Shop Visit: Terror Garage and RWB Indonesia

On my recent trip to Indonesia, I had the honor of meeting Michael Lesmana, the man behind RWB Indonesia and Terror Garage. When I contacted Michael about a shop tour, I did not expect to see his entire private collection; it was a real treat.

Michael has been collecting for about 14 years and has the largest collection of Volkswagens in Indonesia, and his collection of Porsches, almost all RWB equipped, is incredible. Terror Garage shop, where all of the cars are built, is just a short drive from his home, which has been designed to be more of a showcase for his amazing collection than just a place to live.

Located in Bandung, Indonesia, Terror Garage specializes in building Michael’s vision of what German cars should be, as well as preserving some rare original models that are in the collection. Everywhere you looked, there was something cool, from a classic Lambretta or old AJS motorcycle to parts from current and past builds, some hung as art on the wall.

Finding this many classics in one place is a rarity in Indonesia, where rust is the number one killer of old cars. Unlike many countries like Australia or the UK who regularly import classics from the US and other parts of the world, Indonesia has laws that restrict importing used cars, some collectors resort to buying classics and cutting them up to import them as parts, only to weld them back together again. So finding restorable projects in Indonesia is quite a task.

Inside Terror Garage and RWB Indonesia

Terror Garage Workshop

A nice Karmann Ghia

Michael has great taste

The next RWB Indonesia 911’s being built. This car is being stripped down to the bare chassis so that rust repairs can be done.

This 911 is getting lots of metal repair, but again, you can’t just buy a clean Arizona car and ship it into Indonesia. The metalwork is all done in house.

Michael’s rocking an Urban Outlaw tee poses with his latest find. After seeing the shop we headed over to Michael’s home, where he keeps his finished vehicles.

Gas Cap on RWB 911

Classic RWB Style

One of the oldest Porsche cars in Indonesia.

RWB Indonesia 001

RWB 002 “Ciska”

The Porsche collection is impressive, but notice that this car sits on a lift… the lift takes you down to the basement level garage where Michael’s collection of vintage VW’s is stored.