Bruce Anderson:
"Ruf Automobile GmbH has been certified by the German government as an original automobile manufacturer since 1981. In 1987, Ruf Automobile GmbH also became became an approved manufacturer with the U.S. authorities for safety and emissions (NHTSA and EPA)."
Not quite as elaborately as Porsche itself (which got its start raiding the VW parts bins), Ruf buys parts from Porsche, and then assembles "better" Porsches for the high-speed niche market occupied by most tuners. Ruf just takes it a step further than most tuners, and enjoys a good relationship with Porsche (sort of like AMG does with Mercedes and BMW), but gets its own manufacturer's badging, like Brabus does with Mercedes.
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Jack Olsen
1973 911 T (3.6) sunroof coupe
jackolsen@mediaone.net