Displayed at the recent ImportFest car show at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre was a customized RWB Porsche named Boonmee. It was built earlier this year in Vancouver by Rauh-Welt Begriff (RWB) founder Akira Nakai. The Porsche bears some resemblance to the Santini Supra, a 1985 2nd-gen Toyota originally created in 1987 by Santini Paint & Body in California, a car that still tours retro car shows today.
Both cars seem to copy the design language used on VHS cassettes produced in 1984!
The Porsche and Supra, along with factory decal packages on the 1980 Camaro Z28 and 1977 Dodge Aspen R/T, were the inspirational images we sent to Wil Mak at C17 Media so he could help add some style to our Subaru SVX.
Since the SVX is a retro-futuristic car from the ’90s, the decision was made to go with a ‘vaporwave’ style characterized by pastel colors like pink and teal, combined with neon elements. Also called ‘Outrun’ aesthetic, the style originated in a Sega video game from 1986 which used visual elements like gradient sunsets and grid patterns that added a futuristic look to the driving game.
Although we had some general ideas, the final design was Wil’s call. The company’s C17 Auto Armour division protects high dollar supercars with paint protection film and designs race car liveries. Striping a Subaru isn’t in their usual wheelhouse, but dude was so nice, commenting that the SVX was even rarer than the McLaren it was parked next to in the shop. Quite true! Of the 24,000 SVXs built in the mid ’90s, less than 1,000 made it to Canada, and an estimated 50 SVX are still on the road today.
The plan was to get the car completed before the big car shows in August; the ‘Subie-Showdown V3’ in Orangeville and ‘OBLIVION VII’ in Milton, and of course Wil called us ahead of schedule, letting us know the car was ready. Top notch people at C17!
The SVX isn’t meant to be a sinister street ride, or an all-original JDM classic. It’s not meant to be serious at all. Pink, magenta, purple and French blue stripes from the belt-line down to the rocker panels emulate a synthetic sunset from a video game, and the LED underglow courtesy of Wired_Ridez ties the look together as a period-correct custom.
The final touch was a massive OBLIVION windshield banner in pink and purple, and just the right font. C17 designer and business developer Wil Mak gets full credit for the overall look of the design, which thankfully was quite different from our dull initial ideas. Good thing he didn’t listen to us too closely, but rather, let his creativity guide him. The final result is more than we could have hoped for. Thanks Wil!
Like totally psycho-delic wavy, man!
No more losing the car at the mall parking lot.
True. Unless in gets sucked into a parallel Vaporwaveverse through a supersyncing wormhole.
Gash.. I hadn’t considered that possibility.
I used to drive a Dodge Aspen. A Dodge Aspen … stationwagon.
I truly never expected to see a reference to the model here, or anywhere, ever.
The car looks great, by the way.
Oh yes, the Aspen RT was such a cool looking vehicle. Really influenced this design, and Im still thinking of adding stripes to the top of the spoiler, like the back of the Aspen.
Was your station wagon a big block ‘sleeper’ used to hunt down Mustangs and Camaros?
It was a straight 6 with brakes that had about a millimeter of give before the car started screeching to a halt. It was not remotely sporty to my youthful eye. Felt more like a tank.
I’m pretty sure a Mustang or Camaro would have easily smoked it.
https://www.garagekeptmotors.com/imagetag/1260/15/l/Used-1976-Dodge-Aspen-RT-1738317723.jpg
Wow, your Subaru looks super 1980s Kool. The Vaporwave is a very nice touch.
I just love the 1980s; awesome music, questionable fashion, cool cars…
But mostly, I love the 80s because I was young back then.
The SVX looked mature and almost elegant before. Now it looks insane.
.
It glows in the dark with that pink stripe. Looks wild.
.
The appearance is polarizing. I stood near the car at a show and heard 50/50 loved it… or thought it was garish and horrible.
.
Which makes it period correct!