DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

Photo session finished and emails swapped we finalised the route to the last hotel.

It had always been an idea if we had time to stop off at the most famous Porsche ‘tuning’ company in the world , RUF . So without any call ahead we decided to drop by and have a look around the show room, get some pics of the cars etc. So 7 scruffy guys from the UK randomly park on the forecourt in front of the RUF showroom and wander in for a look around. We weren’t expecting anything g really, but what a loverly welcoming company Ruf is. After being offered some coffee a guy called Marc came out to meet us all and asked if we’d like a tour of the workshops !! He said usually you have to book ahead by months and currently they were extremely busy as a couple of staff were off, it he’d see what he could do . Marc was an absolute star and spent the next couple of hours showing us around and chatting in great details about the cars and the company . No photos allowed unfortunately but we got to see everything from the workshops, paint shops , engine dyno rooms etc etc

My favourite was an oak green 964 in for a full RuF build with light green interior and monster turbo motor.....I for one deffo now want a RUF











RUF are also an official Porsche service centre ... in case any of you modern Porsche owners want a cool OPC stamp in the service book

RUF was the icing on the cake for this trip, so on to our last hotel and time to meet up with friends for good food and drink ( it was a very popular ‘food hotel’ )

Hotel Porsche tractors

Heavy hearts it was our last day... decided to cross country it through the Mosel region along to Cochem for lunch and then motorway it upto rotterdam . As it was cross country and lunch took a bit longer than expected so a sprint to the ferry finished off a superb trip

Enroute clutch adjustments


First proper rain of the trip



So many memories of a great trip , but as always it’s a combination of things coming together that make it special.

Currently on a downer as really miss being out on the road with my mates

hot66 wrote:.......really miss being out on the road with my mates

....nowt better

Thanks for sharing

Epic trip

[quote="hot66"]



Fancy not including the 996 and boxster in that photo James

Sounded like an epic trip, hope to do same one day, Will just loved listening to your adventures in envy!!

Great write up and great photos.

Regards
Mike

So my take on this stage of the trip; we had all been in our cars for something like 8-10 hours a day, for about 5 days.

The roads had been epic, the company superb, and the trip a real privilege to complete. We still had a day or two to go, but as usual, after a hard day’s driving time to dump the bags in our room and have a post match debrief over beers, before dinner....

Not a bad place to be chilling of an evening.





It did get a little chilly at night. ....

And so to the next day. After some epic no-speed limit autobahn testing of the cars (I bottled it at 200km/h - didn’t want to blow the engine.... the others can tell you what they got to if they want...!) the Ruf trip was very special.

As James said, they were seriously welcoming - the quality of work, the craftsmanship, the passion - all very, very impressive.













But one of the things I loved about them most was their dedication to take the Aircooled skills to a new generation - both workers & customers alike. Things we take for granted like warming the car before thrashing and sitting at idle to cool it down before turning it off they find they have to teach some new customers.

Their mission seems not only to be the best Porsche tuners, but (& I know this sounds pretentious) guardians of the old school knowledge. That’s just cool.

And then I found this outside! And it’s got a proper stance

So on to the penultimate day. The trip was so overwhelming in its driving experiences, the days had kind of merged into one massive adrenaline buzz. We were all exhausted but elated. That much adrenaline is just good for the soul.

So a gentle (ok, we found some more derestricted autobahn later) mosey through some forests and the random rolls/photographer (nothing to be suspicious about with a massive rolls, 1 German, a Ukrainian & a Kazakhstani in the middle of no-where....) and I ended up with some great pics of my car too!



And on to our final hotel.



Which was pretty cool....



And then to the ferry. Which after we had finished lunch found we had a 4 hour trip to do..... and final check-in in 4 1/2 hours.....oops. Cue much focused driving. But we made it.

All you can eat buffet on the ferry. Legendary.

Profiteroles for hors d’oeuvres followed by spare ribs, green Thai curry & chips (on the same plate) for starters and a gentle roast beef, more spare ribs and roast potatoes for main course. Was too stuffed for proper pudding, so book-ended with a few more profiteroles. And some wine. And a couple of G&Ts on the sunset deck (really, really not glam )

And still with a full stomach the next morning it was that sad parting with Porsches all going in different directions off the M18. Mine back to where my car lives with Nick F.

Best. Road trip. Ever.



Brilliant organisation from James, seriously great company. 2,347 adrenaline-fuelled, power-sliding, hairpin-wrestling, awesome scenery miles. A lifetime of memories.

Incredibly cool. Instructive for the rest of us.

2,347 miles is impressive! A great read guys, nice one. An inspiration to 'take the car'.

Murph - love that shot of your car with the snow wall behind and tracks going away from the top of the wall

Thanks - it was an extraordinary place for a quick photo - I loved how that came out too