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Category: Tuner Tuesday

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Tuner Tuesday GCFSB Alumnus: 2002 Ruf Volkswagen Beetle Turbo S Concept

Tuner Tuesday GCFSB Alumnus: 2002 Ruf Volkswagen Beetle Turbo S Concept

Published November 14, 2017 by Carter

Update 2/16/18: After showing as sold in November for $14,900, the mega-cool Ruf Bug is back again for the same $14,900 ask.

It’s back!

This is a car which has haunted these pages since we first began writing up German cars, if you can believe it. Originally, Aaron wrote this car up nearly 6 years ago to the day – November 8, 2011. Back then, the seller was asking an incredibly steep $60,000. Three years later in 2014, Paul spotted it again and revisited the concept. It was then up for sale for a scarcely more reasonable $50,000. In both cases, it was really hard to justify the substantial premium even if it was a neat looking car.

Fast forward to today, and we’re finally getting somewhere. Although the car appears to have changed little since 2014, the asking price is now $14,900. Mileage is far below average at only 51,722 and condition generally looks very good. It has only accrued 10,000 miles in the last three years. Although this car lacks true RUF credentials, the general concept pulls together pretty well and the execution looks nice. Is this the one to have? It’s certainly a lot more compelling than a standard Beetle in many ways and has big dollar mods, but do those mods justify a $11,000 premium over a standard Turbo S?

-Carter

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2002 Ruf Volkswagen Beetle Turbo S Concept on eBay

The below post originally appeared on our site November 9, 2011:

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Tuner Tuesday: 1993 BMW M3 iDing Power S3

Tuner Tuesday: 1993 BMW M3 iDing Power S3

Published November 7, 2017 by Carter

Looking for a subtle performance sedan? Today’s not your day.

You probably haven’t heard of iDing Power, because odds are that if you’re reading this you don’t live in Japan. And even if you’re an afficiando of M3s, you’d probably dismiss this particular car as a M3 GTR replica for the street like I did. But this car is far more than that, and much more interesting.

The M3 GTR launched in 1994, and the United States did (technically) see it in the form of the Prototype Technology Group-run team in IMSA race series. The same year in Japan, iDing Power revealed the plans for their turned-up E36 M3. They had acquired an early production second generation model; production started for the E36 M3 in February, 1992 – and the particular example you see here was produced on February 3, 1993. iDing then added a plethora of unique touches, from upgraded suspension, wheels and brakes, special interior items, and some body modifications. By “some”, of course it’s hard to look past the W201 190E-Evo inspired rear wing and massive tacked-on flares. iDing also took the S50B30 European motor, rated at 286 horsepower stock, and modified it to a claimed 330 horsepower. iDing widebodies are pretty rare finds, but even among them this one is particularly special. With only 7,600 miles on the odometer, this example appears to be the original prototype and test car:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1993 BMW M3 iDing Power S3 at Cool Running Japan

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Tuner Tuesday: 1982 Alpina B7S Turbo Coupe with 20,000 Miles

Tuner Tuesday: 1982 Alpina B7S Turbo Coupe with 20,000 Miles

Published October 17, 2017 by Carter

Continuing on today’s green theme and moving up the pecking order a few notches from the E12 duo from the other day, here we have something of a monster. Alpina offered E24 fans a special treat with a turned up turbocharged variant of the 635CSi that was good enough not only to rival BMW’s own M6/M635CSi, but indeed to better it.

The M88 was already a bit of legend before BMW offered derivatives in the /3 and catalyst-equipped S38. With 256-286 horsepower depending on tune, it was about as good as non-exotic normally aspirated motors got in the 1980s. But Alpina had always had a knack for outdoing the cars their creations were based upon, so in went the turbocharger. The result was impressive in any form; the Turbo Coupe/1 was good for 300 horsepower and could match the acceleration of the M cars. But matching wasn’t enough, so Alpina upped the power with the B7S. Now up to 3.4 liters and good for 320 plus horsepower and nearly 400 lb.ft of torque, it was a car which could rip your face off anytime, anywhere. Like all Alpinas, they were lovingly crafted and full of exquisite detail work and limited to only 30 examples:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1982 Alpina B7S Turbo Coupe on Enthusiast Auto

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Tuner Tuesday: 1992 Porsche 911 Carrera 2 Coupe RAUH-Welt Begriff

Tuner Tuesday: 1992 Porsche 911 Carrera 2 Coupe RAUH-Welt Begriff

Published October 17, 2017 by Rob

I’ve featured a few of RAUH-Welt Begriff’s Porsche creations, but this one might be my favorite. It’s an interesting mix of old and new, borrowing its colors and interior aesthetic from vintage Porsche hues and fabrics, then wrapping that in a body that is anything but vintage 911. In addition, unlike many of RWB’s builds this one has the performance to complement the wildly aggressive design.

For this build they used a 1992 Porsche 911 Carrera 2 Coupe. The design remains unmistakably that of Akira Nakai with its swooping hand-formed curves, very wide fenders, and huge wing. Under the hood this is a very different beast with the standard 3.6 liter flat-six now built to 3.8 liter RSR specs. I’m always curious if such statements mean precisely what they say because I believe that would mean around 350 hp from this engine. At the very least we can assume there’s going to be a decent bit of extra power going to the rear wheels.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1992 Porsche 911 Carrera 2 Coupe RAUH-Welt Begriff on eBay

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Tuner Tuesday: 1997 Mercedes-Benz CL600 Brabus 7.3S

Tuner Tuesday: 1997 Mercedes-Benz CL600 Brabus 7.3S

Published October 10, 2017 by Andrew

Last week I checked out a great SL73 AMG which the mad men at AMG took an already hearty 6.0 liter V12 and converted it to a 7.3 liter. Today we have another 7.3 liter 140 chassis, although this one was converted by another tuning house. This 1997 CL600 for sale in Hamburg, Germany was sent to well-known Brabus where it not only underwent the conversion to 7.3 liters, but gained some body work, wheels and giant brakes as well. Because of all this, the price tag steep. But you probably won’t believe how steep it really is.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1997 Mercedes-Benz CL600 Brabus 7.3S on Moblie.de

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