AccessMyLibrary provides FREE access to over 30 million articles from top publications available through your library.
Create a link to this page
Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:
PUTTING ON THE RUF; Porsche lays the foundation, but Ruf builds its own special cars.(News)
Byline: PETE ALBRECHT
Alois Ruf isn't a tuner. Of course, if you bring your own Porsche, his Pfaffenhausen, Germany, shop will modify it any way you like. A tuner does that-hangs stuff on existing cars. Or cuts stuff off. But Ruf prides himself on being a manufacturer. Sure, anyone can claim that, you say. But as far as the German authorities, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the EPA are concerned, he is a manufacturer, empowered to assign vehicle identification numbers to his creations. Ruf VINs begin with the identifier W09, not Porsche's WP0.
The latest car to carry a W09 is the Ruf RGT RS. It looks like a Porsche, you say. Well, yes. Ruf buys bare, unnumbered, untrimmed, unassembled bodies-in-white from Porsche and builds entire cars from the ground up, to customer order. A Ruf is a Porsche 911 like the original Shelby GT350 is a Ford Mustang-that is, it isn't, even though both draw many parts from their production car progenitors. Ruf, if anything, is more of a manufacturer than Shelby was; most Shelby GTs came from Ford as running cars. Ruf goes the other way.
Ruf's Porsche obsession dates to the salad days of the 911, when the 1973 Carrera RS was the hottest thing on the road, when IROC 1974 was contested by identical jelly bean-colored, Penske-prepped Carrera RSRs, when 934s and 935s swept Le Mans and Daytona.
The RGT RS is based on the modern 996 Carrera GT3. When you build a car yourself, you can put in-or leave out-whatever you want. What's left out is a lot of the sound insulation needed to sell cars to a broader market, but that does nothing for performance. More weight is left off through carbon fiber doors and lids. The RGT RS tips the scales at 2705 pounds-338 pounds less than a GT3. That's a near 10 percent reduction from stock. Custom front and rear valances and reshaped rocker panels are matched to bolt-on fender flares. The front valance has larger air ducts and a top exhaust slot like that of the turbocharged GT2 and racing GT3 RS. The ducktail spoiler underscores the Carrera RS legacy. An optional adjustable carbon fiber wing can be bolted on top of the ducktail. Smaller outside mirrors reduce drag.
Nothing is done to Porsche's 3.6-liter flat six besides adding Ruf cams, four-pipe ...
- Porsche(R) 911(R) GT3 RS to Make North American Debut; 911 GT3 RS Most...
- Press release article from: Business Wire May 30, 2006 700+ words
...in time for spring 2007. [R][sup.3]Not since the venerable 1973 911 Carrera RS has such a production Porsche been available in this market. The Carrera RS was a special, lightweight 911 produced to homologate the vehicle for racing...
- New Porsche packs power
- Newspaper article from: The Press MOORE Dave August 29, 2009 700+ words
In the tradition of the famous Carrera RS of the early 70s, the new GT3 RS is...writes DAVE MOORE. The old Porsche Carrera RS became a collectors' item before the...desirability most over the years. The Carrera RS 2.7 is still seen on race grids all...
- American Concours Foundation Announces Eight Classic Automobiles to Be Sold...
- Press release article from: Business Wire November 2, 2006 700+ words
...exported to Germany in the late 1990s, where it was professionally restored. * 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7L -- In the early 1970's the Carrera RS was available for sale only in Europe and the was originally sold to a Porsche-dealer in Bavaria...
- Porsche 911 Nominated as 'Car of the Century' Award Finalist.
- Press release article from: PR Newswire December 16, 1999 700+ words
...2 liters in 1970, and in 1972 Porsche introduced the 1973 2.7-liter Carrera RS with its signature duck tail rear spoiler at the Paris auto show. The Carrera RS was the first production Porsche with a rear spoiler. Spartan interior, lighter...
- A Trio of 2007 Porsche(R) Models - 911(R) Targa(R) 4/4S, 911 GT3 RS - Make...
- Press release article from: Business Wire September 28, 2006 700+ words
...outingsCowill arrive in time for spring 2007. Not since the venerable 1973 911 Carrera RS has such a production Porsche been available in this market. The Carrera RS was a special, lightweight 911 produced to homologate the vehicle for racing...
- Porsche launches three versions of 911 at Frankfurt Motor Show.
- Magazine article from: Auto Business News (ABN) September 17, 2009 700+ words
...194mph, while the 911 Sport Classic special edition offers retro alloy wheels and a spoiler similar to the one on the 1973 Carrera RS 2.7, a revised front spoiler, side sills and black-rimmed bi-xenon headlights inspired by racing cars such as the...
- 'Z' Results Are In: Nissan's 1970s 240Z Named Fifth 'Greatest Sports Car of All...
- Press release article from: PR Newswire October 12, 1998 700+ words
...Dream Machine" of all-time. The 240Z received approximately 1,200 votes (6 percent), as did the 1970s Porsche 911 Carrera RS. The Z car and the Porsche Carrera were the top-rated import sports cars. The Z car, known as the fastest-selling sports...
- PORSCHE UNVEILS VEHICLES IN INDIA.
- News wire article from: AsiaPulse News October 27, 2004 700+ words
...Africa Managing Director Mark M. Bishop told a news conference here. Sport car Boxter S will cost Rs 4,700,000 while Carrera Rs 6,300,000 and Carrera variant 'S' will come with a price tag of Rs 7,100,000. The niche vehicles will be imported...
