RUF Life:</br> Making A Great Car Even Greater
Scouring The Internet

About a year ago I was going through my daily routine of browsing Craigslist, eBay and various Porsche forums. Knowing that all things Porsche were going up in price at a steady rate, I was desperately looking for a 996 Turbo. One of the forums that I was frequenting at the time was Rennlist. There I stumbled upon a light blue colored 996 Turbo that I instantly fell in love with.

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I investigated further and found out that the seller was located three quarters of the country away from me in Chicago. The car was also way out of my price range, but to me it was the perfect 996 Turbo.

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After a few days the post was gone. I assumed that I would never see the car again, either online or in person.

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Fast forward a couple months after I found my own 911 Turbo project car. I was at the GMG Racing Open House when I saw this very car parked at the CSF Racing booth.

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CSF Racing is run by my buddy Ravi, who I’ve known for a few years now. Over that time we’ve worked on a few projects together, including last year’s Liberty Walk 997 Turbo SEMA car, and he’s always told me that he wanted to get a Porsche of his own one day.

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Well, it turns out that he actually bought the car that I saw on Rennlist. Ravi even flew to Chicago just to check it out in person, and he fell in love instantly.

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Since then, the 911 has become a test mule and project car for a whole slew of CSF Racing products. Not surprisingly, the first modification Ravi made was to install a set of his aluminum radiators. The stock ones tend to crack easily because they have plastic ends.

Minerva Blue
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So what’s the story behind this blue beast anyways? And why does it have a RUF RTurbo badge?

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Well, Ravi is fourth in a line of owners who two of which previously added their own personal touches to the car.

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The first owner picked it up in 2002 off a Porsche showroom floor in California. The price tag: $135,000, which included the oh-so-unique Minerva Blue paint. This may be the only 996 Turbo painted this color in the whole of North America.

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The car didn’t get a whole lot of use in its first few years and when it was sold in 2006 there was only 5000 miles on the clock.

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The next owner lived in Maryland and was a hardcore track junkie. For the most part, he’s the reason why there are so many performance upgrades made to the car.

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More than $100,000 was sunk into the performance side of things, and those modifications include UMW hybrid turbos and intake piping, big 997 GT2 RS intercoolers, a Speedtech exhaust system, plus a whole lot more. Today, the 3.6-liter flat six twin turbo pushes 515 horsepower and 580ft-lb torque to all four wheels, as measured on the Behe Performance dyno.

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Along with that, the second owner added all the fun suspension bits including Moton Clubsport 2-way adjustable shocks, plus GT3 control arms and adjustable links all around for the perfect track setup.

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The brakes were upgraded too, with GT3 6-piston and 4-piston calipers and Girodisc 2-piece rotors no less.

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After 23,000 hard-driven miles, the car was sold in 2011 to an enthusiast in Chicago.

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It was this owner that did all the exterior modification needed to transform the 996 into a RUF 550 RTurbo.

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He fitted the beautiful RUF wheels, which I am totally jealous of by the way.

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RUF mirrors, plus a RUF front bumper conversion with all the proper ducting for the radiators were also added.

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Pulling the whole exterior look together is a TechArt carbon fiber adjustable rear wing.

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Inside, the front seats were reupholstered for that brand new look too.

CSF Racing
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As I said earlier, Ravi is the fourth owner, and he bought the car back to the West Coast with 34,500 miles on it. California is where Ravi says it belongs, and I could not agree more.

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While there are so many mods that Ravi has planned, right now he’s just looking forward to taking it to the track and enjoying all the 911’s power to its full potential.

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Ravi loves the fact that the car has traveled across the country just to end up back in California, but as a completely different car than when it left.

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Something else he mentioned that’s interesting is the generation shifts of the car’s owners.

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The first owner was aged in his 50s, which makes sense considering how much the car cost brand new.

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The second owner was in his 40s and would have paid less by purchasing a car that was a few years old.

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The third owner, who was obsessed with the cosmetics, was in his 30s. I think that makes perfect sense too.

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And finally we have Ravi, who is in his late 20s. So as the Porsche got older the owners became younger. And at the same time, as car lost value and became more and more affordable, it became more and more extravagant.

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It was a dream come true for Ravi to own this car and he’s worked very hard to get to this point. He also loves the fact that he knows the full history of the car through its records and receipts, and is still friends with the third owner.

