American scientist Edwin H. Land was once famously quoted as saying “if anything is worth doing, it’s worth doing to excess”, and nobody follows that mantra quite like Japan’s Akira Nakai, the Porsche fringe boutique artist behind Rauh-Welt Begriff. There is something beautiful about the concept of ‘the car as art’. Cars are intrinsically appliance-like, used by the vast majority of the world as a means of transportation, while at the other end of the spectrum is art, an extravagance that some find to be useless frivolities. Nakai-San likes to blur the lines where the two ends of the spectrum bend back around to meet again. The cars of RWB are artful for the sake of art, and yet they still provide all of the transportation functions of a car.
A couple of years ago, McGrath Keen found a video on YouTube that showed off one of Akira Nakai’s earlier creations, and was instantly attracted to the widebody design. If you’ve spent any time around the internet, you’ll know the rest of the story goes something like this: father shows son RWB video, son has already seen RWB video, father and son bond over RWB video, father and son decide to have their own RWB commissioned. It’s a tale as old as time. Okay, maybe not.
McGrath is father of long-time Porsche ace racing driver, Grand Am champion, and all around good guy, Lehman Keen (who himself is quite a Porsche fanatic, with a Viper Green 4.0 liter enhanced 997.1 GT3 RS dubbed ‘Frog’ as his personal beloved). Together, the father and son duo worked together to make their RWB dream to come true.
The end result is the beautiful red Rauh-Welt 993 shown in the newest eGarage video. Nakai San is known for making art out of Porsches, and eGarage is becoming known for making art out of video. Their take on this one is another excellent quality short film showing off the build process, some candid shots of Nakai doing his thing, and some interview pieces with Leh and McGrath. The ride along video is worth watching simply for that glorious exhaust note. I don’t think I’ve ever heard any 993 sound quite so good.
Other Porsche Blog Posts You Will Enjoy
A RAUH-Welt Begriff Porsche Made from Legos
Meet “The Sopranos”. China’s First RWB Porsche 993
What It’s Like To Drive Nearly 200 MPH In The 835 HP Switzer-Built 997 Turbo “E911″