A super-rare 911 variant is seen parked up at a local supermarket...
There are many 911 tuning houses: Techart, Cargraphic, Speedart and the newly-resurrected Gemballa to name but a few. However, one name stands out in the Porsche tuning fraternity: RUF Automobile GmbH.
Their legendary CTR1 "Yellowbird" cemented their reputation as masters of 911-tweakage, helped along in no small part by the jaw-dropping footage of Stefan Roser pedalling the CTR1 around the Nordschleife in a rather handy manner. Their current model line-up includes the stunning RGT-8 V8-powered 911, and a new model in the retro-styled 911 Roadster, a car that takes the original 911 Targa as its inspiration.
However, it's unlikely you'll ever see one of these tuned Porsches out on the road in the UK; they're generally made to order, produced in tiny numbers and bought by very wealthy people who are unlikely to use their super-expensive Porsche to nip down to the shops for a pint of milk. Which is why I was utterly stunned to see a RUF Rt 12 parked outside a branch of Sainsbury's this morning.
I've never seen a RUF before, not even at shows, so the incongrousness of seeing one idling outside my local supermarket caused me to stop dead in my tracks! The Rt 12 is a stunning car in the metal - my crappy phonecam photos do not do it justice - and the lowered stance and evil rumble coming from the quad exhausts gave it a presence that drew a sizeable crowd, even on a rainy Sunday morning.
I probably won't see another of these cars again, so I'm rather glad I did manage to spot one being used as a daily driver. There's something delightfully perverse in seeing a 200+ mph 650bhp 911 supercar mix it with Hyundais and Fords to escape the confines of the supermarket carpark. Fastest shopping car ever? I think so.
Update: DC's eagle-eyed Jack Wood spotted what appears to be this very car for sale in the Pistonheads classifieds. Anyone got £155k they could lend me...?
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