We visit Alpina & RUF automobiles facilities

[ChrisMT79]

Originally Posted by 1&done

Wow thanks for sharing, I love the "winter beater"

lol, a properly equipped Porsche is one of the funnest vehicles you can have in the snow!

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by Bosozoku

I remember reading about that car in one of the car magazines. The bodywork is standard 911 instead of wide-body Turbo to give it a smaller aerodynamic cross-section. For higher top speed of course. Ruf also did a really fast flat green car that he nicknamed the "NATO Porsche."

Thanks for the great post!

Yeah, The Ruf CTR "Yellow Bird" was first shown on the cover of Road & Track magazine, I believe it was in 1987. It did 211 mph beating out some major competition! All the car manufactures and tuners from around the world brought their best to VW's top secret test track: Ehra-Lessien. Ehra-Lessien is quite unusual because it has two 9km long straights - perfect for top speed testing. Its location was also very close to the East German border... so strangers were not so welcome in this area.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ehra-Lessien





Ruf CTR Yellow Bird...


Not only was the CTR a turbo car in the narrow non turbo body(a first!) but Ruf also cut off the exposed rain gutters and NACA ducts(inlets on the car's rear hips) for less drag. The car also had a aero under tray for high speed airflow.

Only 29 CTR's were ever built. And Btw... Stefan Roser still works for Ruf. Here was there the day we stopped by.

Here are some pics of that "NATO Porsche"...

[Alpine F31]

Wow wow wow. As a kid, RUF and Alpina cars were the stuff of my dreams. Thanks for an excellent write up and awesome photos!

[Philippe4]

Great write up! I did not realize Ruf and Alpina are so close together. I don't think we have a Ruf dealer here in the US anymore. At least I can't find them

[Bosozoku]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

Yeah, The Ruf CTR "Yellow Bird" was first shown on the cover of Road & Track magazine, I believe it was in 1987.
[...]
Here are some pics of that "NATO Porsche"...

OMG. There it is! (I might still have that issue of R&T.)

It's one thing to read about a car and see photos. But that video of Stefan Roser's Nordschleife laps is utterly terrifying. He is living proof that some extremely talented people can be old *and* bold.

Thanks again!

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by Bosozoku

OMG. There it is! (I might still have that issue of R&T.)

It's one thing to read about a car and see photos. But that video of Stefan Roser's Nordschleife laps is utterly terrifying. He is living proof that some extremely talented people can be old *and* bold.

Thanks again!

Speaking of car magazines... I also remember reading the British magazine Performance Car... they had a contest where two lucky readers went to Nürburgring Nordschleife, and be driven around in the CTR by none other than Stefan Roser.

What I remember MOST about this story was that Stefan could only do a few laps of the ring before one of the rear tires would pop! Or shall I say... explode. Here is the article from that Performance Car magazine...

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by Philippe4

Great write up! I did not realize Ruf and Alpina are so close together. I don't think we have a Ruf dealer here in the US anymore. At least I can't find them

I thought there were two brother's who raced RUF's in the states - who ran a RUF dealership. I thought it was in Colorado. But after looking at RUF's website... it looks like there is not a US dealer now. That explains why we saw so many RUF cars with US licence plates there.

scroll all the way down for the dealer locations... (no US dealers)
http://www.ruf-automobile.de/temp_en.html

[Bosozoku]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

What I remember MOST about this story was that Stefan could only do a few laps of the ring before one of the rear tires would pop! Or shall I say... explode.

That's one of the first things I though when watching "Fascination."
How long are those rear tires going to last?
Clarkson can destroy rear tires in just a few miles, but at 100+ MPH slower than Stefan at the Nordschleife.

Thanks again for these posts!

(Just one question: is there any particular reason why the oil filler cap door is open?)

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by Bosozoku

That's one of the first things I though when watching "Fascination."
How long are those rear tires going to last?
Clarkson can destroy rear tires in just a few miles, but at 100+ MPH slower than Stefan at the Nordschleife.

Thanks again for these posts!

(Just one question: is there any particular reason why the oil filler cap door is open?)

No, not that I know of. I think this was just a hard, used "test mule" that didn't have the small touches done right. If you look at the front fender to door gaps... they are huge! So I think it was just a hard used mule that was maybe hurried to the 'Ring for these magazine winners. This was just when the VHS video was starting to come out.

[sq86]

Terrific write up and pictures as usual!

[Dackelone]

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by ChrisMT79

It's funny, in my younger days I could not truly appreciate what Alpina had to offer (primarily in the looks department). Now, I love everything about them and truly hope to own one some day. Thank you for sharing!

Alpina's are so underrated. They literally fly under everyone's radar. But I have always lusted after them and will continue to do so. The WANT is very high!


Btw... if you have done so already, check out my road test of an Alpina B4 BiTurbo...

We drive an Alpina B4 BiTurbo - extended road test...
http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1323766