Studio Torino conjures Cayman classic
Newswheel staff :: 21 August 2006 :: Filed under Mid / rear engine sportscar, Porsche, Porsche Cayman, Ruf, Europe & UK, US
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997 Turbo? Meh.
Nice car, the Cayman coupe. But it’s not exactly a classic beauty. Nope, it suffers from a few too many fussy details and awkward styling cues to earn that accolade. But what if you could buff out the dodgy side air intake, clean up the front bumper, add a pair of elegant flying buttresses and delete the crappy rear-quarter window? Well, you’d have a winner and it would be called the Studio Torino RK Coupe…
The result of a joint effort by Studio Torino (a new Italian coachwork company in the modern idiom) and legendary Porsche tuning outfit Ruf, the RK Coupe is said to be inspired by the likes of the Porsche 904 and Fezza Dino 246. But there’s clearly also a dash of the delectable original Boxster concept in those repositioned air intakes just ahead of the rear arches.
Whatever, power comes courtesy of Ruf’s 3.8-litre supercharged take on Porsche’s classic flat-six lump. Peak outputs are 440bhp at 7,000rpm and 369lb/ft. Performance is quoted at 4.3 seconds to 62mph, 13 clicks to 125mph and a Vmax of around 195mph.
While we’re not sure we jive with the hot rod-esque candy red paint job and blacked-out wheels of the car pictured here, we’d certainly wilt at the prospect of a simple silver respray. Yum.
No word on pricing as yet, though with that bespoke bodywork and the Ruf engine, well, we’re talking the large side of big in terms of money.
Linkage:
Studio Torino
Posted 25 August 2006, by Graham Rix
Well, it's interesting. But it's hardly classic. Most of us who are not drugs dealers would feel a litle self-conscious ,or downright silly, in this car.
The standard Cayman has a few minor flaws, but at least you'd not be embarrassed to be seen driving one. (Unlike this.)
Surely the rear buttresses are just simple buttresses? They're not flying buttresses. Only Gothic cathedrals have flying buttresses.
Anyway, apart from the lack of rear windows, which must be a bit inconvenient, the buttresses haven't changed.