1990 Porsche 911 (964) Carrera 4 RAUH-Welt Begriff “Waikato” Tarmac Works - T43-017-WKT (diecast)
Published 11/19/21
RAUH-Welt BEGRIFF, founded in 1997 by Akira Nakai, started quite small. In essence it was a small customization garage in Chiba, Japan. Nakai had a huge love for Porsches, however, he wanted his 911 to look unique. His first work, the “Stella Artois”, attracted a LOT of attention whenever he drove it – both on the streets and on the track. With that, Porsche enthusiasts began bringing their 911s to receive the “RWB look”. Slowly, and almost just due to word of mouth, RWB’s fame spread and gained the world. In a few years’ time there were RWB shops all over the world. However, what really is outstanding is that each and every one of the RWB cars are worked on by Akira Nakai himself. You go to one of these shops, they order the body kit and when it arrives, Nakai flies from Japan to work on your car.
In 2016, RAUH-Welt opened its first shop in New Zealand. Two North Island locals, Anthony Wong and Nan Su, wanted their 911 (964) Carrera 4 to stand out. With everything set and the cars ready, in June Akira Nakai arrived. The first car to go under the blade (literally) was Wong’s. Previously, his factory-built M64 3600 cm³ boxer-6 was rebuilt into RS Cup specs. It also received a custom exhaust and RS intake, along with a race-spec roll cage. The interior received Recaro seats and a Momo steering wheel, with everything covered in Alcantara. Nakai-san went to work and when done, that run-of-the-mill 1990 964 was a very different beast. With the outlandish body kit and huge Work Meister wheels it became a show-stopper. Soon after, Nan Su’s car was also ready. Here you can see a short interview with Anthony Wong at the end of the build.
Many of Akira Nakai’s creations receive a special name. With that, Wong’s car became known as Waikato. It got that name because of the Waikato river, which flows through the North Island. And also because of Waikato Draught, a local beer (supposedly) consumed by the barrels during the build. Waikato was initially a charcoal gray, yet in 2017 it became blue. Not very long after, in 2018, Anthony Wong got it wrapped. And he chose a very interesting livery: Rothmans. Therefore, sometimes the car is referred to as the “Rothmans RWB”, though the real name is Waikato. On the other hand, “Hekigyoku” (Nan Su’s car), continues the same metallic purple.
I am the first to admit that a RWB 911 is probably hard to live with. And of course, that freakishly wide body kit is an acquired taste. Nonetheless, all that aesthetical craziness has struck a chord within me. Yes, I think it looks cool. VERY cool, I dare say. Along with Martini and Jägermeister, I think Rothmans is one of the best “corporate” race liveries ever. So when I first saw Tarmac Works’ Waikato, it was love at first sight. Though in photos it looked great, I didn’t know what I would get – I never saw one of their models up close. In addition, to add more stress, I bought it on AliExpress 😲.
In other words, I was kind of nervous about this purchase. Nonetheless, as you can see in these photos, it looks good. No, not good, it looks AWESOME! I was truly flabbergasted by the detail level. Well, there are pegs on the headlights, however they are VERY discreet. In general, honestly almost as good as Ixo’s best race cars. Yes, that good. Unfortunately though, Tarmac Works has a very limited range of models in 1:43. From what I could find, in 1:43 they mostly offer RWB cars. However, they have many of Nakai-san’s most interesting creations. With that, probably this will not be my last model from the brand 😁.