My husband often gets the chance to ride in cars owned by acquaintances or blog readers (lucky him, right? lol), but this time he got to drive a very rare Porsche called a “RUF.”

Since I’m still new to Porsche and didn’t know the name RUF, when my husband excitedly told me, “I got to ride in a RUF!” I responded with, “Huh? Nissan Roof? (-_-)” (You mean Nissan Leaf, actually).

So, I asked him to write down his impressions right away—please enjoy reading them.

About RUF

Recently, he had the opportunity to drive a very rare model.

Believe it or not, it was a RUF. RUF is a German tuning company specializing in Porsche cars. They tune Porsches and also sell complete kits. I didn’t know much beyond that, so I looked into it and found out:

Rather than tuning already finished Porsches, RUF receives Porsche bodies in a white (unfinished) state and builds the cars from the ground up as RUF vehicles, which means they are officially recognized as a manufacturer in Germany.

They also offer restoration services and sell kits to convert Porsche cars into RUF models.

Test Driving the 964-based RUF RCT

At first glance, it looks like a regular 964, but it’s adorned with various RUF parts and exudes an unmistakable extraordinary aura. From the rear, there’s a large turbo wing, so you might think it’s a 964 Turbo, but the rear fenders are not flared.

That’s because the RUF RCT is a turbo model, but it doesn’t use the wide Turbo body; instead, it uses a standard Carrera body.

The engine is a 3.6L flat-six with a single turbo. According to the owner, this setup produces over 380 PS and more than 550 Nm of torque, according to manufacturer specs. That “over” part sounds just right for a tuning company.

At first, I experienced it from the passenger seat. Sliding into the bucket seat, the interior looked almost identical to my own 964. The main differences were the seats and steering wheel, but looking closer, even the gauges were different, and I gradually got the feeling that this was not quite a Porsche.

The owner smoothly shifted into first gear and gently released the clutch, and the car started moving effortlessly.

The ride quality at low and medium speeds was exceptionally good. While it was firm, it didn’t feel like driving a monster machine, and I was surprised by how comfortable it was. Every time we exited a corner, the incredible body rigidity and solidity were strongly felt even from the passenger seat.

When accelerating on straights, there were some strong vertical motions where the damping and road surface rhythm didn’t quite match, but the body felt rock solid as expected.

The engine sound wasn’t deafening but was quite loud, with a flat-six racing tone. It was clearly different from my regular 964 Carrera 2—much sharper and more intense.

Thanks to the owner’s kindness, I got to drive it myself partway through. Sitting in the driver’s seat, partly due to the different seats, it felt like I was driving an even more compact car than my own 964.

Cautiously feeling out the clutch engagement point, I started off. Shifting from first to second and accelerating, the low-end torque was surprisingly strong. I had imagined a single-turbo RUF from an older car would be harder to handle, but it was nothing like that.

Simply put, the throttle response was easy to modulate, and it pulled strongly from low revs.

I didn’t push it to high revs since I wasn’t used to it, but the engine response was flawless, making it very easy to drive. The handling felt quite different from a stock 964. The normal 964 can feel reluctant to turn unless you really load the front, but the RUF RCT hardly feels like that at all.

Of course, it might be different at higher speeds, but at normal winding road speeds, just turning the wheel normally made it slice through corners smoothly.

Yes, this feeling is close to that of a modern water-cooled Porsche. My first impression of the handling was that it was similar to the 991 or 992 I recently drove. I’m not exaggerating—it really felt that way to me.

What stood out most was the front-end grip, stability, and responsiveness, which were clearly different from a normal 964. It’s like a normal 964 with a wider front track and a slightly quicker steering ratio. Even if you’re a bit relaxed with steering inputs, you can confidently carve through winding roads just as you want.

RUF: Similar to Porsche, Yet Different

Although the test drive was short and I’m far from an expert on RUF, I clearly understood that Porsche and RUF are similar but fundamentally different. Also, I felt that the direction RUF aimed for in this era might be close to what today’s 911 is striving for.

In that sense, the innovation and foresight of the RUF brand are truly impressive. If I get the chance, I’d love to drive a modern RUF as well.

Thank you very much to the owner for letting me experience this rare car!