It has been a tradition for the RWB guys to celebrate New Year in a fashionable way at the heart of Tokyo. One should expect a number of Nakai-san's creations to show up at the parking area in front of Hard Rock Cafe Roppongi a night before the big Tokyo Auto Salon event. For car lovers and especially Rough World enthusiasts, your car life journey wouldn't be complete without attending this annual meet, seeing those Porsches in the flesh.
My 12-day pilgrimage in Japan began with RWB in mind. Thinking of being present at this event, made me incredibly excited throughout the 6 hour plane ride. :D And there I was, after my touchdown in Japan. Wait, this scene looked familiar. Ah, I remembered. This lovely pair of tangy orange RWBs were also here for the RWB Meeting last year.
Parked slightly further away was a silver 993 which came early that evening. This RWB didn't have the huge and menacing banana wing like the orange pair previously, but instead a decent classic ducktail spoiler to go with excessively widened rear.
Half an hour before the start of the meeting, more RWBs came pouring in to the small parking area. Despite the cold winter night, the patiently awaiting crowd was excited with notorious rumbling sound of the Porsches and they were pulling out their cameras to capture the moment.
The pack was led by the man who started it all, Akira Nakai-san. The boss himself came with style in his convertible 964.
Some of the most unique RWBs ever to come out from Nakai-san's small workshop at Chiba prefecture were there as well. I'll get to them later. :D
And, I never thought I would see one of my favourite RWB there. Hi RWB Adriana!
RWB traffic jam.
Crowd and owners started catching up with each other, fans were checking up the cars, medias were busy photo shooting and some close RWB friends were helping out the boss to display the latest RWB merchandise, ...
... neatly on the hood of the purple RWB. The newly designed RWB T-shirts were selling at ¥3000 while the much cooler hoodies were priced at ¥7000.
Apart from his busy sales activity, Nakai-san also took some time to entertain his friends and fans who came from all around the world for this meet. I too, got to talk to Nakai-san and I was really glad that he remembered me from the first encounter with him back at Malaysia, during the building of RWB Yamato Nadeshiko and Fuurin Kazan.
Let's take a walk with me around the parking compound to admire the RWBs that came for 2015 New Year Meeting. This is Cynthia, the pearl white RWB with the striking gold Work Meister S1 wheels.
RWB Spearmint Rhino was the first convertible RWB ever created. In fact, Spearmint Rhino is the first RWB I've ever seen in real life during my visit to Tokyo Auto Salon 2012, which displayed under Fatlace booth. :)
The clean red 964 received a complete RWB treatment, but the simple black one was probably from the early versions of RWB. One thing for sure, that thing looks exactly like Wangan Midnight's infamous "Blackbird".
The candy red 930 is Mujer Madura, and metallic blue 964 is Mujer Bonita. Both having Spanish names, and both belong to the same owner. Lucky guy!
Other than the RWB packages you choose, the right body colour will make your car stand out among the rest. Rauh Passion's light blue RWB 993 is a clear example of that. But, I would go with the modest light pink on RWB Adriana.
Not to forget, the silver ducktailed RWB 993, beside the Spearmint Rhino.
The orange duo were 993 RWBRS (previously Rough Unity) and 964 Ms International Co Ltd. The convertible 964 and yes, the purple RWB.
Interested in RWB names? Check here.
The purple one is the latest RWB in Nakai-san's garage. Royal Fender, as he calls the new fender, is the widest one yet designed specifically for 930 and 964 models. With the Narrow style kit at front, ...
... and a huge whale tail spoiler from the Turbo, this 930 can attain its classic 911 retro look, and in many ways still a Rough World machine.
If you liked the previous one, you would even like this more. Meet RWB Maria, the 964 Carrera built to look like the 930 RSR from 70's IROC race cars.
Notice the rivetless fender, RSR-style whale tail and long tail pipes. Oh my, I went around the car countless times admiring it over and over again and thought, this RWB Maria has to be one of the most unique RWB ever created. The owner, Sakai-san from Nagano prefecture loves its clean-simple-retro approach and often brings it to track days for some fun.
As the night was just about to start, Nakai-san went on to celebrate the New Year with fellow RWB friends and families at a nice dining place called Mandy Roppongi Dining Bar, a short 10 minutes walk from the Hard Rock Cafe parking area.
However, I didn't join the boss as I had to get up early for the big event tomorrow (TAS2015)! Despite the ultimately cold night, I soldiered on with my camera to admire the presence of exactly 14 RWBs there. The number was small compared to the meeting they had in January 2014 (30 cars), nevertheless I was contented. Contented because ...
... I experienced this rare moment with my fellow Malaysia friends which I met at Roppongi! And, I think this picture made an awesome ending for this article. :D
Great to talk to you Nakai-san and thank you for bringing those RWBs together, and I hope to see you again, soon! RWB Banzai!
