I don’t really have an issue with upgrading noughties Porsches to make these things. It’s a bit like upgrading your car on Forza Horizon, just a rite of passage each time you buy something from the Horizon Festival. You add new bumpers, paint your wheels black, drop in a ‘race engine’ and call it a day. And now you’re winning all the races.
Mainly because Porsche have made more 911s since the dawn of time than the Golden Arches have sold Big Macs. I’m confident we’ll never run out, so we’re not exactly wiping out the nice, standard, silver-wheeled ones. Don’t believe me? Go to London and take a stroll through South Kensington or Mayfair. If you’re looking for your dream 911, chances are you’ll find it parked on the street.
Which brings me to this thing, the Porsche 911 RUF R Kompressor. It started life as a regular 997, and used to be serviced at Porsche Centre West London. It probably once had a life of being quietly palmed through Kensington and Chelsea at 20 mph, looking handsome parked outside an artisan coffee shop, while the owner sat nearby reading the Financial Times and sipping an espresso.
But at some point, that all changed. Someone decided being quietly handsome wasn’t enough. Maybe the espresso got cold one too many times. Maybe the Financial Times ran out of good headlines. It’s here where someone’s mind shifted, where dreams were formed of becoming the werewolf of London, slipping through the streets in a grey 997 with ancillary RUF upgrades.
So what did they do? They ran for the London borders, then headed north to Fearnsport, a renowned Porsche specialist. It was here that the ordinary 997 went under the knife, receiving RUF components like the ASA Kompressor, front and rear body kits, and 19-inch five-spoke alloy wheels, packing the 2+2 with 420 horsepower.
What I can’t get behind with this one is the blacked-out rear lights. Where everything else looks large and in charge, this just feels like a Halfords job. RUF are known for precision, purpose-built upgrades that blend aggression with restraint, so adding blacked-out rear lights to what could have been a masterpiece just ends up making it look like a drug dealer’s whip. I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions.
Images courtesy of TheCarSpy