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Tag: Tuner Tuesday

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Tuner Tuesday: 1990 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet – Ruf CR4 Conversion

It’s generally safe to say that we all like RUF. Their full builds can be spectacular both in appearance and performance, but almost any RUF to wear the badge, or simply share the name, possesses upgrades that make them very desirable. We very rarely see any related to the 964 so when we do come across one it’s always worthwhile to pause and take a closer look.

This is a 1990 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet that was sent off to RUF for a “full” CR4 conversion perhaps around the year 2000. Like many conversions what exactly is meant by “full” might be a matter of debate, but in this case the engine does appear to have been blueprinted by RUF with horsepower now at 330. That engine likely represents what buyers will care most about. From the documentation it looks like the owners of this car purchased it from RUF in May 2000, but it’s not clear when that means the conversion itself actually occurred. Maybe there is other documentation to support that. It then was imported into the U.S. where it has resided ever since.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1990 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet – Ruf CR4 Conversion on eBay

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Tuner Tuesday: 1989 Brabus 190E 3.6S

Legendary Mercedes-Benz tuner Brabus has put out a lot of great cars over the years. The majority of the time, they build cars that are like throwing a safe off a skyscraper. Big, powerful cars with giant V8s and V12s that do everything really well, but no one would really call them nimble or lightweight. Today’s car, a 1991 190E 3.8S ”Lightweight” for sale in England gives you a bunch of power with a manual transmission which maintaining a lighter feeling car.

Based off a 190E 2.6, the PR man for Brabus commissioned the company to build a lightweight example with minimal creature comforts for street and track use. What they ended up with was a 3.6 liter M103 with all upgraded internals, stiff suspension, sticky tires, a half roll cage and seats that hurt your hips just by looking at them. (More on that later.) Although built in 2008, this W201 kept its 80s styling and design themes while toeing the line between street car and track car. For as complete and nearly flawless as it is, the price is even more amazing.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1989 Brabus 190E 3.6S at Fast Classics

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Tuner Tuesday: 1989 Mercedes-Benz 190E Tommykaira M19

Update 3/6/18 – What appears to be this same car from July 2016 has appeared on San Francisco’s Craigslist with a $15,000 asking price but little more information. Thanks to our reader Jeff for the spot!

The last time you probably heard the term ‘Tommykaira’, it was ripping around a digital racetrack on Gran Turismo in the late 90s. The name Tommy Kaira was legendary in the JDM car scene in the 2000s with heavy hitter Nissan Skylines and even their own car that got them a place in the Gran Turismo video game series. But before becoming all that, they started off by dabbling in the world of Mercedes-Benz. They took the regular W201 190E and W124 300E and added their own speical touches to the engine, suspension, body work and wheels before reselling them to the Japanese market as the Tommykaira M19 and M30E . Very rarely do I see them for sale because of their relatively low production numbers but recently this M19 has come up for sale a few times on eBay in Yokohama, Japan. So let’s take a closer look at this JDM Baby Benz.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1989 Mercedes-Benz 190E Tommykaira M19 on eBay

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Tuner Tuesday: 1987 RUF BTR

The well worn cliche is that power is intoxicating. While typically that expression is used in reference to abuses by individuals it seems no less applicable to cars. Once you get a taste of a level of acceleration, you begin to want more. And more. And maybe even a little more. Thankfully there exist outlets for such desires; builders who are happy to provide you with completely unnecessary levels of power in our continual pursuit of more. Just bring your wallet.

For your Porsche the name nearly synonymous with the need for extra power is RUF. RUF has been in the game for a long time, producing modified Porsches for 40 years. While in many cases these are conversions where the owner buys a 911 and has RUF parts added by an appropriate installer (or by RUF themselves), RUF also has produced their own builds utilizing nothing more than a Porsche chassis. These cars were badged as a RUF rather than a Porsche and come with a RUF VIN. The one we see most commonly and the one that really got the whole thing started is the BTR. Fitted with a 3.4 liter turbocharged flat-6 mated to a 5-speed manual the BTR was a much more powerful version of the 930 capable of outclassing most any production car available at the time. Naturally that extra performance along with their relative rarity makes them a highly sought after commodity. Here we have one such beast: a 1987 RUF BTR, located in Virginia, with 37,472 miles on it.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1987 RUF BTR on eBay

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Tuner Tuesday: 2001 Mercedes-Benz C320 Brabus C3.8S

One thing that I always admired about Mercedes-Benz tuner Brabus is that they weren’t afraid to touch anything. Oldnew, big, and small, they aren’t afraid to put their touches on any product to roll out of Untertürkheim. Today’s car is one of those where I question was it even worth it to spend a ton of money into making something that atleast right now, isn’t all that desirable. This is a 2003 C320 that was converted by Brabus into what they call a C3.8S. As you might have guessed, they took the 3.2 liter M112 V6 and transformed it into a 3.8 liter making around 300 horsepower to the rear wheels. In typical Brabus fashion, the added front and rear bumpers, a new exhaust, some wheels and finished it all off with some interior touches that differed from the standard W203 offering. All of this time and money left you with a 0-60 time of 6.8 seconds. Yeah, not that impressive.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2001 Mercedes-Benz C320 Brabus C3.8S at MB World

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