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To each their own...as I always say. It's the owner's money they can spend as they wish. I honestly like RWB. I think it blends both the Japanese Tuner scene with the Euro Tuner scene. Now would I do that to my 964? I thought about it. But the classic lines sucks me in every time and i can't bear the though of hacking it up. I'd rather spend more money in seat/track time and the occasional wheel mods. B/c who doesn't like new shoes on their car.
A question to ask is: Would this topic matter if the value of the 964 isn't as high as it is now? Correct me if i'm wrong but wasn't the 964 the unloved one of the 911 moniker? I've always wanted one so I'm not sure.
I am not such a Porsche purist to say it is a blasphemy to the Porsche 911 philosophy.
Of course it would a bit of "the pot calling the kettle black" for me to do so as my 964 was given a big "tuner" treatment back in the days.
It has been heavily modified by Strosek and I am sure if the internet was around back then there would be lots who would say it is blasphemy to the Porsche 911 ideology.
It's funny that so many in here are criticizing another man/womens decision to customize their ride, all the while the RWB owners are out there driving to and from Vegas as we speak, doing track days in there cars, and racing them in Japan and all over the world. Why don't we all just respect each other decision to modify or not modify and just drive. I think the owners would say, One Love and stay ROUGH....
I am not such a Porsche purist to say it is a blasphemy to the Porsche 911 philosophy.
Of course it would a bit of "the pot calling the kettle black" for me to do so as my 964 was given a big "tuner" treatment back in the days.
It has been heavily modified by Strosek and I am sure if the internet was around back then there would be lots who would say it is blasphemy to the Porsche 911 ideology.
Big fat wing.
Big rear flairs.
What a unique car. I don't think I've ever seen that wing, or those mirrors. Very cool build!
A question to ask is: Would this topic matter if the value of the 964 isn't as high as it is now? Correct me if i'm wrong but wasn't the 964 the unloved one of the 911 moniker? I've always wanted one so I'm not sure.
The car I pictured was a 3.2 converted to look like a 964. I still find it grotesque in its lines and the car is all show and no go. I love a good outlaw but those are usually sleepers with a lot of go with a touch of show.
The funny part is Naki gets all the credit and my friend did 90% of the work. It is how it is put together that I dislike and would never pay money for.
Originally Posted by Ljuice10
It's funny that so many in here are criticizing another man/womens decision to customize their ride, all the while the RWB owners are out there driving to and from Vegas as we speak, doing track days in there cars, and racing them in Japan and all over the world. Why don't we all just respect each other decision to modify or not modify and just drive. I think the owners would say, One Love and stay ROUGH....
Owners dinner from SEMA 2018.
I know of a number around me. I rarely see them on the road and never at the track. Occasionally they show up at a C&C hanging with the pimped out WB BMW and other over the top builds usually held together with wood screws and poor bodywork.. If I do come across one on the road they are in the slow lane going slow when I try to get them to tag along they just wave you off and drive slow. The few I have seen on track in videos were falling apart. I see a lot of tuner cars each and every day at the shop I spend time at, I would not want to associate with most of these owners as they spend stupid money to produce 700hp out of their Jetta with stock brakes and cheap components and builds. Usually we are fixing tuners shoddy work and most are poorly built and blow up all the time. Most owners have no idea what was actually done to their car and were taken by some shade tree tuner.
Lol, you have no idea what you are talking about, but think what you want. Have a great day brotha. Let’s drive.
Originally Posted by cobalt
The car I pictured was a 3.2 converted to look like a 964. I still find it grotesque in its lines and the car is all show and no go. I love a good outlaw but those are usually sleepers with a lot of go with a touch of show.
The funny part is Naki gets all the credit and my friend did 90% of the work. It is how it is put together that I dislike and would never pay money for.
I know of a number around me. I rarely see them on the road and never at the track. Occasionally they show up at a C&C hanging with the pimped out WB BMW and other over the top builds usually held together with wood screws and poor bodywork.. If I do come across one on the road they are in the slow lane going slow when I try to get them to tag along they just wave you off and drive slow. The few I have seen on track in videos were falling apart. I see a lot of tuner cars each and every day at the shop I spend time at, I would not want to associate with most of these owners as they spend stupid money to produce 700hp out of their Jetta with stock brakes and cheap components and builds. Usually we are fixing tuners shoddy work and most are poorly built and blow up all the time. Most owners have no idea what was actually done to their car and were taken by some shade tree tuner.
You guys have hit most of the points. The 993's are hideous. Some of the earlier longhoods and 964s with smooth fenders I actually liked. The bolt on cars with airbags and no power.... well I just look forward to buying one cheap some day and restoring it.
I'm definitely biased, as I've built and currently own two RWB cars: a '95 993 and an '89 964 C4 backdate. I don't think anyone begins an RWB build with the intention that they're going to build a high performance trackcar. RWBs are principally about aesthetics; you purchase an RWB conversion because you like the way it looks. That said, the RWB conversion doesn't change the drivability of the car that much, and there are a subset of owners that regularly track their cars.
When you purchase an RWB kit, you receive the wide body bumpers, fenders, wing, and (if applicable) backdate hood / parts. It is up to you to get the parts painted; you can choose whether to paint just the parts to match, or the entire car. It is up to you to get the wheels (10.5 width front, 12-13 width rear) and tires. The engine, suspension, and interior are entirely up to you. The purchase of an RWB kit includes a visit by Nakai anywhere in the world to execute the widebody conversion. He does not arrive with an entourage; he arrives alone with a large aluminum suitcase containing tools, bolts, etc. He then immediately goes about cutting, trimming, sanding, mounting, and completing the wide body kit conversion. He does all of this on his own, by hand, in 48 hours, using only his tools and an air compressor (seriously, for both of my builds, I picked him up from the airport on a Wednesday and dropped him off around the same time on Friday). He is incredibly efficient, and it's very interesting to watch a master work his craft on your car. Some of his methods are unconventional; the Sikaflex sealant joining the body panels seems to really bother people, but the end result looks great and it's all part of the hand-built mentality. The bottom line, however, is that an RWB is fundamentally your build; Nakai will handle the widebody conversion, but the rest is up to you.
RWBs are clearly polarizing, and they're obviously not for everyone. Nakai builds a tiny number of these in the US (it's less than 20 a year on average for the last few years). I believe that RWBs reinforce the universality of the air-cooled 911 platform, where people of all ages can find a given instance of an air-cooled 911 (from stock to restored to outlaw to Gembella to RWB etc.) that appeals to them. Not a lot of automotive platforms can make that claim.
My '95 993 RWB has pretty much all of the engine bolt-ons you can do (Fabspeed headers / X-pipe, Fister III exhaust, chip), and it rides great on a set of PSS10s. It wails like a banshee and it's my 4-year old daughter's favorite car. The interior has Recaro Sportster CS seats, a custom 996 steering wheel/airbag, and a host of Rennline goodies. Maybe someday I'll add a supercharger, but this car is plenty fast for fun driving, and it's my summer daily driver.
My '89 964 C4 RWB backdate came with a 3.8 conversion; I added an OEM GT3 exhaust and BBI headers. The interior is styled after Singer's, with GTS Classics seats and door panels in woven leather, and body color fiberglass interior panels instead of carpet. This car is a bit more refined and focused than the 993, and is great car to tear up back roads.
Love the RWB's and its up to the owners to decide if they want to match the performance with the looks. Regardless the road presence an RWB carries is unbeatable imo.
11-01-2018, 03:55 PM
