ZOSicK
October 26th, 2003, 12:13 AM
You wouldn't know it by looking at it. Approaching the 3400S, you're confronted by a huge, turbo-look nose. It's about as appropriate to the delicately proportioned Boxster as boxing gloves on a ballerina. Inside the cabin, bat-eared chairs dwarf the cockpit and evoke a John McEnroe-type response: you cannot be serious! Thankfully, the rest of the car is standard-issue Boxster, with tasteful RUF badging in the usual Porsche places.
Fire-up the 3400S and the sports seats suddenly seem less ridiculous. The re-worked exhaust resurrects the raspy, aggressive bark cherished by devotees of the air-cooled 911. The sound is both nostalgic and addictive. It's a little strange to be blipping the drive-by-wire throttle of a Boxster- a car continually criticised for not being "a real Porsche"- hearing noises that make standard Carreras sound like automotive castrati.
Snick the Boxster's six-speed into first, press the loud pedal, release the clutch and things get even stranger. The 3400S rockets forward with unrestrained zeal. When the 310hp engine hits its sweet spot, at around 3500rpms, it pulls with supercar ferocity. At that point, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Peter Wheeler had a hand in this somewhere. The surround-sound wail hardens, and the thing just gets up and goes. Trucks lumbering down Germany's billiard table roads are reeled-in like dynamite stunned marlin.
In fact, the RUF 3400S and the Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet offer virtually identical performance. It's the way the RUF car delivers that performance that sets the two cars apart. On a winding road, at any speed, the 3400S is spirited, involving and technically flawless. Unlike the 911, its talents are always entertaining, accessible and benign (unless you are determined to die). Brake hard mid-corner and… go round. Hit a big bump and… go round. The RUF Boxster changes direction as effortlessly as a wind vane, yet cruises without the slightest stress. In short, it serves up lashings of that old-fashioned sports car virtue known as "fun". And it's all yours for around £55,000
In the final analysis, the 3400S surrenders two things to the basic 911: back seats and street cred. The former isn't an enormous issue with most Porsche buyers. The latter is insoluble. No matter what body kit you graft onto the Boxster, no matter how fast or agile the car becomes, it can never have the 911's macho appeal. So, Porsche fans, it's make up your mind time. Are you a driver or a poser? Answers in an envelope to Doctor Alois Ruf
http://www.pistonheads.com/news/images/3242-1.jpg
http://www.pistonheads.com/news/images/3242-2.jpg
http://www.pistonheads.com/news/images/3242-3_small.jpg
:lildevil:
Fire-up the 3400S and the sports seats suddenly seem less ridiculous. The re-worked exhaust resurrects the raspy, aggressive bark cherished by devotees of the air-cooled 911. The sound is both nostalgic and addictive. It's a little strange to be blipping the drive-by-wire throttle of a Boxster- a car continually criticised for not being "a real Porsche"- hearing noises that make standard Carreras sound like automotive castrati.
Snick the Boxster's six-speed into first, press the loud pedal, release the clutch and things get even stranger. The 3400S rockets forward with unrestrained zeal. When the 310hp engine hits its sweet spot, at around 3500rpms, it pulls with supercar ferocity. At that point, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Peter Wheeler had a hand in this somewhere. The surround-sound wail hardens, and the thing just gets up and goes. Trucks lumbering down Germany's billiard table roads are reeled-in like dynamite stunned marlin.
In fact, the RUF 3400S and the Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet offer virtually identical performance. It's the way the RUF car delivers that performance that sets the two cars apart. On a winding road, at any speed, the 3400S is spirited, involving and technically flawless. Unlike the 911, its talents are always entertaining, accessible and benign (unless you are determined to die). Brake hard mid-corner and… go round. Hit a big bump and… go round. The RUF Boxster changes direction as effortlessly as a wind vane, yet cruises without the slightest stress. In short, it serves up lashings of that old-fashioned sports car virtue known as "fun". And it's all yours for around £55,000
In the final analysis, the 3400S surrenders two things to the basic 911: back seats and street cred. The former isn't an enormous issue with most Porsche buyers. The latter is insoluble. No matter what body kit you graft onto the Boxster, no matter how fast or agile the car becomes, it can never have the 911's macho appeal. So, Porsche fans, it's make up your mind time. Are you a driver or a poser? Answers in an envelope to Doctor Alois Ruf
http://www.pistonheads.com/news/images/3242-1.jpg
http://www.pistonheads.com/news/images/3242-2.jpg
http://www.pistonheads.com/news/images/3242-3_small.jpg
:lildevil: