RUF Turbo At Auction
12-13-2009, 12:45 PM
#16
Race Car
Again, I advise that you look at the previous strings on the car. If I remember, there was some good info. And it seemed that the car was legit and unique. Just make sure you understand the BTR conversion. Very cool and RWD brutality.
My guess is that the conversion was not done in Dallas, the Dallas shop has only been open for a few years. (My car was converted in Germany, Steve's was done in the US by a German RUF mechanic who was flown in.) So you may want to email that VIN directly to RUF Germany. RUF Dallas is friendly and helpful, but they could not access the records of my car when I was researching. Now they know everything about my car as they are the only shop that can touch it!
Good luck!
My guess is that the conversion was not done in Dallas, the Dallas shop has only been open for a few years. (My car was converted in Germany, Steve's was done in the US by a German RUF mechanic who was flown in.) So you may want to email that VIN directly to RUF Germany. RUF Dallas is friendly and helpful, but they could not access the records of my car when I was researching. Now they know everything about my car as they are the only shop that can touch it!
Good luck!
12-14-2009, 09:24 AM
#17
Instructor
Thread Starter
Again, I advise that you look at the previous strings on the car. If I remember, there was some good info. And it seemed that the car was legit and unique. Just make sure you understand the BTR conversion. Very cool and RWD brutality.
My guess is that the conversion was not done in Dallas, the Dallas shop has only been open for a few years. (My car was converted in Germany, Steve's was done in the US by a German RUF mechanic who was flown in.) So you may want to email that VIN directly to RUF Germany. RUF Dallas is friendly and helpful, but they could not access the records of my car when I was researching. Now they know everything about my car as they are the only shop that can touch it!
Good luck!
My guess is that the conversion was not done in Dallas, the Dallas shop has only been open for a few years. (My car was converted in Germany, Steve's was done in the US by a German RUF mechanic who was flown in.) So you may want to email that VIN directly to RUF Germany. RUF Dallas is friendly and helpful, but they could not access the records of my car when I was researching. Now they know everything about my car as they are the only shop that can touch it!
Good luck!
12-14-2009, 12:59 PM
#18
Granted, the argument has been that Ruf VIN carry more value than Ruf conversions. However, before Ruf received manufacturer status, all Ruf cars were conversions.
IMHO, a Ruf car is a Ruf car, any way you build it.
12-14-2009, 09:06 PM
#19
Instructor
Thread Starter
Whether a Ruf car starts with a Ruf VIN or is a Ruf conversion, in Ruf's eyes, its still an original Ruf car.
Granted, the argument has been that Ruf VIN carry more value than Ruf conversions. However, before Ruf received manufacturer status, all Ruf cars were conversions.
IMHO, a Ruf car is a Ruf car, any way you build it.
Granted, the argument has been that Ruf VIN carry more value than Ruf conversions. However, before Ruf received manufacturer status, all Ruf cars were conversions.
IMHO, a Ruf car is a Ruf car, any way you build it.
12-15-2009, 03:22 PM
#20
I think the bigger issue will be price. When the bafoons with too much money and an over inflated ego start bidding on TV they often pay much too high a price for cars at that auction. Ohh and dont forget that huge buyers premium that B/J charges you.
12-15-2009, 08:39 PM
#21
Race Director
If the car orginated in WA state, there is a chance that Weissach in Vancouver BC did the conversion. Weissach was Ruf's North America rep before Ruf Dallas opened.
It is definitely a BTR. This is the third BTR that I know of, mine, the silver one reworked by Ruf Dallas (orginally done in the south somewhere, may be Florida?), now this one.
Nice car though. And 98MY carries some cache all by itself.
CP
It is definitely a BTR. This is the third BTR that I know of, mine, the silver one reworked by Ruf Dallas (orginally done in the south somewhere, may be Florida?), now this one.
Nice car though. And 98MY carries some cache all by itself.
CP
Last edited by CP; 12-16-2009 at 02:47 PM.
12-16-2009, 12:45 PM
#22
Instructor
Thread Starter
If the car orginated in WA state, there is a chance that Weissach in Vancouver BC did the conversion. Weissach was Ruf's North America rep before Ruf Dallas opened.
It is definitely a BTR. This is the third BTR that I know of, mine, the silver one reworked by Ruf Dallas (orginally done in the south somewhere, may be Florida?), now this one.
Nice car though. And 98MY carries some cache as by itself.
CP
It is definitely a BTR. This is the third BTR that I know of, mine, the silver one reworked by Ruf Dallas (orginally done in the south somewhere, may be Florida?), now this one.
Nice car though. And 98MY carries some cache as by itself.
CP
12-16-2009, 03:07 PM
#23
Race Director
Then starting the 96 MY the factory 993 tt hit the market, and Ruf had a much better (and easier) platform to work with. The result is the CTR and Turbo-Rs. Those twin-turbo Rufs pushed close to 500 HP, and Ruf only charged about $25k for the conversion. Of course one had to buy a 993tt first so the price of admission was much steeper than the NA 993/BTR.
