We recently had the privilege of being involved in the birth of another Rauh Welt Begriff (RWB) US-based Porsche project (our first was Hoonigan brand director Brian Scotto's 965).
RWB customer JM Yang contacted us about providing the wheels for his cherished 993 that was due to get the full attention of RWB master, Akira Nakai. As they say, timing is everything, and when JM contacted us we had just finished the engineering for our new Formula LTW forged 3-piece wheel. What better car to showcase the first set than an RWB 993? The answer is that question is merely a rhetorical one, because there is no better car than an RWB 911.
Nakai-san arrived in LA and got straight to work on JM's 993. Though Nakai-san has built many cars over the past few years, he sees each one as a fresh start. He spends time with the owner and chooses his designs carefully. Some builds get somewhat subdued changes (relative to other RWB builds), while others can come across as total in-your-face Im-a-race-car-now craziness. As you can see JM's car is more of the latter than the former.
We created a set of 18x10.5 and 18x13 Formula LTWs for this build. Finished in a classic motorsports gold and polished center/lip combo, and assembled using titanium hardware, this first set of F-LTWs seemed perfect for this build. Both light and strong, we hope JM puts them to good use on a race track someday - just like the original RWB Idlers Club back in Japan (those guys beat the crap out of their Porsches).
During the build our good friend Magnus Walker stopped by to check things out. Magnus and Nakai-san had met several times previously, and by now they are good friends. After three days of hard work, Nakai-san finished this project, which was christened "RWB Medusa". Nakai-san works with each owner to come up with a special name that is personalized to the owner and the car. So why Medusa? As JM puts it, "In Greek mythology Medusa is a character that is so visually overpowering that you simply have to look. And once you do, you're done. You can never look away"
Less than a week after completion, RWB Medusa made its public debut at the Offset Kings event that took place during the Formula Drift Long Beach season opener. This was a special event in that it got together five US RWB builds in one place, including one of the very first, the aforementioned Hoonigan 965. There aren't many US RWB cars so to have five in one place was a real treat for anyone who was fortunate enough to see them in person.
There's just something special about being a part of an RWB project, and rest assured this isn't the last one for fifteen52. Don't be surprised if you read about another one in the near future...