1989 RUF 930 turbo. March 06
Alois opened up a garage in Pfaffenhausen in 1939, not a good omen really, but nevertheless the business flourished and in the mid 50s branched into the manufacturing of tourist coaches. Alois had a son called Alois (we'll call him Alois Jnr) who joined the business in the early 60s. Jnr's interest lay in performance cars; especially Porsches and the garage soon became the place to go for a Porsche service if you lived in Southern Germany.
In 1975 RUF took performance tuning to the next step and produced its first "RUF enhanced Porsche". The firm's objectives were to improve the performance of the standard Porsche through exceptional engineering. Seemingly regardless of price because RUF conversions have never been cheap. To give you an idea, the latest RUF R Turbo costs around double a "standard" Porsche Turbo!
But back to earlier days. RUF concentrated on enhancing the turbo especially and saw a shortfall in the Porsche four speed gearbox. Their solution was to build their own 5 speed box. So this is clearly a company that takes performance and engineering very seriously. So much so in fact that in 1981 it became an accredited automobile manufacturer in its own right. This meant that cars leaving the Pfaffenhausen plant where now no longer Porsches; they were RUFs.
In 1987 the firm attracted some great PR in the supercar field when Road & Track Magazine compared the performance of the great supercars of the era and a RUF 911 CTR won the top gong. That its competition included a Ferrari 288 GTO and Testarossa, a Lamborghini Countach and even Porsche's own supercar, the 989, pretty much says where RUF sees itself in the performance car market.
The car for sale at Widdicombe Classic Cars is not a 911 CRT, but nevertheless it's a powerful piece of machinery in very good condition.
The 1989 Coupe 930 Turbo is finished in Guards Red with black trim and has a claimed mileage of only 90,000 kilometres (around Hong Kong mostly!).
RUF tend to concentrate on engineering and leave aesthetics virtually alone, so this car is pretty much a Porsche 930 from a visual point of view i.e. wide body and big intercooler/spoiler.
The driving position is also standard Porsche, which means very good, and the car does not feel that different from a standard 930 - yet!
But turn on the motor and this car is clearly something special. The modified turbo, different cams and valves, plus an exhaust that is decidedly not the quiet affair that befits a standard 930. The burble and cracking is sure to entertain the neighbours as the owner takes it out for an early morning run!
It's not a race tune though and town driving isn't going to be a problem. No lurching and stalling here, thank you very much!
But in reality this is a weekend car. Like all 930s it has enough low down power to be called adequate but from 2500 rpm upwards it's in a league of its own (-well maybe a league shared with the odd Lamborghini or Ferrari). A press of the accelerator and there is a hefty shove that sets the car on its haunches as the power sets in. I'd say 0-160 km performance would be well sub 10 seconds and stopping isn't bad either, with the whopping discs putting a clear strain in the seat belt department when used to their full extent.
The car is fitted with RUFs own superwide wheels and the road holding from all that rubber is well into racecar territory. If grip does start to run out then the front is likely to run a bit wide and the tyres will yelp their displeasure. Beyond that and you're in idiot territory!
Ride is certainly not soft but 'quality firm' would not be an unfair description. A pothole or two might cause some problems so best to keep a weather eye out on what passes for Australia's highways and byways.
The front "boot" is filled with special stereo equipment so it's a hard call in the aural department - Meatloaf at full blast or switch off and enjoy the engine/exhaust sonata?
The thing with this car is that everything comes together so well. Performance, handling, safety, looks, it's really got the lot.
The Porsche Turbo has frequently been given the "Best Car in the World" sobriquet. Where does that leave the RUF? "Best in the Universe"?
Trevor West
WHAT, WHERE, WHEN & HOW MUCH
Model:RUF 930 turbo
Year:1989
Dealer:Widdicombe Classic Cars
2/48 Junction Road
Burleigh Heads, QLD, 4220
Ph: (07) 5593 6816
www.widdicombeclassiccars.com
Price:$89,000
0-100 kph:4 seconds
Best point:The complete Supercar
Worst point:Hate the whale tail
Recommendation:Supercar investment
Trivia:Alois Jnr. has just opened a second manufacturing facility for RUF. This one is close to the F1 track in Bahrain. Does that give you a clue as to where he sees his client base?
