Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Is This the Fairest Sports Car of All?

The Runge RS is a hand-built aluminum beauty

December 28, 2018 9:00 am

Some competitive snowboarders shred. Some design clothes. Others hand build ‘50s-style aluminum race cars. Wait, what?

That’s right, Chris Runge mastered the slopes (and even traveled with Shaun White) before he started Runge Cars, the label under which he crafts bespoke automobiles which have caught the eye of one Jay Leno.

One look at the Runge RS and you’ll see why. One of the more recent creations, the ‘50s-style racer draws styling cues from the Porsche RSK and Spyder, as well as Maserati and Ferrari. While owners of more recent models from those marques may balk at the 159 HP, Runge doesn’t make cars to win on the Nürburgring, he makes them to recapture a bygone era.

“When I first learned of the post-WWII German ‘eigenbau’ racers as a child, I was enamored,” Runge told Fox 9. “I have been fortunate to own many Porsche cars but I had always wanted something unique and aluminum-bodied. However, finding one of those cars is nearly impossible and if you do find one, the cost can be several million dollars.”

That’s not to say the RS will come cheap (the price is currently only available upon “serious inquiries”). But it will certainly be worth it — to the right buyer. Those 159 ponies, for example, come via a newly built flat-four. Other features include a two-seat, leather-trimmed cockpit, removable canopy and period mechanical components.

As HiConsumption notes, “Runge is taking three orders per year, since each car takes roughly 2,000 man hours to complete.” So if you want one in 2019, better hop to it.

All photos via Runge Cars

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