With that evolution, only NA owners would consider the BTR. With the high conversion price but less HP, most people wanting a Ruf would go the CTR and or Turbo-R route. Thus the BTR is a true rarity. As I mentioned, I know of 3 now in the States, all are conversions. Since all CTRs and Turbo-Rs were all wide body, 4WD cars, BTRs that are narrow body, RWD became even more rare amongst turbo-charged Porsches.
There were 18 Ruf VIN BTRs that Ruf actually built. I believe they ware all narrow-body cars as Alois felt that the narrow-body 993 actually had better aero-dynamics than the wide-body cars. They are a few hundred pounds lighter for sure. I am NOT sure if any of those are in the States though.
Hope this little tidbit adds to the interest in this thread.
CP
Last edited by CP; 12-16-2009 at 03:34 PM.
12-16-2009, 08:57 PM
#24
Instructor
Thread Starter
When the 993 first came out as a 95 MY car, there were no factory turbos. Ruf did the BTR conversion kit taking a NA 993 to 426 HP/438 ft-# tq. Since Ruf had to turbo-charge an OEM NA engine, they had to design and fabricte all the necessary conversion parts: plenums, upstream/downstream breathing, brackets, and a whole bunch more. It was a VERY expansive proposition. My PO's paperwork showed he paid Ruf (Germany) $65k for his BTR conversion in August 2000. The AWD or RWD configuration had nothing to do with it. If the original car was a C2, then it became a BTR-2 (mine for example). If it was a C4, it became a BTR-4.
Then starting the 96 MY the factory 993 tt hit the market, and Ruf had a much better (and easier) platform to work with. The result is the CTR and Turbo-Rs. Those twin-turbo Rufs pushed close to 500 HP, and Ruf only charged about $25k for the conversion. Of course one had to buy a 993tt first so the price of admission was much steeper than the NA 993/BTR.
With that evolution, only NA owners would consider the BTR. With the high conversion price but less HP, most people wanting a Ruf would go the CTR and or Turbo-R route. Thus the BTR is a true rarity. As I mentioned, I know of 3 now in the States, all are conversions. Since all CTRs and Turbo-Rs were all wide body, 4WD cars, BTRs that are narrow body, RWD became even more rare amongst turbo-charged Porsches.
There were 18 Ruf VIN BTRs that Ruf actually built. I believe they ware all narrow-body cars as Alois felt that the narrow-body 993 actually had better aero-dynamics than the wide-body cars. They are a few hundred pounds lighter for sure. I am NOT sure if any of those are in the States though.
Hope this little tidbit adds to the interest in this thread.
CP
Then starting the 96 MY the factory 993 tt hit the market, and Ruf had a much better (and easier) platform to work with. The result is the CTR and Turbo-Rs. Those twin-turbo Rufs pushed close to 500 HP, and Ruf only charged about $25k for the conversion. Of course one had to buy a 993tt first so the price of admission was much steeper than the NA 993/BTR.
With that evolution, only NA owners would consider the BTR. With the high conversion price but less HP, most people wanting a Ruf would go the CTR and or Turbo-R route. Thus the BTR is a true rarity. As I mentioned, I know of 3 now in the States, all are conversions. Since all CTRs and Turbo-Rs were all wide body, 4WD cars, BTRs that are narrow body, RWD became even more rare amongst turbo-charged Porsches.
There were 18 Ruf VIN BTRs that Ruf actually built. I believe they ware all narrow-body cars as Alois felt that the narrow-body 993 actually had better aero-dynamics than the wide-body cars. They are a few hundred pounds lighter for sure. I am NOT sure if any of those are in the States though.
Hope this little tidbit adds to the interest in this thread.
CP
12-16-2009, 09:07 PM
#25
Race Car
Pong, I saw a C4S BTR at RUF recently.
And one other option that RUF did is like my car. It was a C4S that RUF converted to a Turbo R. They purchased a new crated 993TT motor and transmission, coverted it to Turbo R, and installed it in the C4S. The cost in 2001 was $50k.
And one other option that RUF did is like my car. It was a C4S that RUF converted to a Turbo R. They purchased a new crated 993TT motor and transmission, coverted it to Turbo R, and installed it in the C4S. The cost in 2001 was $50k.
12-16-2009, 09:36 PM
#26
Race Director
Patrick,
What color was the C4S BTR at Ruf?
Yes, I neglect to mention the crate tt motor route. But the end result is still a Turbo-R or CTR. BTRs are very rare birds indeed.
CP
What color was the C4S BTR at Ruf?
Yes, I neglect to mention the crate tt motor route. But the end result is still a Turbo-R or CTR. BTRs are very rare birds indeed.
CP
12-17-2009, 09:01 AM
#29
Race Car
12-17-2009, 09:42 AM
#30
Intermediate
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i have the Excellence issue that they did a profile on the Turbo R and that was what they reported. I thought this was little low as well