Weird Car News: This is NOT a Porsche.

Nope. Definitely not a Porsche. “It’s torn straight from a Porsche history book… But sure I’ll bite. What is it?” Story time! Have you ever heard of RUF? RUF Automobile GmbH is the contrivance of Alois Ruf Jr. The german company formerly known as “Auto Ruf” originally began as his father’s automotive service garage in the the late 30’s in Pfaffehausen, Germany. However, a drastic evolution came to fruition in the mid 70’s when Alois took control of his father’s business and began to further embellish his deeper interest in sports cars particularly (you guessed it) Porsche.

Now if you Google RUF, you’ll note a full spectrum of undeniably Porsche-esque cars, because that’s pretty much exactly what they are. RUF vehicles are fabricated from unbadged Porsche chassis, but are brimming with home-made high-performance parts and trimmed with unique body modifications. In turn RUF are officially recognized by Germany as a full-on automotive manufacturer with their own production vehicles, complete with certified VIN numbers, rather than just a modified Porsche dealer. Their vehicle lineup and reputation is quite impressive in fact. In 1987 their RUF CTR “Yellowbird” made news when it reached a striking 211mph, setting a record as the world’s fastest production car for that time, and followed that trend again in 1988 when it reached 213mph. 40+ years of Porsche based legacy in mind let’s get back to the issue at hand; The vehicle pictured is not a Porsche. Moreover, it’s not even built on a Porsche frame as per their norm. That’s the weird part.

The yellow knock-out in question is the 2017 RUF CTR; and she is a well-bred homage to the timeless class and elegant style of eras past. And the kicker? For the first time since the manufacturers conception, it is a car entirely of their own design. The CTR is built atop RUF’s uniquely tailored carbon fiber monocoque chassis, in which the body and frame are integrated as a single structure, with an incorporated roll cage. The CTR weighs in at only 2640 lbs which is propelled by a fierce twin turbo 3.6 liter flat-six rear mounted engine that pushes a staggering 700 horsepower directly to the rear wheels. At 0-62 in 3.5 seconds, a top speed of 225mph and a fine rear end no self-respecting petrolhead could help but ogling, she’s got moxie.

The 2017 RUF CTR is an eloquent and remarkably powerful nod to the ageless sports car spirit, and those are the qualities that have endeared so many motorists to the RUF brand throughout the years. I tip my hat to you Alois. RUF is unique in their industry, and have garnered an unflinchingly loyal following therein. What more could a company hope for? Here’s to hoping they avail themselves of more of these gorgeous originals in the future.

Photo and vehicle specs courtesy of roadandtrack.com

Weird Car News: The $6 Million Pickup

How well do you remember 2008? It was a year pinged by political and technological milestones and memorably outrageous earmarks. We were Introduced to the Apple iPhone 3g, the Amazon Kindle, and watched intently as the Go-Green industry poised itself for explosive growth. We bore witness as Illinois senator Barack Obama entered the White House as our 44th president, while a bantam group of representatives from Washington and Oregon busied themselves gaining nearly $500k in the FY appropriations bill for beer’s main ingredient, Hops (because long live the brew, that’s why!) In the meantime, a scant few of us glimpsed the birth of the $6 million Pickup. Yes, that’s right! Are you in the market for something bigger than a car? How about something bigger than TWENTY CARS? Are you also looking for something weird (and kinda cool) to blow millions of dollars on frivolously? Then have I got news for you! The Ford F-750 World Cruiser could be yours!  https://youtu.be/5GkVoA5euCs

The foundation for the World Cruiser is the Ford F-750; A class 8 medium duty truck typically utilized as a large flatbed or dump truck or outfitted with an array of heavy equipment including cherry pickers, small cranes, large water tanks or concrete mixers. The first generation of these behemoths was produced from 2000-2014 as the replacement for its predecessors, the F-700/F-800 line, and came standard with one of 2 diesel engines: A 7.2 Liter Caterpillar in-line 6 or a 6.7 Liter Cummins in-line 6. While this may not sound like the ideal framework for a luxury touring vehicle, masters of luxury and military grade 4×4’s, Dunkel Industries, visualized just that.

We can rebuild it! We have the technology! Better, stronger, faster and with WAY more amenities. The World Cruiser boasts a full kitchen, living room, dining room, bathroom, and sleeping accommodations for six. And if the lavish interior wasn’t enough, the World Cruiser flaunts an outboard projector coupled with a set of massive 12” speakers. This colossus is driven by a Caterpillar Turbo Diesel engine, producing a remarkable 1,200 lb.-ft. of torque capable of hauling a staggering 4 tons of cargo.  The final cost of this project weighed in at a jaw dropping $6 million, well in excess of its original $2 million budget.

The world Cruiser Went to auction, but unfortunately the bidding fell starkly short of the cringe-inducing price tag and continues to remain in their possession. This hasn’t fazed them however, as they’ve replicated this design more cost effectively into another line of “Luxury 4×4’s” staged for auction in Abu-Dhabi. Their motto?  “Dunkel industries was built on the childhood dream of never having to stop because the trail was ‘more than the RV could handle.'”