RUF RIDER; The best of Stuttgart und Pfaffenhausen.(News)

Byline: MARK VAUGHN

Is this the world's best Porsche? It's not the all-out-performance best, as that honorific goes to the GT3. And it's not the fastest, a title that belongs to the Turbo. But for everyday driving that is still loads of fun, you'd be hard pressed to find a better-balanced car than the RUF 3400K.

"It's a trackable street car, not a streetable track car,'' said Joe Carastro, who owns this Azurro Santa Barbara (a.k.a. blue) RUF 3400K.

(Carastro should get a medal for magnanimity, as he not only owns this wonderful coupe, but he invited us to drive it without adult supervision.)

Carastro first met Alois Ruf in 1978, when Carastro was stationed with the army in Germany. The two have been friends since; Ruf was best man at Carastro's wedding. So you could say that Carastro is more than just a fan of the best Pfaffenhausen has to offer.

Carastro has had a few RUFs over the years, from a 1979 RS Lightweight to a 1991 Carrera 2, but he has settled on this Cayman-based one as his favorite.

"It's the first car I've ever owned that I would say there's nothing I would want to change,'' he said. After a day behind the wheel blasting around in the hills above Santa Barbara, there's nothing we'd change, either. Except maybe the name on the pink slip.