1998-05 CARBOY - Akira Nakai's transition to the Porsche 911
A debut shoot marking his full transition from the 356 to the Porsche 911 series!
This is the first-ever public appearance of Nakai’s Porsche… “Wait—Nakai with a Porsche?? Then what happened to the AE86?” is what fans across the country might be saying. But without a doubt, Nakai’s next target is the Porsche.
“For now, my goal is a Porsche that can drift at around 200 km/h. I think it’d be interesting to handle a Porsche with the same feeling I had when I was driving the AE86. People around me are switching to Porsches too. They buy them for 600,000 to 1,000,000 yen, then gradually modify them up to around 2 million yen. You drive them hard, they get scratched up in the mountains, and they slowly become your car. That mindset is exactly the same as when I drove the AE86.”
The originator of aggressive camber setups, zip-tied bumpers, matte paint, riveted panels… Nakai-kun has created many of the styling trends coming out of the drift scene.
But he never set out thinking he wanted to create trends or make something popular.
He simply drove the cars he wanted, in the way he liked, and as a result, his approach influenced the direction of street racers. So now, he’s simply thinking about trying a Porsche.
However, considering the context of the times, Nakai’s choice of a Porsche gives a certain sense of anticipation. Prices have become more accessible, cars can be treated like “daily beaters,” and there’s no need to limit yourself to Japanese cars anymore.
What we want is sports cars—machines that deliver an exciting driving experience. We modify engines, struggle with suspension setups, and enjoy that process itself.
“You might think, ‘I thought Nakai would keep driving the AE86 forever,’ or ‘maybe he didn’t really love the AE86 that much.’ But that’s not it. Nakai just drives what he likes. He didn’t choose the AE86 because of loyalty or because it was his true lifelong favorite.
Even light cars, pickup trucks like the Sunny Truck, American cars—whatever it is, Nakai drives what he wants, modifies it how he wants, and prioritizes enjoying his relationship with cars above all else.
And that hasn’t changed, and it won’t change.
Even though the base car has changed from the AE86 to a Porsche, Nakai style remains Nakai style.
He cares about rim shape, but doesn’t care about disc design… The wheels he chose were custom 15-inch SSRs (he dislikes low-profile 50-series tires for some reason, so he downsized the wheel and runs 60-profile tires). Bucket seats are Corbeau, and the suspension is set up specifically for him.
Removing bumpers, ducktail, side steps, and running tires so wide they almost touch the fenders—all of these are the starting conditions of the Nakai style of driving and living with a car.
“From now on it’s ROUH Welt. Well, it’s not a big deal, but apparently that’s how you write ‘Rough World’ in German. I’ve been thinking about what I want to do, what kind of cars I want to build, and what kind of stages I want to drive them on… but in the end, it’s just street driving. Not drag racing, not top speed runs, not drifting. It’s all mixed together—just street. Maybe the closest thing is drifting at 200 km/h.”
His hand-painted bodywork will soon get scratched up more and more in the mountain passes. And through that, Nakai’s idea of “street” will gradually become clearer.
This isn’t tuning to maximize the car’s performance—it’s tuning so he can enjoy driving. That’s what will be done to Nakai’s AE86-style Porsche.
Driving for fun, and sustaining that over a long time, is harder than it seems. But while it is difficult, the depth of enjoyment grows. What exactly should be done for that? The Nakai-style AE86 Porsche seems to contain an answer within it!?
(Fujimoto Shinichi)
Photo captions
1
The familiar Nakai-kun with oversized shoes and a slammed car. When it’s this tight, you start thinking performance doesn’t matter. However, suspension setup could still change things significantly.
2
Deliberately chosen Corbeau bucket seat. He likes its spartan feel and low price. A choice that so-called “Porsche enthusiasts” probably wouldn’t make.
3
Rear track width is the same as the 930 Turbo. The balance between Porsche body and ducktail from this angle is pure Nakai style. A slightly “bad boy” Porsche feels fresh and interesting.
4
Just as extreme camber originates from the fender lines of the Lancia Stratos, the way the fender line connects to the tire line is one of Nakai’s favorite design elements.
5
There are various future upgrade plans. Weber triple-choke carbs are one example, and the car becoming more and more scratched is an essential condition of the Nakai-style AE86 Porsche.