Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Porsche
Road and Track tests battery-powered E-Ruf 911
Click above for high-res gallery of the E-Ruf
We only heard about the latest modified Porsche from Ruf about a week and a half ago when the tuner unveiled its new E-Ruf via press release. Apparently we weren't the first to learn of the all-electric 911, as Road & Track has already driven it and just published its first impressions, including details about the car's inner workings that were previously unknown.
Unlike most Ruf Porsches, the E-Ruf hasn't had its internal combustion engine boosted to within an inch of its life. It doesn't even have an ICE. Instead, the staff in Germany have ripped out the boxer 6-cylinder, back seat and fuel tank. The back seat area and front trunk have been stuffed full of lithium-ion batteries and an electric motor's been bolted to the stock 6-speed gearbox. Turns out that the E-Ruf is very different from other high-profile EVs like the Tesla Roadster in some interesting ways, but you'll have to click through to Road and Track to find out exactly why and what it means for the future of EVs.
Gallery: E-Ruf electric 911
[Source: Road & Track]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Rob 4:11PM (10/21/2008)
I wonder how badly the weight distribution changed? As if a Porsche needed to be heavier in the rear.
Reply
EXP Jawa 4:22PM (10/21/2008)
If the various transmission suppliers that Tesla worked with couldn't get a 2-speed gearbox to hold up while shifting at full torque (due to the electric motor torque curve characteristics), will this be any different?
Reply
tankd0g 10:21PM (10/21/2008)
Telsa in their blind ignorance, refused to use a clutch.
Michael 4:23PM (10/21/2008)
"On winding roads, the E-Ruf's 4200-lb. weight is apparent as soon as you make a quick steering input. The batteries alone weigh some 1200 lb., and occupy all of the trunk space up front and all of the room inside the big hump where the back seat used to be. Naturally, the balance of the car is not nearly (nor is expected to be) the same as the standard 997's. Ruf would like the E-Ruf to hit 60 mph in under 7 seconds, reach a top speed of 160 mph and have a maximum range of between 155 to 200 miles depending on driving conditions. We can also expect improved handling worthy of the Ruf name."
Reply
BoxerFanatic 5:38PM (10/21/2008)
4200lbs in a small car, with performance and range below that of the normal car it is based upon, while cramming almost every useable inch with batteries, so not even enough room left over for a pack of gum...
Exactly why electricity, as a transmission medium, is inferior to liquid fuel. It is, for all intents and purposes, impossible to make electrical capacitance as energy dense and versatile as liquid petrochemical fuel's energy density.
It is a good lookin' car, though. All sleek and simple, no wings, scoops, or strakes. Just purified porsche, with nice Ruf wheels. the only thing Ruf did to the styling was purify it by smoothing it out. It almost looks more like a 50s/60s Porsche.
Jason 6:31PM (10/21/2008)
Couldn't agree with you more, the charge density of batteries just can't compete with gasoline. Hopefully that will be changing before too long though.
Mike!!ekiM 9:42PM (10/21/2008)
- Batteries are at version 1.0 in development. Nanotube batteries and ultra-capacity batteries are on the way. This shows with off the shelf parts, the Gas Engine is DEAD.
tankd0g 10:21PM (10/21/2008)
Ya the ICE is dead, it barely has another 100 years left in it. *rolls eyes*.
chiohmann 4:34AM (10/22/2008)
The reality is we are going to run out gas.
I mean we are in serious trouble in the future.
I am happy to see such a small company to see ahead of the future and trying to prepare.
Hydrogen,electricity, etc I dont care, we NEED a alternate source of energy to power vehicles.
chrisdavis 4:26PM (10/21/2008)
I just want those bumper stickers.
Reply
letstakeawalk 4:43PM (10/21/2008)
Could you translate them for us? Much appreciated...
EvolutionVII 4:48PM (10/21/2008)
Erprobungsfahrt means trial/test run in german.
300Kid 4:51PM (10/21/2008)
LoL, "bungs fahrt" :-P
Sorry that just made me laugh.......been a long day
BirdmanSTX 5:09PM (10/21/2008)
Oh... I thought it was something about probing farts.... trial/testing sounds more realistic though :)
havoc 5:31PM (10/21/2008)
yeah... if we can have umpteen replies to the urea blutec post about pee, i think a few for porsche for a 'er.. pro-bungs-fahrt' can be accepted
John Johnson 4:26PM (10/21/2008)
"Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Porsche"
I LOL'ed.
Reply
Geeky1 4:32PM (10/21/2008)
As much as I hate to do it for this particular vehicle (I love normal Ruf Porsches), I have to give them credit where it's due...
....tacking on 1200lbs and ripping out the car's 'heart' only to replace it with something that belongs in a food processor is definitely one of the more interesting ways I've seen to destroy one of the world's best sports cars. What a waste.
Reply
Geeky1 4:38PM (10/21/2008)
And lest someone accuse me of being some kind of green-hating anti-environmentalist or something...
I'd be quite happy to drive a hydrogen fueled, *internal combustion powered* 911. I've got no problem with that... 's the best of both worlds, IMO. Effectively zero emissions (there will still be some co2 and the like released because some of the oil film on the cylinder walls is going to burn off, but the amounts are so low from everything that I've read that it's almost inconsequential), and it still sounds and drives like a real car. I think that's great.
Keep the electric motors where they belong; in golf carts, Toyotas, blenders and other appliances.
Goat Law 4:49PM (10/21/2008)
You green-hating anti-environmentalist ... or something.
ichime 8:23PM (10/21/2008)
the other way to destroy a sports car is to give it to Richard Hamann.