Ruf Bergmeister Hillclimb Racer-Inspired Speedster Debuts At The Quail

Pebble Beach is now populated with the coolest cars of late for the Monterey Car Week, and one of them comes all the way from Germany. Auto manufacturer Ruf treats the attendees of The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering with an open-top speedster, the Bergmeister.

Also called the Project RBS, the Bergmeister sits side-by-side with another nameplate at the event. The Ruf SCR, which looks like a classic 911 and made its debut in 2018, first appeared in production form in 2020. Of note, this is the first American outing for both cars.

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The Ruf Bergmeister is inspired by Porsche’s hillclimb cars of yesteryear, specifically the legendary Porsche 906, the 909 Bergspyder, and the 718 RS 60 Spyder. The company also took inspiration from other race cars, such as the 1971 Adamowicz TransAm 911 and the 1997 GT1 Evo.

Tony Hatter, the designer of the last air-cooled Porsche 911, was the man behind the styling of the Bergmeister. The speedster prides itself on a skin made completely out of carbon fiber. It also comes with a newly developed LED lighting system that will also fit all Porsche 993 models. The entire cabin is trimmed and upholstered with black Alcantara, including the tiller that employs direct steering for precision.

Meanwhile, behind the seats is a dry sump, air-cooled turbocharged 3.6-liter flat-six engine, connected to a six-speed manual transmission. It’s designed and engineered by Ruf, producing 450 horsepower (336 kilowatts) and 442 pound-feet (599 Newton-meters) of torque.

“When we began building our own automobiles in 1974 it was all for the thrill of the drive,” said Alois Ruf, owner of RUF Automobile GmbH. “We are honored to be featured at The Quail and to celebrate the passion for driving with our friends. Bergmeister embodies the most elemental driving experience, while the SCR highlights the latest technology offerings from our team in Pfaffenhausen.”