New Ruf Porsche 997

[farhead]

Porsche customers who can't wait for the upcoming Porsche 911 (997) Turbo should visit Alois Ruf. Ruf offers their well known engine upgrades for the latest Porsche 911 with up to 650 HP. Ruf is a real manufacturer, they bought the car body from Porsche and built the whole car in their own factory with some really interesting features like the integrated rollbar. More infos and pictures after the jump.

www.sportscarblog.com

[ledhedsymbols]

Don't get me wrong. Alois Ruf and Co. are truly legendary, and the 996 model is a handsome automobile. If I had that kind of cash to throw at a car though, I would wait for the 997 turbo, and then get it Ruf. The 997 just looks more 911 to me. Both are pipe dreams for me right now, but perhaps someday. (As I wipe the drool from my face)

[AvAlAnChE1090]

Thats a sweet looking RUF

[Tetsuo]

I'm not a big fan of Ruf. Sure Ruf is qualified to be considered as a manufacture by German transformation officials but despite that fact Ruf lacks the same build quality of a Porsche-built 911. And unlike Porsche, Ruf does not have the same budget to commit to all-condition testing that Porsche commits to. Even though the car look is a Ruf-built 997, Ruf currently does not own the M97 engine, which means it is using the same 996-GT1 engine.

[crayzayjay]

Its pace will surely be phenomenal, but the styling touches on this one are horrendously tacky imo.

[finally_retired]

While I see the point in this exercise, RUF really need to work on the styling. It looks dicely 80's inspired. I think I will wait for the real thing.

[gerd]

Yes, Ruf bare-backs off everything Porsche. Some of the chassis came from Porsche with VINs, some without. In the US Ruf used all of Porsche's OBD II data as their own. The relationship with POrsche isn't as tight as it used to be with P family members now gone. I reviewed the submited EPA data. Here's how it works: a company like Ruf or JK or G&k FOIA's the OEM's engine cert packages from EPA (which costs the OEM $32,000.00 per engine group) and then submit the data as their own. Only in America!

Originally Posted by Tetsuo

I'm not a big fan of Ruf. Sure Ruf is qualified to be considered as a manufacture by German transformation officials but despite that fact Ruf lacks the same build quality of a Porsche-built 911. And unlike Porsche, Ruf does not have the same budget to commit to all-condition testing that Porsche commits to. Even though the car look is a Ruf-built 997, Ruf currently does not own the M97 engine, which means it is using the same 996-GT1 engine.

[nhd4spd]

While browsing the net I stumbled across a Google result that compelled me to take several minutes out of my day and sign-up at automotiveforums.com.

Tetsuo said: I'm not a big fan of Ruf. Sure Ruf is qualified to be considered as a manufacture by German transformation officials but despite that fact Ruf lacks the same build quality of a Porsche-built 911. And unlike Porsche, Ruf does not have the same budget to commit to all-condition testing that Porsche commits to.

In response:

It appears that you have been in the presence of a Porsche long enough to appreciate its build quality, but it is apparent that you have spent very little time in or around a Ruf. As a former Porsche, and former Ruf owner, the build quality of the two cars cannot be compared. The Ruf is essentially a "blueprinted" Porsche, and from the moment I selected the grain of leather I would like on the dashboard from a 3 inch thick book; it was obvious that things are done more carefully in Ruf Land. Through several years of hard use my Ruf never uttered a squeak, a rattle, an engine note less than music. My 996 Turbo on the other hand, spent a good portion of its life on a lift. As to conditional testing, I can't speak to the performance of my Ruf in snow or mud, but the car simply glides at 180 mph, while my 996 Turbo felt like it was moving through turbulence that would bring down a 747 at that speed. I simply had to write and convey what a former Ruf OWNER thinks about the Quality of the car. And why did I sell you ask? I was offered $20,000 more than I paid. If that doesn't speak of Ruf quality, I don't know what else will.

And Gerd, Ruf VIN or Porsche VIN, we are both still getting passed. Unless of course there is a woman in the area, Ferrari will always own that :-)

[crayzayjay]

Welcome to AF

Which RUF model did you own? A friend of mine has a 996TT RUF are transforming into an R Turbo at the moment.

[nhd4spd]

Originally Posted by crayzayjay

Welcome to AF

Which RUF model did you own? A friend of mine has a 996TT RUF are transforming into an R Turbo at the moment.

I owned a Ruf built RGT, and when I purchased a 996 Turbo with the proceeds from its sale I was less than thrilled. A hearty congratulations to your friend on his purchase, I had a chance to ride in a forced induction Ruf when I took delivery of my car, and it was quite an experience.

[gerd]

And Gerd, Ruf VIN or Porsche VIN, we are both still getting passed. Unless of course there is a woman in the area, Ferrari will always own that :-)[/quote]

Former Rufszki: You missed my point. Ruf barebacked (you know what this term means?) Porsche. Used all the millions of dollars of testing, cert. packages, crash testing, etc. as theirs,, IMHO, and submitted it to our idiot bureaucrats who never check anything. I give Ruf credit for supply more than Ameritech or Phoeniz in South San Francisco.
But look at what the Beddor's owned: #2 and #3 959 , a slew of Ruf's which were by defintion and their own admissions, race cars masquerading as street cars.
I admire fast cars, unique cars. But I find the methods used to import them costly to me as a taxpayer and potentially a loop hole for others to make me glow in the dark.

[nhd4spd]

Point well taken Gerd. A question though, as I have no idea of the process involved in certifying a car for import, how does it cost taxpayers thousands of dollars for Ruf to slide twenty or so cars into the US every year using very similar Porsche certification data?

This is not intended to be inflamatory by the way, I really have no idea, and you seem to be very knowledgable on the subject. I always saw Ruf as clever for sliding cars through, but maybe I was wrong?

I have been around long enough to add the term "barebacking" to my vocabulary by the way, even several different definitions :-)

[porscheguy9999]

Thats a sweet car. If only there was a post of some front and side shots of it. I want one, but it cant be cheap... Im talking $100k+.

[Sccrplyr06]

I am all but certain that I saw one of these in NYC a couple of weeks ago. I even had my camera with me but I didn't get a pic. It was one of those times where I was in awe of the car/ slash trying to figure out exactly what type it was. But the car that I saw matches the one in the picture perfectly. This summer I've been working at a Porsche dealership, allowing me to drive them for the first time in my life. The regular Carreras are powerful enough for me, I can't even imagine what a RUF is like.

[Pennzoil GT-R]

Originally Posted by Sccrplyr06

I am all but certain that I saw one of these in NYC a couple of weeks ago. I even had my camera with me but I didn't get a pic. It was one of those times where I was in awe of the car/ slash trying to figure out exactly what type it was. But the car that I saw matches the one in the picture perfectly. This summer I've been working at a Porsche dealership, allowing me to drive them for the first time in my life. The regular Carreras are powerful enough for me, I can't even imagine what a RUF is like.

the one in the picture was a mock up that couldnt exceed about 20 mph. the first working car hasnt been finished yet so it will have been something else i'm afraid