Porsche is a brand mostly known for the 911 – a car everyone seems to have the habit of trying to reimagine these days. RUF has been quite successful at doing that and, even before Porsche started dabbling with the idea of a hybrid/electric 911, RUF went on to make their own – the eRUF Model A.
In a collaboration with Siemens, the German carmaker (not a tuner) unveiled a concept that’s based on the 997-generation, under the slogan “Emotion without Emission”. While the moto would certainly be more believable now, 13 years later, the eRUf would now go like a 911. Mind you, this was back in 2008 and electric powertrains were not as advanced as they are nowadays.
It was never going to be a high-performance car
With this in mind, RUF set relatively modest goals for its all-electric sports car. It was supposed to be able to reach from 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) in under 7.0 seconds, have a top speed of 160 mph (258 km/h) and be capable of 200 miles (321 km) of range on a single charge.
It was quite heavy
It goes without saying that EVs are usually quite heavy, compared to their internal combustion engine counterparts. In this case, the eRUF Model A was a whopping 1,431 pounds (641 kg) heavier than a 997 Carrera S, which weighed in at 3,131 pounds (1,420 kg). In short, RUF’s first EV had a curb weight of 4,562 pounds (2,069 kg).
The engine
The car was propelled by a three-phase electric motor, which took the place of the 3.6-liter flat-six engine, behind the rear axle. In terms of layout, it was still a proper 911, even if Porsche had almost nothing in common with it, other than supplying the shell – back then RUF hadn’t started making their own bodies yet. The engine made 201 horsepower (150 kilowatts) and 455 pound-feet (617 Nm).
As advanced as a McLaren Artura?
The eRUF Model A would use a one or two-speed gearbox with no reverse gear ratio. This was due to the fact, the electric motor was capable of spinning in both directions. Essentially, what the McLaren Artura has, only 13 years earlier.
The eRUF Model A had a successor
The RUF’s Model A never saw production, but it did have a successor. It was the eRUF Greenster and was essentially an EV version of RUF’s version of a Porsche 997 Targa. Once again, it was a collaboration with Siemens, but this time, it was more powerful. The Greenster’s electric drivetrain produced 367 horsepower (270 kilowatts) and a massive 700 pound-feet (950 Nm), allowing for a 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) sprint of around 5.0 seconds.
The Greenster was finished in what looks to be Forest Green, while the two-tone brown interior featured a Porsche 987 dashboard. Production was supposed to start at the end of 2010, but for unknown reasons, that never happened. Some speculate that Porsche may have had a thing or two to say about it, but we can’t confirm that. In any case, it was Ferdinand Porsche and his 1898 Egger-Lohner that hold the title of the first Porsche EV, so the Stuttgart sports car manufacturer technically still has the bragging rights.