A visit to Alois Ruf
07/10/2011
The three letters RUF make many Porsche fans' eyes glaze over and their heads nod enthusiastically. Playstation gamers are also familiar with the vehicles from the Allgäu region, because for some time RUF cars were the only way to drive a Porsche in the Gran Turismo game. RUF, based in Pfaffhausen near Memmingen, has produced many very well-known vehicles, cars with above-average performance and interesting technical refinements.
The RUF Porsche Turbo 3.3 liter with 303 hp instead of the factory 260 from three liters was no exception. It was the first RUF in 1977 and impressed right from the start. 5.1 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h, 20.8 seconds to 200 km/h, 262.8 km/h top speed with only one liter of additional fuel consumption compared to the standard counterpart - that was a statement. No other sports car measured by Auto Motor und Sport during this period completed the 0 to 100 km/h test faster than the Ruf Turbo. However, Alois Ruf also intervened deeply in the vehicles, so deeply that he received his own chassis numbers and was able to act as a manufacturer and not as a tuner. This first RUF Turbo, which incidentally already had a five-speed gearbox, is now back in the hands of Alois Ruf, as is one of the rare 901s, the original 911, so to speak.
Alois Ruf still builds special models today and also offers accessories for contemporary vehicles. The service business for current and earlier models is a second mainstay, restorations a third. It is mainly 911 and 356 models that are restored to their original condition, but the RUF specialists have also worked on 550 Spyder, 904 and even Carrera 6 models.
With the new building for servicing and restorations, the in-house body store and paint shop, Alois Ruf and his team can offer almost everything in-house, not cheaply, but to the highest quality standards. The 19th 901 ever built is currently being restored. The restoration will have taken a good two years when it is completed in a few months' time, and the result will be a vehicle that looks (and drives) exactly as it did when it left the factory in 1964.
