This Is What Happens When Jerry Seinfeld And RUF Build A 911

Air-cooled Porsches have never been hotter, but even in that rarefied air, this one stands apart. Modified by famed tuner RUF at the direction of none other than Jerry Seinfeld, it just traded hands for $657,000. That’s roughly three times the amount that one would pay for a similar stock 911S from the same era.

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It’s not hard to understand the premium here. Seinfeld is one of the world’s most well-known comedians, and he just so happens to be a huge Porsche collector. He bought this car back in 2008 and immediately shipped it to RUF in Pfaffenhausen, Germany.

Over the next three years, the tuner transformed what began as a classic 911S into something far more personal, a car tailored to Seinfeld’s exacting taste.

What Did RUF Do?

Photos Bring A Trailer / Jbh1126

Lift the rear decklid and you’ll find a 3.4-liter twin-plug flat six fitted with individual throttle bodies, electronic fuel injection, and a RUF exhaust system. Red velocity stacks feed air to the motor, and the power achieved is sent to the rear wheels via a custom-made six-speed manual gearbox.

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RUF didn’t stop at the engine. The tuner also strengthened the chassis with extra bracing, fitted Bilstein suspension components, added a G50 torsion tube, and swapped in brakes from a Porsche 930. The changes made it sharper and more capable, yet unmistakably classic.

All those modifications haven’t really changed the look and feel of the car. The rear end has wider fenders and staggered Fuchs wheels are the only hints that this car isn’t stock. The cabin features Pepita cloth upholstery, lightweight door cards, RUF gauges, and a rear-seat delete.

Photos Bring A Trailer / Jbh1126

The receipts tell their own story. In total, Seinfeld spent €257,883, around $300,000 at current exchange rates, for the work, and we know that because the car comes with the receipt.

That’s right. Seinfeld spent more on the modifications to this car than the car was likely worth at the very beginning. If that’s not passion and love for a specific brand and project, we don’t know what is. On top of that, it seems that he might have even walked away with some profit, too.

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And in the end, the investment may have paid off. If the original car cost around $200,000, the recent sale on Bring a Trailer means Seinfeld effectively made about $150,000 while enjoying 15 years of driving a tailor-made machine.

Some might call that smart business, others might just call it love. Not a bad deal either way.