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After seeing the car and having a go in the driver’s seat myself, it’s set a very high bar for what I want to achieve with my own 996 Turbo project. My car will get there someday…

In the meantime, if you are in Southern California and see a pair of 996 Turbos – one Minerva Blue and one Slate Grey – you can probably bet that it’s Ravi and I cruising around making all the cool turbo noises.

Larry Chen
Instagram: larry_chen_foto
larry@speedhunters.com

Cutting Room Floor
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Comments



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47 comments

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1

Right there - what every Porsche must have.

A manual transmission and a big wing.

2

Great looking car. But the wood inserts feels wrong.

3
RichieTipsyKariuki

Agh...There are times when having wood ain't a good thing..

4

Mmmm

5

Please tell me that interior is on the list of things to upgrade!

6

I remember seeing this RUF at Wekfest LA this year and immediately being drawn to it. The paint color, smooth lines and those classic RUF wheels. Nice.

7

Speedhunters sweeeeeeeet jezuzzzzzzzzz ~ the friggin wood interior accents have GOT TO GO ~ modify that ~

8

Piano black trims should replace those wood trims. But damn that Minerva Blue is sex!

9

Ice Age 
and a wide body as a good to have

10

@AristoCat 
I agree with you, wood trim does not rhyme well with the car's personality

11

What a toy! I can imagine the sensation of the turbo kicking in, and the rear hunks down leaving a cloud of rubber smoke behind! absolute sensation this is

12

Wood to brushed aluminum or perhaps matte carbon (not sure piano black would work), and you've got a damn near perfect combination. Regardless, that wood has to burn baby burn. Which reminds me of the old story about the Germans being able to make wood look like plastic, and the Japanese of course make plastic look like wood...

13

if its a Daily, is cool to have a luxury interior, crazy exterior and racing mechanics combination.

14

Man, That wood is terrible. Replace for carbon and perfect Turbo!. I Just picked up a 996 Cab in Slate Grey with only 24,000 Miles. With the GT3 aero and Champion rear wing. Its getting dropped tomorrow with H&R springs. They are great cars. I had a coupe back in 2001 and put 85,000 miles on the original clutch.

15

I see a lot of flame going on in regards to the wood interior. Let me tell you that when I saw the pictures online when 1st looking at the car, I also had the same thoughts in my head of "doesn't go with the car" "must change asap!", etc... However, after talking to the 3rd owner before flying to see it, he said don't judge it until you see it in person, and that it "grows on you".. I thought it was a bs sales pitch...BUT...
The full wood grain interior package ($8000 option when new) is so freaking cool, and there is no way I'm changing it!! It really fits the vibe of the car, and just embodies California Cool. I don't think there is a person who has seeing the car, and has not commented on how well it looks and fits the vibe. It gives off a "period correct" feeling to the car. It kind of what ties everything together.
I'm so glad it actually looks good, because carbon fiber replacement parts for the car ain't cheap! Lol!!
@LarryChen always a pleasure my friend. Love reading your stories! can't wait to put our 2 together for a little spin. And I'm jealous of your wheels, haha ;) cheers

16

CSFrace Honestly, as soon as I saw the wood interior, I thought "I must have that for when I finally get my own 911." It looks great! -a design director in the automotive industry.

17

RUF is pronounced 'roof', not 'rough'.

18

#boughtnotbuilt

19

If you could do a new write up of the RUF CTR Yellowbird next that'd be great!

20

If you could do a new write up of the RUF CTR Yellowbird next that'd be great!

21

I love the woodgrain and I'm glad you're not changing it. You guys don't want wood grain in a 911, buy your own and tear it out

22

I love the woodgrain and I'm glad you're not changing it. You guys don't want wood grain in a 911, buy your own and tear it out

23

CSFrace I know what you meaning, Earlier this year a friend bought a Audi A8L. when he was showing me the car online, the dashboard was horrible. Beige and brown colored wood with beige leather. But when i first saw the car live, instantaneously i changed my mind.

24

So... sinking $100k into performance parts for a 996 turbo buys you approximately 100 hp? I can already hear the Evo, STi, GTR owners laughing their way to the bank...

25

Mahfoodh Ice Age Yup, that too.

26

DerekAlexander I'm pretty sure that 100k includes all of the other things like suspension, brakes etc...

Stock WHP on these are about 360. They are around 420 to the crank.

27

Interesting the generation thing.

28

Interesting the generation thing.

29

The comments in this place are getting as bad as comments on YouTube. Everyone just hating on everything and anything.

