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It’s been a long time coming. After eight months of living in Japan, I finally managed to get to an event.
Yes, I know, it’s inexcusable, but I do have a few excuses. So, when I saw Kouichi Kakuma’s Instagram post (AKA 911omomuki, AKA that Studio Allica Porsche) touting a huge Porsche event in Yokohama, the tummy turbo began to spool. I cleared my calendar and cleaned my camera gear.
Sunday came around and I took the Blue Line Metro to Sakuragicho and walked over to the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouses, a favorite destination for romantic dates and fancy coffee. On this particular Sunday however, love birds had been frightened off by the rumble of angry Porsches and the smell of sausages and soy sauce.
For ‘Exciting Porsche’ the piazza was packed with hundreds of immaculate, beastly and very desirable machines.
Like a kid in a candy shop, I did a quick reconnaissance to see where the tastiest German delicacies where hiding and proceeded to work my way through as any gluttonous child would.
The first car that caught my eye was this super-clean RS 3.8 964.
A very nice silver RAUH-Welt Begriff creation needs no introduction.
Then there was this very cool 930 Slantnose 930 Turbo with Gemballa Avalanche-style exhaust tips.
This stripped-out 964 Carrera piqued my interest, not only because of the legendary Mid Night stickers, but on closer inspection the Makita battery attached to the cabin floor. The owner told me it was for powering his phone charger and other gadgets.
Honorable mention must go to the 930 built for the 1991 movie Wangan Midnight. Since then it’s been heavily modified and looks well used.
Moving along, there was this forest green 930 with a wide-body by Bodyworks DB.
Next to the Slantnose was Kakuma-san’s apocalyptic 911. As I was taking photos, I saw him nearby and asked if he could pop the boot to get an engine shot. He graciously obliged and then started telling me about all the carbon bits on the car. I listened with polite interest, but assured him that as a loyal Instagram follower I was pretty up to date with his build.
Knowing that I was a fan he swung open the passenger side scissor door and told me to get in. No, we weren’t off on a coffee run – he wanted to show me the new side camera wings built by Studio Allica. Pretty impressive stuff, with the cameras turning automatically depending on the direction of the car.
But the tastiest German sweetie had to be the 1973 3.8 RSR with custom wheels by Tokyo Billet, hand-built ‘Mary tail’, and wide-body also by Bodyworks DB.
It screamed ‘race car’ and the flecks of molten rubber along its flanks means it not only talks the talk but also walks the walk, briskly, kicked along by a six-throttle-body-equipped engine making a healthy 380hp. You can find a great write-up on this car by Blake – albeit when it looked a little different – here.
As the sun set, I circled back to get some hero shots of those two 993 GT2s, then walked over to the main road to get some photos of angry Porsches leaving. It took a while for them to hit the road though, and by then the light was well and truly gone.
As a photographer, I was a bit bummed not to get some sweet panning shots. But now in reflection I smile, because I know the owners were probably just taking their time to politely say their goodbyes to mates and wish each other safe journeys before belting their 911s home in time for dinner.
Toby Thyer
Instagram _tobinsta_
tobythyer.co.uk
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