Nakai-San’s Personal Rauh-Welt Porsche ‘Adriana’ Back in Fighting Form After 2016 Crash
The “Rough World” name isn’t just for show. Check out Nakai-San’s restored Porsche 993 RWB ‘Adriana.’
Once every year, Akira Nakai brings his Rauh-Welt Porsches to participate in the Idlers Club 12-hour race at Motegi. Not only is the race a little vacation to break up Nakai-San's busy building schedule, but it's also a chance for the RWB family to get together and drive a selection of their wide-body Porsches the way they're meant to be driven: hard on the track. However, things rarely run without a hitch on the racetrack...and RWB Adriana was one of the major casualties of last year's race.
Adriana was struck by a Lotus 2-Eleven from behind at turn 4, the sharp Motegi right-hander that goes underneath the first bridge, causing it to spin into the barriers and damage both the front and rear of the car. The crash ripped off a lower control arm, snapped the shock lower mount and bent a stabilizer bar. Worst of all, the right front of the chassis suffered significant damage.
But RWB Adriana's streak of bad luck started back in 2015, when a rear silencer on the Adriana cracked, causing serious heat from the exhaust to melt the expensive fiberglass rear bumper and taillights. Later, Adriana spun backward off the track, which caused heat trapped within the engine compartment to ultimately set the rear of the car on fire.
After all RWB Adriana has been through, you're forgiven if you assumed it was a total loss. However, the "Rough World" name isn't just for show. Nakai-San was determined to bring Adriana back the following year, and that's exactly what he did.
Unfortunately, there's not a lot of coverage of RWB Adriana's rebuild and restoration, but YouTub channel Pans Eye has shared a new video featuring its rebirth. We see Adriana is given a fresh coat of paint as well as a set of the brand-new "Heavenly" rear fenders, the widest rear over-fenders RWB ever made. And finally, in order to avoid turning Adriana's rear end into a Salvador Dali painting as in the 2015 fiasco, Nakai omitted the rear bumper completely, offering the exhaust ample space it needs to dissipate heat.
It's been quite a journey for RWB Adriana, and we're glad to see the salmon-colored Porsche back at 100 percent. Check out the video from Pans Eye featuring RWB Adriana and RWB Łomianki as well as RWB Idlers 12 hours 2017 footage from YouTube channel studiohm below:
