Porsche isn’t really involved but this is a true blue
Porsche 911 with a plug-in electric powertrain that
should give the Tesla Roadster a run for its
sportscar money.
Built by Ruf Automobile GmbH out of Pfaffenhausen, Germany, the project started
over a year ago.
Ruf shipped a 997 911 Carrera to Calmotors in
California, who handled all the prototyping work,
which included packaging the car and contracting
all the subsystems. The compact electric motor
and lithium-ion stack was provided by UK
company Axeon. It was shipped back to Ruf in
July 2008, where it was tweaked and tested to
become what is now the 2010 eRuf Model A.
While the car is unmistakably a Porsche 911
for any onlooker, various changes have been
made. Since the car now runs on an electric
motor, the front and rear bumpers as well as
the rear deck have been fitted with new
aerodynamic fiberglass pieces, making it look
even more imposing. The innards have been
ripped out to make space for the electric
drivetrain (no more rear seats) and the
interior has been reworked, with the dash
area looking like a considerable upgrade.
The electrified (pardon the word use)
Porsche Carrera features a driving range
of 200 miles, thanks to the 96 lithium-ion
units on stack. However, the same power
source has bloated the car to a weight of
4,210 pounds. It can runa 0 to 60 in just
under seven seconds and can achieve a
maximum speed of 140 mph. Full charging
requires 10 hours of plug-in time.Ruf is
selling the car for $250,000 a pop.
Even though it’s already been test
driven by Edmunds.com , official unveiling
of the Ruf eRuf Model A is targeted for
September 2009 at the Frankfurt Auto Show.
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