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The Driver’s Seat: TAG or RUF?

Two Special Porsche 911s displayed at Rétromobile

Two very special Porsches, both consigned to Broad Arrow Private Sales, are the stars of the latest epic Hagerty film with Henry Catchpole

Highlights

  • Porsche 911 TAG Turbo, created by Lanzante, is powered by a 1.5-litre TAG Turbo “TTE P01” V6 F1 engine developed by Porsche and rebuilt by Cosworth
  • RUF CTR Anniversary is powered by a 710-horsepower flat-six twin-turbo engine paired with a seven-speed manual gearbox
  • Both cars were consigned to Broad Arrow Private Sales, presenting collectors with an unrepeatable opportunity to own these stunning Mint Green 911s
  • The Porsche TAG Turbo will be displayed on the Broad Arrow stand at the forthcoming Rétromobile Show in Paris, 5-9 February

The Driver’s Seat film series

Broad Arrow, a Hagerty company, has collaborated with Henry Catchpole to create a stunning film for Hagerty’s “The Driver’s Seat” series, featuring two very special Porsche models, recently consigned to Broad Arrow Private Sales.

This is the first time the stunning Mint Green pair have been together on film, providing a rare chance to see, hear and experience both cars being driven as intended, as Hagerty’s Henry Catchpole puts them through their paces. In this exhilarating test, he tackles the picturesque Anglesey Circuit, capturing the raw nature, and sounds, of both cars while revealing their unique personalities.

Both cars impressed Catchpole with their unique character and exceptional performance on track. The RUF he described as “utterly extreme” and a “proper wild child” with its 710hp engine powering just the rear wheels. The TAG Turbo seemed to steel his heart. Expecting a car ruled by its engine, he noted how well-engineered the car is, concluding it felt like “one of the very best 911s” in history, and yet perfectly useable day-to-day.

RUF CTR

The 2023 RUF CTR Anniversary is one of only 50 limited production models, and is a brand-new car finished in PTS Mint Green over a Black Alcantara interior. Offered with very low mileage and a digital copy of its original build sheet, it has been optioned with front axle lift, foldable Kevlar carbon bucket seats, lightweight door option, and harness crossbar in Alcantara. Powered by a 710-horsepower flat-six twin-turbo engine paired with a seven-speed manual gearbox, it is capable of 0-62 mph in 3.5 seconds with a 224-mph top speed.

Alois Ruf is rightly proud of this very special car, saying; “The first automobile that was completely conceived and manufactured by us marks a very special chapter in our company’s history, a 30th birthday celebration of the Yellowbird.”

Lanzante TAG Turbo

The 1988 Porsche 911 TAG Turbo, consigned to Broad Arrow Private Sales, is one of only 11 built by Lanzante and this particular example was completed in 2020. Custom finished in Mint Green over Black leather with Blue/Green tartan cloth, it is offered with less than 300 miles since completion. Power comes from a 1.5-litre TAG Turbo “TTE P01” V6 Formula One engine developed by Porsche and rebuilt by Cosworth, which revs to 10,250rpm via a custom Porsche 993 six-speed gearbox and has a claimed top speed of 200 mph. The engine in this car was raced by four-time Formula One World Champion Alain Prost at the 1986 German Grand Prix and the 1987 Hungarian and Japanese Grands Prix.

Dean Lanzante said of his Porsche TAG Turbo creation: “It’s a car that celebrates history, the history between two amazing brands. But it will remain extremely rare because it has to be. We couldn’t get any more engines from McLaren, so this is it. There will never be another car like it.”

Joe Twyman

Broad Arrow VP of Sales for EMEA, Joe Twyman, provided driver support on the day and is behind the wheel of the second car throughout the film. Joe is a highly experienced driver in his own right, having raced many important cars at events worldwide. Twyman said of his time with both cars: “While both are finished in the same color, the cars themselves are very different. Both are extremely powerful but encourage the driver to get the best from them. They are also beautifully built, exceptionally well-developed, and compliant both on track and on the road. The film will provide a real insight into the cars and will be both a joy to watch for any enthusiast while also providing an unrivalled level of insight for any potential buyer.”

For Sale

The Porsche 911 TAG Turbo will be available to view on the Broad Arrow stand at the Rétromobile show taking place in Paris on 5–9 February. Members of the Broad Arrow team will be on hand to show the car in detail to any interested buyers.

The story of Porsche and McLaren International – how the Porsche TAG Turbo was created. McLaren’s Ron Dennis approached Porsche in early 1981 to build a turbocharged Formula One engine and was initially told it would not be possible. Later, Porsche agreed to design a new 1.5-litre twin-turbo V6 engine, funded by Techniques d’Avant Garde Group S.A. (TAG), for McLaren.

The TAG-Porsche powered McLaren MP4/2s triumphed at 12 of the 16 Grands Prix in 1984, taking the Constructors’ Championship and giving Niki Lauda the Drivers’ Championship. 1985 brought a further six wins, a second consecutive Constructors’ Championship and Prost achieved his first Drivers’ Championship with five wins. Prost won the Drivers’ title again in 1986 with Porsche’s 1.5-litre TTE (TAG Turbo Engines) V6, now producing 910 horsepower in race trim and 990hp for qualifying. For 1987, Prost partnered with Stefan Johansson, and while the season wasn’t as successful as in the past, the Frenchman still managed three wins.

In March 1987 the TAG V6 was installed in a Porsche 911 Turbo. This unique car remains in the McLaren International collection and, aside from a surprise appearance at the 2012 McLaren Employee Motorshow, this special car has remained under wraps. What was gifted to McLaren by Porsche at the conclusion of their partnership appeared to be a lightly modified Grand Prix White 911 Turbo with RUF five-spoke Speedline wheels and a RUF front valance. Yet this valance hid two large radiators, and out back, two massive intercoolers were fitted underneath a relatively stock looking Turbo tail with a subtle ram-air scoop at the trailing edge.

Over the years, many of those aware of the car’s existence had made direct overtures to McLaren to acquire it, including Dean Lanzante, yet the answer was always no. Lanzante was persistent and persuaded the company to provide a 1.5-litre TAG Turbo, intending to produce a second Formula One-powered Porsche Type 930. In the end, Lanzante and his team embarked on constructing 11 TAG-powered 930s—a car for each pilot in each year a McLaren MP4 was powered by a Porsche TTE engine.

Ready for Modern Warfare

Cosworth extensively re-engineered the engine and features new pistons, connecting rods, valves, valve springs, modern turbochargers, an updated cooling system, oil heat exchangers, and an Inconel exhaust with titanium tailpipes. The engine itself is an incredible 286 pounds lighter than the 3.3-liter air-cooled flat-six it replaces. A Cosworth ECU and a bespoke Raychem motorsport-grade wiring loom manage the engine, paired with a six-speed H-pattern manual transmission featuring bespoke gear ratios for a 200-mph top speed via a twin-plate hydraulic carbon clutch.

Sales Information

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