One-off vehicles by specialty automakers are essential to the automotive marketplace.  Many of these vehicles are displayed annually at the SEMA show.  The vehicles highlight future products and even outline the direction of the industry as a whole.  RUF Automobile GmbH is a specialty automaker whose high performance offerings have influenced the decisions of Porsche for years.

RUF, a small company located in the German town of Pfaffenshausen, has created its own electric example of a Porsche Cayenne SUV.  The company says the RUF Stormster is the first electrically driven example of a Porsche Cayenne.

The Stormster is motivated by a Siemens electric motor that is capable of putting out 367 hp.  This will move the heavy Cayenne based SUV to 60 mph in about 10 seconds.  Top speed is limited to 90 mph.

The onboard lithium-ion battery pack by Li-Tec is the workhorse of this vehicle.  It provides the juice needed to move the 5,874 pound SUV with some authority and provides an estimated range of 120 miles.

The RUF Stormster is outfitted with 22 inch, custom made wheels and winter tires to help the awd SUV tackle any condition.

This RUF vehicle is another example of forward thinking from the German automaker.  Under German laws, RUF is classified as an automaker because the company builds complete vehicles from bare bodies and chassis with custom made parts.  Many of RUF's performance oriented Porsche products have influence decisions within Porsche.  Hopefully the Stormster will be another influential RUF offering.

Source:  Edmunds.com