment(s)
Dictionary.com defines as warrior as follows: 1: a person engaged or experienced in warfare; soldier. 2: a person who shows or has shown great vigor, courage, or aggressiveness, as in politics or athletics. Definition number one is a relatively straight description of a soldier, but definition number two more points to the character of the warrior. Occasionally I'll meet people who very much have this feeling of warriorism about them, even though acts of soldiering may be the last thing on their...
More >>>
Posted
Sep 01 2008, 01:02 AM
by
Rod Chong
with 12 comment(s)
Around two weeks ago, the Speedhunters crew had the special opportunity to meet and interview famed Japanese Porsche tuner and drift culture pioneer, Nakai-san from Rauh Welt. As the man who created so many of the key style elements that we see on today's drift cars, I wanted to try and understand why he had chosen to now devote his life to building and tuning Porsches. Why would one of the original founders of the old school drift crew, Rough World, only focus on building rear-engined German...
More >>>
Posted
Aug 26 2008, 02:09 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 7 comment(s)
had too much content for one post, so here's another batch of coverage from last weekend's Idlers Games at Tsukuba. Let's jump right into it. I took this opening shot during the first lap of the Super Cup race. Imagine over 30 fully tuned Porsches' and other makes taking to the track for fender to fender racing and you can imagine the spectacle. On top of all this, the track was wet making things even more tricky. Older Porsche cars are not known for being the most driver friendly, and you can bet that these guys were using some serious skill to keep their cars on the track. My heart was beating like crazy watching these guys scream past my camera in the wet....
More >>>
Posted
Aug 25 2008, 10:49 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 18 comment(s)
I was originally planning on joining Rod and Antonio on their trip to Suzuka for Super GT, but in the end I decided I would stick around here as there were two events going on that I wanted to cover. The first of them was the latest match of the Idlers Games at Tsukuba Circuit and although Super GT would have been awesome, I was quite happy with what I got to see at Tsukuba this weekend. If you are a frequent reader of this site or Auto Otaku, then you probably have seen my Idlers coverage in the past. Of all the events I have been to in Japan, this one is certainly one of my favorites. Idlers events always have the coolest cars to see and this one was no different. As typical for this time of year, skies were gray and rain was falling here and there, but that didn't stop anyone from coming to the circuit and running the wheels of their machines....
More >>>
Posted
Aug 18 2008, 11:30 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 6 comment(s)
The fun just keeps on coming. Today we found ourselves down in Kashiwa city in Chiba Prefecture where we spent nearly the entire day visiting the Rauh WELT shop, shooting photos of everything we laid out eyes on and talking with Nakai-san who is an iconic figure in much more than just the Porsche world. I think I can speak for all three of us when I say that stepping into Nakai-san's world was an absolutely eye-opening and exhilarating experience. Antonio in particular was star struck as he talked with Nakai who just happens to be one of his idols and the originator of the car style that he (and the rest of us) are so fond of....
More >>>
Posted
Jun 30 2008, 09:44 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 6 comment(s)
As I woke up early in the morning to head to Tsukuba Circuit for the Interclub Historic Car Race, I looked outside to find it pouring rain. "Oh great, hopefully it will stop raining soon", I thought to myself. But as it came time to head out, there was no end to the rain in sight. No we aren't just talking about sprinkles, but a hard steady rain that that leaves huge puddles all over the place. I entertained the idea of forgetting about it and staying home, but I decided I would be brave and after a quick stop at the conbini (7-11) to pick up a rain coat, it was off to the track. When I got to the track for the place was already bustling with race cars and drivers......
More >>>
Posted
May 30 2008, 02:20 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 19 comment(s)
The S15 Silvia from Rauh Welt is like the cult classic of Japanese tuner cars. It may not have quite the recognition of something like the Cyber Evo or Top Secret Supra, but the people that see this car usually go crazy over it. If the car in the picture above doesn't look familiar, that's because this car used to be painted in a flat black color scheme. If you read Auto Otaku, you have probably seen my photos of the old version. I was at Tsukuba the other day where a number of Rauh Welt...
More >>>