A Dream Night Drive In RWB Hachioji

While scrolling through Speedhunters in 2011 (when I should have been doing homework instead), I came across a feature on Rough Rhythm, an RWB 993 Porsche 911. Just a day later, there was a two-part article featuring Nakai-san and his shop, RAUH-Welt Begriff.

That was the first time a car had ever captivated me in such a powerful and unexplainable way. Between the rich history of Nakai-san’s journey with RWB and the incredible machines that he was producing, it’s obvious why seeing these things left such a huge impact on me. Ever since then I’ve been chasing that feeling of inspiration with everything creative I have done in the automotive world, with IAMTHESPEEDHUNTER articles like this being a prime example.

When we asked Sid Cheung if we could do a feature on his 1988 Porsche 911 SC Targa – aka RWB Hachioji – I never expected him to hand over the keys and let myself, fellow photographer Josiah Belchior and videographer Dylan Ackimenko, take the car and truly experience everything it had to offer.

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After making that offer, Sid followed up by saying that we should keep the car for the week and bring it to our Checkpoint Japan pop-up shop event. After I picked my jaw up off of the floor, I took the keys and headed off on one of the most fulfilling and inspiring drives of my life.

Simply put, Sid’s car feels like an automotive fever dream. The experience was so exhilarating that I wanted to hold onto the feeling that it created for as long as possible.

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Sid’s RWB is a raw and visceral experience and one of the loudest cars I have ever driven. Hearing the engine screaming directly behind your head creates a wild and inspiring sensation. The sticky, wide tires and lack of power steering make the car chase every groove in the road, while the notchy shifter inspires confidence alongside the flat-six engine begging to be wrung out.

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I can safely say that this car generates an experience that would be hard (if not impossible) to replicate.

The car was originally wide-bodied by Nakai-san back in 2016 and named White Walker. In 2019, it was reimagined as Hachioji, this time with molded fenders and a retrimmed interior.

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Hachioji is a city in Tokyo, Japan on the Musashino Terrace of the Saitama Hills in the western side of the prefecture. It is located about 20km west of Tokyo’s central business district and lies within the borders of both Minami-rinkan District and Tama District. It’s also the city Nakai-san called home when he was an apprentice mechanic.

The Japanese characters for Hachioji (八王子) live on the hood of the car, hand-painted by Nakai-san himself. The literal translation for the name is ‘Prince of Eights’, which actually has a strong personal meaning for Sid. The number eight has shown up in his life in many different ways; his car being the eighth Canadian RWB build, his birth year, the year of the car, in the Toyo Proxes R888R tires, as well as being the luckiest number in Chinese culture, a direct representative of infinite flow in feng shui.

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One of my favourite details on the car is from Nakai-san’s Rough World AE86 days. The rotated, or ‘clocked’ tachometer is positioned so that the redline of the gauge sits right at the very top, making for an exciting visual experience and helping the driver time perfect shifts.

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Another element of the car that I find striking is the blended RWB kit, with no exposed hardware to seen. With RWB’s roots in the motorsport world, it’s almost implied to expect hardware affixing the kits to the lucky Porsches that adorn them. Because Hachioji is primarily a street car though, Sid felt that having the kit molded to the body would enhance the clean lines that the car possesses with its extra-wide fender kit.

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My desire to one day own one of Nakai-san’s RAUH-Welt Begriff creations has grown from being a distant dream to a tangible goal. Maybe one day in the future you will see me with a silver RWB 993.

Since turning the key in Sid’s car my imagination has been running wild with ideas, inspirations and the refinement of a vision I have been developing for years. I guess we all need something to work towards, don’t we?

P.S. You can check out the video from our time with RWB Hachioji by hitting play above.

Alexander Turnbull
Instagram: alexanderturnbull_

Additional Photos by Josiah Belchior
Instagram: yamfriess

Video by Dylan Ackimenko
Instagram: dylanackimenko

How To join the IATS program: We have always welcomed readers to contact us with examples of their work and believe that the best Speedhunter is always the person closest to the culture itself, right there on the street or local parking lot. If you think you have what it takes and would like to share your work with us then you should apply to become part of the IAMTHESPEEDHUNTER program. Read how to get involved here.

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1

To have him hand over the keys to his Porsche for a test drive is one thing, for a whole week, out of his sight is a whole other level. People buy cars for different reasons, some take the time to make their own, like he has.

2

Man this RWB Porsche and the pictures give me Wangan Midnight vibes
Night drives hit different

3

man that "Van City" decal on the rear glass made me grin.

4

Amazing article! Amazing photographs! Amazing car! Keep it up you'll have a rwb in no time.

5

Love the video so much! That cinematography!

6

It needs larger wheels and comically large spikes so it looks and performs better, but it's not my car so I shouldn't judge

7

Is the last photo taken with analog camera?

8

The photos look like the photos of the Midnight Club which really adds to the vibe

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