Page updated: July 16, 1999
Factories & Manufacturers
There happens to be one or two interesting car manufacturers in Germany ( and Europe). You can even get a tour in some of them.
[ Porsche Factory ] [ Alpina ] [ Ruf ]
Porsche Factory
You can set up a factory tour by contacting
Porsche Cars North America in Altanta, GA. Their general number
is (770) 290-3500. To set it up, you should let them know how
many people are coming, your names, potential dates for the visit,
and a contact phone number and/or fax. This has to be done typically
well in advance, as they can accommodate only so many people.
Plan early.
(Photo by EMan Jun-1998)
The building above was one of the original buildings on this site. It’s still around for some reason. (Yes, I have taken the tour. I just haven’t felt like writing about it yet.)
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Alpina
Alpina is a car manufacturer located
in Buchloe, Bavaria. If you are not familiar with Alpina, they
take BMWs and make them special with different engines and body
style treatments. These cars are technically no longer BMWs.
I would have loved to tour Alpina, but their policy is to allow tours only for large groups (about 20 or so). Two was just too few. Their phone number is (08241) 50050. If you’re dialing outside of Germany, use international access number, the country code (49) and drop the zero in the city code (8241). If you manage to set up a tour,
Buchloe is about 65 due west of Munich. To get there, take A96 west towards Landsberg. Buchloe is about 10 km past Landsberg. Take the Buchloe exit (#23) from the autobahn and head in the direction of town. There will be a map on the right as you approach Buchloe. It’s probably a good idea to get your reference from there. Alpina is in the southeast part of town (H7 on the map), on the corner of Alpenstraße and Münchener Straße. Stay on the main road towards town. Right before this road bends into a tee, you’ll pass Alpenstraße to your left (a little after the gas station). Turn left and go down about 1 km. Alpina will be on your left.
(photo: E Man Jun-98)
(Cargirl the <BMW> Heretic drives a Porsche 996 onto Bavarian Holy Ground)
Ruf
First of all, it’s pronounced “roof”
(please - no “the Ruf is on fire” jokes). Technically,
Ruf is a car manufacturer, not just a tuner. However, Ruf can
modify your car, too.
Ruf is located in Pfaffenhausen (actually very near Buchloe). From the north, you can get there by getting on the A8 and taking the Günzburg exit. Head south on the B16 about 43 km (28 mi). Stay on B16 as it winds its way down. Once in Pfaffenhausen, Ruf is located at the southeast end of town. There is a DEA gas station on the left (north) side of the road. His showroom is right next to the gas station (that may be changing, as it is under constrution when I was there).
I attended the Open House hosted by the German Region of PCA
(Porsche Club of America). Alois Ruf gave us a personal tour
of his facilities. In addition to manufacturing “new”
cars such as the Ruf CTR2, Ruf also modifies Porsches (for performance)
as well as doing restorations. Each car in his shop held a story.
The picture on the right (Estonia & Alois Ruf) was taken during the Open House.
Ruf Automotive GmbH
Mindelheimer Straße 21
D-8949 Pfaffenhausen
Germany
08265 / 10 12
(from the US that’s 011 49 8265 10 12, or see my calling by phone info.)
