My visit to Ruf...

[Rick Lee]

I have to preface this by saying my photos don't do justice to the experience I had there. The people were incredibly knowledgeable (duh), friendly and generous with their time. I emailed them through their website and Natalia Campana there siad they'd be waiting for when I got there. For any of you in the vicinity of Munich, the tiny village of Pfaffenhausen is about an hour's drive to the west in Oberallgaeu. I actually drove there from Stuttgart through Ulm and weaved my way through the tiny villages - gorgeous drive.

Anyway, Natalia was super nice and took me through their workshop. I wasn't supposed to photograph any license plates, but anything else was ok. Again, photos do not do this place justice.



Since there was a lot of work going on around me, I was a little shy about interrupting people with my flashes. Over in the engine dept. I got a real good look at a 3.2 Carrera engine that they were building up to 4.0l. Sorry - no photo, but it didn't look too different than my old 3.2. They also had a few 3.6 apart and then a batch of Getrag trannies nearby too. It was pretty cool to see a C4S tranny up close and I got a good look at the clutch assembly like the one on my 993. Since I was taking these guys away from their work with my questions, I was a bit shy about photos. But here are some more.



This car belongs to some rich Saudi, who keeps it at Ruf for whenever he gets the urge to go to Germany and drive fast.



I think these are a real bargain at $12k a set.



And here's the prize - Alois Ruf's personal 901 - #37 ever built and it has 615 km. on the clock. His wife told me he does drive now and then.

WTF? I can't get anymore photos to post. I'm not kidding. I'll finish this post later.

[Rick Lee]

Ah, here it is.

[Eric Mckenna]

OH MAN!! RICH... NO, NO.. you teased me with the idea I would see lotz of RUF cars and goodies.. ... great stuff so far please keep them coming.

[Rick Lee]

Now, for the story behind the story.

Natalia (a total knockout, btw) said she was gonna go see if Herr Ruf was free to speak with me. A few minutes later she came back and said he had just left, but his wife would be out to see me soon, while the shop put the wheels back on the car they were gonna take me for a ride in!!!

Mrs. Ruf is one of the nicest (and most beautiful) women you will ever meet. She's from Venezuela and is about 3yrs. older than me. You did well, Alois. Anyway, we chatted for a while, which was a bit difficult in her broken German. English probably would have been easier for both of us. She was telling me about some of their customers, how they arrange air freight and by-sea shipping and also said that she and her hubby get out to the DC area every year or two to have a chat with NHTSA. I hope I'll get to buy them a drink next time they're here, as NHTSA is pretty close to where I work.

Anyway, then this imposing Nordic-looking man with the glow-in-the-dark turquoise eyes came in and said in his awesome Bayerisch accent, "Who am I taking for a test drive?"

Sorry. Again, no photo. But this machine was a sight to behold - a triple black 996tt with all the Ruf mods - big yellows, extra fender flaring and air intakes, leather Recaro racing seats and their new suspension set-up that, at the push of a button, raises or lowers the car up to 7 cm. Anyway, I strapped in and away we went.

I am not exaggerating this at all when I say I think we covered around 15 km. in about 4 minutes. When I opened my eyes the speedo was at 313km/h. I think we actually hit 330km/h. I have never been so scared in my life. Bear in mind, this was not on THE Autobahn, but rather a two-lane, open road with curves and other cars on it too. The boost on this car felt like I was being launched off a carrier deck. When we got to the next village, it was time to slam on the brakes. OH MY GOD!!! How this thing stopped is still a mystery to me. I mistakenly thought I was safe by then, when he did U-turn and we headed back to Pfaffenhausen. This time he started out very slowly, shifted into 6th gear and lugged the car from 1000 rpms to show me how much torque this thing had. Amazing - it not only didn't stall, but there was a very steady pull and this continued again up to well over 300km/h. The speed limit on this road was 100km/h. Luckily, the engine was loud enough to cover up the wimpering sounds coming from me. I was sure they'd be identifying me by my dental records, but knew that death would be very fast. I don't think this guy's pulse went above 50 during this drive.

We got back to Ruf, I wiped the sweat from my brow and went inside to thank them all once again. We all exchanged business cards and I hope I'll see some of those super folks in the US sometime soon.

Again, if you're ever near Munich, go visit this place!!!

[Eric Mckenna]

Due that was the best story.. who waste driver... another one of Alois's Stigs.. all they do is drive Well and drive FAST! hahaa great stuff
Thanks.. I need to save and buy a RUF!

[cstreit]

Richard,

Very nice write-up. Thank you.

[dickster]

great stuff - more pics?

is that taking the piss or what? leave your car with ruf for when you're in town and fancy a blast!

[rattlsnak]

You suk....

[rs911t]

Geez, great stuff Richard. I hope you didn't stain the passenger seat!

[Rick Lee]

BTW, the car we took out belonged to some guy from Puerto Rico who also keeps it at Ruf for when he gets over to Germany and feels the need for speed. I have to say, I've never been much of a 996 fan and never really got bitten by the turbo bug. But this experience changed everything. I can't imagine ever having to nads to drive like that even on a track. And I truly did fear for my life - really. But it was a rush like no other and I'm thankful for the experience. I needed a cigarette and a new pair of shorts after that drive.

[Eric Mckenna]

"I truly did fear for my life - really. But it was a rush like no other and I'm thankful for the experience. I needed a cigarette and a new pair of shorts after that drive."


HAHAHAHAAHAHHAAHAH!! Great Stuff..

[1fastredsc]

That 996tt in that light blue is farking gorgeous!

[maxnine11]

great story Richard!
pretty hard to top your "what i did on my winter vacation"
max

[Rick Lee]

Stay tuned. My write-up and photos from Gmuend will be later today or tomorrow.

[Kurt B]

Great story. I know you thought about us and the pictures you'd post when you were there. Every picture of a place like that has value, so post anything you have.

[JTO]

Awesome write up Richard. I felt like I was there too!

Troy

[Rick Lee]

Guys, not to sound too sappy, but I really was thinking about the Pelicanheads for a lot of my trip. I just couldn't take all the photos I wanted to. From having a 996 whip past me on the hwy. like I was standing still, when I was doing over 100 mph or walking past some cool BMW 2002 in a parking lot, there was just too much to see and I didn't always have my camera ready.

At first glance, Ruf is a very small operation and is about the size of Intersport here in NoVA. Their labor rate is even a very reasonable 70 Euros an hour. But there was just no way to really photograph their hospitality and friendliness. I was a tad intimidated by Mrs. Ruf's, shall I say, scorching hotness to ask for a photo. It was hard to not just keep staring. And as knowledgeable as Natalia was about P-cars, it would have been just a little embarrassing to keep taking photos of every little thing that I know excites all of us, but looks a little nerdy to non-Pelicanheads. I think even she started to wonder when I picked up a dual mass flywheel off the floor and checked it for scoring. They all asked what I drove and when I replied a 993, they then asked "2 or 4?". Gotta love it.

[trj911]

Wow! What a great opportunity! I've got to put that on my list of places to visit.

[Eric Mckenna]

I wanna see Natalia!!!!!!!

[MotoSook]

Yeah! If Richard really was thinking of us, he'd had taking pictures of the Natalia and any other female bi-ped eye candy

Edit: Very nice write up Richard.