It's the interior trim pieces on an amazing, beautiful, high performance car. Interior pieces which I'd guess cost more than the actual cars most of us own.

I mean, if you want a Minerva Blue 996 Turbo with "MAD JDM TYTE YO!!" Carbon Fiber interior trim.... close your web browser, shut up and go fucking build one. Stop pissing and moaning about the minutia of other peoples pride and joy.

30

CSFrace Grey and wood doesn't look particularly good at first sight, but then again it screams 90's early 00's so much. I'm sure it grows on you.

31

yurikaze CSFrace Sorry sir, I also will disagree with you. as far as your opinion as "a design director in the automotive industry", I can only think of the design directorsthat made the Pacer, the Mustang II and the Gremlin. They thought those cars looked great....as design directors in the automotive industry.

32

eejjkk I was curious and I looked up just one piece: http://www.suncoastparts.com/product/911LTWood.html

33

Nice ride hope to see you his out there!

34

Beautiful car, must go like hell too!

35

Super super random but I thought that name Girodisc seemed familiar.... googled it at they are down at the end of my business complex lol. Nice to see their stuff on a build like this, it must be a good thing!

36

Super super random but I thought that name Girodisc seemed familiar.... googled it at they are down at the end of my business complex lol. Nice to see their stuff on a build like this, it must be a good thing!

37

The best 996 that I ever see, beautiful <3

38

Imagine if all the wood was painted the same blue as the exterior, that would look sick with the grey

39

Holy shit. I thought he was exaggerating!

40

Its a very nice car and a lot of respect to the person taking care of this one but RUF aero does not make a RUF car. RUF has a focus that is different from this car.

41

Its a very nice car and a lot of respect to the person taking care of this one but RUF aero does not make a RUF car. RUF has a focus that is different from this car.

42

Its a very nice car and a lot of respect to the person taking care of this one but RUF aero does not make a RUF car. RUF has a focus that is different from this car.

43

Really nice ride. Love the color. I do have 2 opinions (if I'm still allowed to have them). I am not totally familiar with RUF Porsches but aren't there more RUF specific parts i.e. Steering wheel, 220mph speedo, etc. that RUF's had? ME personally would feel uncomfortable driving a car that wasn't authentic unless it was spot on. Too many poseurs out there. And I Am NOT saying this owner is one. Just too many people sticking R or S or whatever badges on their rides out there. I would have done the RUF mods but kept the factory Turbo emblem. Car is bada$$ enough.
Secondly the wood trim really hit me like a brick at first. As I read the comments and looked over it again, it is OK. I think that wood in a performance car looks dated now. In the 50's and 60's, maybe 70's it was OK. The 80's ( thanks GM) really killed the wood look, luxury European rides notwithstanding. The fact that it is shiny like a cheap suit doesn't help either. Looks too much like the stick on cheap kits that were made. Would love to see a more natural matte wood. Or even a grayish wood like in the newer cars. AND the fact it costs almost $8000 is just plain riduculous. That does cost more than my daily driver. But it sure isn't prettier than it. Prices like that really keep the common people from owning these cars.
And if I didn't mention it, that car looks gorgeous. Great job.

44

Really nice ride. Love the color. I do have 2 opinions (if I'm still allowed to have them). I am not totally familiar with RUF Porsches but aren't there more RUF specific parts i.e. Steering wheel, 220mph speedo, etc. that RUF's had? ME personally would feel uncomfortable driving a car that wasn't authentic unless it was spot on. Too many poseurs out there. And I Am NOT saying this owner is one. Just too many people sticking R or S or whatever badges on their rides out there. I would have done the RUF mods but kept the factory Turbo emblem. Car is bada$$ enough.
Secondly the wood trim really hit me like a brick at first. As I read the comments and looked over it again, it is OK. I think that wood in a performance car looks dated now. In the 50's and 60's, maybe 70's it was OK. The 80's ( thanks GM) really killed the wood look, luxury European rides notwithstanding. The fact that it is shiny like a cheap suit doesn't help either. Looks too much like the stick on cheap kits that were made. Would love to see a more natural matte wood. Or even a grayish wood like in the newer cars. AND the fact it costs almost $8000 is just plain riduculous. That does cost more than my daily driver. But it sure isn't prettier than it. Prices like that really keep the common people from owning these cars.
And if I didn't mention it, that car looks gorgeous. Great job.

45

Buick Man The wood in this one is hideous.

46

ShawnCowan Thinking the same thing. The wood grain needs to be set on fire.

47

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