Akira Nakai is a Japanese car builder and the founder of RAUH-Welt BEGRIFF (RWB), the Chiba workshop famous for its wide-body Porsche 911s. He cuts the fenders off each car by hand, bolts on his own body kit and gives the finished car a name. That hands-on style has put RWB Porsches on roads in dozens of countries and turned a former drift racer into one of the best-known names in car culture. He turns 56 on October 15, 2026.
| Date of Birth | October 15, 1970 |
|---|---|
| Age | 56 years |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Zodiac Sign | Libra |
| Occupation | Car tuner; founder of RAUH-Welt BEGRIFF (RWB) |
| Company | RAUH-Welt BEGRIFF (RWB), founded 1997 |
| First Car | Porsche 930 nicknamed 'Stella Artois' |
Akira Nakai Biography
Akira Nakai was born on October 15, 1970, in Chiba, Japan, according to RWB UK. He loved cars from a young age. Films like Gone in 60 Seconds and The Cannonball Run fed that interest, and as a young man he joined a drift crew called Rough World, driving a Toyota AE86 Trueno.
His teenage and early adult years were spent on night runs. Speaking to VIDEO OPTION in 2023, Nakai recalled meeting friends at Funabashi port and then driving up to Mount Tsukuba. On the wildest nights, he said, close to 1,000 cars turned up, along with TV crews and food stalls. He also admitted he broke engines often in those days and never did much tuning under the hood.
His love for Porsche began in the late 1980s, when he saw a Porsche 930 Turbo on a Japanese street. He later worked at a body shop. In the mid-1990s he bought a used 930 Turbo, according to the Porsche Club of America. That car became Stella Artois, the first RWB Porsche, named after his favorite beer.
Career
Nakai opened his shop, RAUH-Welt BEGRIFF, in 1997. The German name means “Rough World Concept,” a nod to his old drift crew. The workshop sits in Kashiwa, Chiba, according to Japan’s Kuruma News.
The word “rough” sums up how he works. In the VIDEO OPTION interview, he compared his method to a hair stylist, who doesn’t measure every strand before cutting. He goes by feel. “Basically, I don’t measure,” he told Lenssen Photo in 2015. Jalopnik reported in 2025 that he cuts the original fenders with an air saw, and Kuruma News says he test drives each finished car to fine-tune it.
RWB went global in the 2010s. Its first big US moment came at the SEMA show in 2011, the same year Nakai built a 964 for Brian Scotto of Hoonigan. By 2015, Lenssen Photo counted more than 300 RWB cars across 12 locations. In 2017, The Drive reported that Nakai was building about 60 cars a year and flying around 60 times a year to do it.
He doesn’t only build show cars. Nakai runs the Idlers 12 Hours, a yearly endurance race. When The Drive covered it in 2017, his team entered seven cars and 50 drivers.
His builds still draw crowds. He cut up four cars in a live build series in the Philippines, which Angie Mead King filmed in a video posted in January 2025. One of them was RWB’s first off-road Safari 997. In April 2025 he built live at the New York International Auto Show. On May 2, 2026, he cut a 997 and a 964 Cabriolet at Porsche Santa Clarita’s Wünderground museum, The Autopian reported. That August, he built at the idle Auto Expo in South Africa.
Asked what comes next for RWB in a 2023 clip filmed by Amateur Enthusiasm, he kept it short: “No idea, just keep going.” In the same clip he said he always keeps “my style, my passion.”
RAUH-Welt BEGRIFF (RWB): Cars, Prices and Waiting List
An RWB build starts with an air-cooled or later Porsche 911. Nakai has worked on the 930, 964 and 993, and more recently the 997. The look is always wide fenders, big wheels, a very low stance and a large rear wing. Every car gets its own name, picked by Nakai himself.
The 997 kit starts at $31,000, according to The Autopian in May 2026. Jalopnik put a typical build at about $40,000 in 2025, and that’s before the cost of the Porsche itself. Demand is high. The Porsche Club of America reported in 2025 that clients can wait three to five years for their car.
Older RWB cars hold their value well. Kuruma News reported in 2021 that a 1992 RWB 911 Carrera 4 sold at auction for about ¥16 million. Nakai runs the brand with a small team, including painter Yusuke Nojima and business manager Toshiya Ichiraku, Lenssen Photo reported.
Games, Toys and Pop Culture
Nakai reached millions of gamers in Need for Speed (2015). He appears in the game as himself, one of its “Build Icons,” and players can earn his Stella Artois. Hot Wheels later released a Red Line Club RWB 930 in black and gold, sold with a small Nakai figure, Dupont Registry reported in April 2020.
Stella Artois itself never stopped changing. Talking with Nakai on the Rikos Way channel in November 2023, longtime RWB owner Rico said the car took about 20 years to reach its current form, and Nakai agreed. Rico also said the RWB New Year party had returned in 2023 after a two-year break.
Personal Life
Nakai lives for his work. Lenssen Photo reported in 2015 that he often sleeps at the Chiba workshop. He is also a heavy smoker. The Autopian wrote in 2026 that he smokes Winstons and takes regular smoke breaks during live builds.
Money is not what drives him, he says. “RWB isn’t a business, it’s a passion,” he told Sabukaru in 2022. His advice to young people was simple: “Do what you love. When you do what you love, people tend to help you along the way.”
Timeline
1970: Born on October 15 in Chiba, Japan.
Late 1980s: Sees a Porsche 930 Turbo and falls for the brand.
1990s: Drifts an AE86 with the Rough World crew and buys the 930 that becomes Stella Artois.
1997: Founds RAUH-Welt BEGRIFF.
2011: RWB makes its big US debut at SEMA; Nakai builds the Hoonigan 964.
2015: Appears in Need for Speed as a Build Icon. More than 300 RWB cars exist.
2017: Builds about 60 cars a year.
2020: Hot Wheels releases an RWB 930 with a Nakai figure. Work on the 997 kit begins.
2023: The RWB New Year party returns after two years.
2025: Live builds in the Philippines and at the New York International Auto Show.
2026: Builds at Porsche Santa Clarita in May and at the idle Auto Expo in South Africa in August.
Akira Nakai Net Worth
Akira Nakai’s wealth comes almost entirely from RWB, the company he founded in 1997 and still runs. His income is tied to the number of cars he builds. With kits from $31,000 and output of about 60 cars a year in 2017, the business brings in a steady stream of build fees, plus sales of RWB merchandise and licensed products like the Hot Wheels model.
Nakai keeps the money side modest by choice. “I can’t work if I have too much money so I like it when it’s at the break-even point,” he told Sabukaru in 2022. With a waiting list that runs for years and new 997 builds in demand, the brand looks set to keep him busy, and earning, for a long time.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Akira Nakai?
Akira Nakai was born on October 15, 1970, so he turns 56 in 2026.
What does RAUH-Welt BEGRIFF mean?
It means “Rough World Concept.” The name comes from Rough World, the drift crew Nakai belonged to in his youth.
How much does an RWB Porsche cost?
The 997 kit starts at $31,000, and a typical build costs about $40,000. The owner also has to supply the Porsche.
How many RWB Porsches are there?
There were more than 300 by 2015, and Nakai was adding about 60 a year by 2017. The Porsche Club of America put the total at roughly 1,000 in 2025.
Where is the RWB shop?
RWB’s workshop is in Kashiwa, in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.
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