1995 Porsche 911 (993) Turbo RAUH-Welt BEGRIFF “Rotana” Tarmac Works - T43-014-RO (diecast)
Published 07/29/22
Some people don’t settle for common, average or regular. Akira Nakai is such a person, so it was not enough to “have a Porsche”. He wanted something special, so he customized his car. Turns out he did such a remarkable job that people hired him to do the same for their 911s. Consequently, what began as an after-hours hobby in the 80s is nowadays a huge business venture. Forty years later Nakai continues working on customer’s Porsches, giving them his “rough world” style. And once in a while he works on a car for himself. In 2013 he decided that he wanted to have a turbo-charged race car. Until then, he only raced normally aspirated 911s, like his famous Stella Artois. So, he bought a used 1995 993 Turbo and got to work. When done, he had his most powerful and focused race car to date, the Rotana.
To power his new track toy, he wanted something brutal. So he ordered a specially built 3.6-liters boxer-6 (originally from a 964) with upgraded internals. He also used a mid-size GRedy turbo, specifically tuned for track duty. With all the upgrades, the engine delivers a frightening 575 hp. The gearbox is the stock 993’s 6-speed manual transmission, however the suspension received improvements. Since Rotana was a pure track weapon, Nakai gutted the interior to save weight. At the rear Nakai designed a removable bumper that he attaches when the car is on the street. And of course, he used absurdly wide Work Meiser M1 wheels. Yet, as if all that was not radical enough, he painted the car a special flat purple.
Some of Akira Nakai’s cars receive special names, and this one he called Rotana. Why? According to him, earlier that year, he was in the UAE working on a customer’s car. One day he was walking down a street when a wild matte purple Lamborghini blasted by him, while he was in front of some building owned by the Rotana Hotels group. That’s when he had the idea to create a turbo-charged race car for himself. Nakai being Nakai, more than probably that is really how it went down.
In my eyes the Rotana is Akira Nakai’s wildest creation to date. I think that since it is his personal car, he pulled all the stops. Though it is a dedicated track weapon, it is obvious that aesthetics plays a HUGE part here. For instance, look at that ginormous bosozoku wing. He had to add supporting struts because the wing would not support itself at speed. In other words, it is a case of form over function, done just for the looks. Nonetheless, I still admire his work because he makes a 911 look like what he wants. As I said many times, his style is an acquired taste. While that may be so, his work is much appreciated, and he has a huge fan base. To the total outrage of many Porsche enthusiasts… 😁
Tarmac Works released this model in October of 2019, and it is supposedly a limited edition. According to a card that came in the box, mine is #0070 (of how many?). Up until the beginning of 2020 it was widely available everywhere. However, because of the pandemic, I let it pass. By early 2021, when I resolved to get one, it was gone from eBay and AliX. With that I thought it would remain on my regret list, with the other models that I missed out. Yet, a couple of months ago I found this one on AliX (for a 50% premium 😣) and bought it on the spot. As always with Tarmac Works, the model looks the part – I couldn’t find any discrepancy with the 1:1. Consequently, a (very) nice acquisition for those who developed a taste for the RWB style.
