Legendary Japanese car 'tuner' tricks out 3 Porsches in Saskatoon

Like a scene from a movie, three shiny, high-end custom Porsches are on display at a local auto shop.

The owner of Nuo Auto wanted to make a statement on the world stage, so he enlisted the services of legendary Japanese car tuner Akira Nakai to do his specialty, three later-model Porsches with wide-body kits in Saskatoon.

"We're putting Saskatoon on the world stage with a world class personality that is famous and legendary," said Shaun Teo, owner of ECUWerks. "To put all that together we feel honoured to be able to do that for the city we live in."

Staff at Nuo Auto have been hard at work for months getting the cars prepared for Nakai's visit, especially since it's been years in the making.

(Dale Cooper / CTV News)

"COVID has made it hard for him to travel anywhere because Japan was shut to the rest of the world," said Teo. "And so we've been putting in work to finish all the suspension and get everything ready before he gets here."

Working quickly and quietly, Nakai keeps to himself when working on a car, and staff are logging extra hours to learn from one of the best in the business.

"I put in almost 12 hour shifts a day," said Jake Xiez of Nuo Auto, who explains what makes an RWB Porsche special.

"In terms of how to make the kit stable and last long, because obviously he builds the car to race, street friendly and track friendly. Some of the show cars are good in a show but are not really functional."

Nakai was a professional racer in Japan before retiring and opening his own shop, Rauh-Welt Begriff (RWB).

For more than two decades, Nakai has specialized in later-model Porsches like the 911 930 he raced in Japan.

"It's my favourite car, the older model Porsche," said Nakai, on why he only works on one type.

His customers get the same level of care and attention as if Nakai was building a car for himself.

"I make them for me, thinking like this always," said Nakai. "They're for my customers I'm making the car, but for me, just make it for me."

This visit has been planned for years, but due to travel restrictions during the pandemic, there's a growing backlog for his unique craftsmanship.

"A lot of people look forward to his special touch of finishing the vehicles and ever since COVID, the queue is like 300 vehicles long right now," said Teo, who says this build has added significance. "One owner, three vehicles, three different generations of RWB. A 964, a 993 and a 997, so that's something to shout about."

Teo says Nuo Auto's owner has no plans of selling the three RWB Porsches, but they could sell for the right price.

"This is a shop but it's a dealership as well," said Teo. "I'm sure he will enjoy it for a bit before he does."

Nakai will head to Edmonton and then Vancouver for custom build jobs before he heads back to Japan.