What does one do when a Porsche Carrera GT doesn't quite have the exclusivity to stand ahead of the crowd? Well, either change the crowd or he/she buys a solution from Alois Ruf, the Ruf Rt12 Turbo. The Rt12 is built on the 997 chassis, has an Alcantara suede-covered roll cage, and offers two engine choices for Porsche fanatics. Both are turbocharged and offer well over 500 horsepower.

First off, you can choose from a 3.6 liter twin-turbo engine putting out an optional 560 hp (550 is standard) OR if that isn't enough, go for the golden trophy with a 3.8 liter GT2-derived turbo that smoothly yields 650 horsepower.

Ruf's sole United States dealership, the Ruf Auto Center in Dallas, received honors for holding the first Rt12 Turbo crafted. While the sticker price for the 550 hp Ruf is about $250K, the top of the line stickers around $340K. Too steep? Perhaps for most, but it's the price of admission to play with a car that has 650 hp, a 0 to 60 time of only 3.7 seconds, and a top speed of 220 miles per hour. "Ruf builds optimized street cars, not race cars for the street," says Ruf's Wayne Corley. It's quite clear their goals have been achieved. For the price, Ruf has merged three cars into one: a 220 mph supercar, an enduring GT, and a smooth daily driver.

Now, if there were only a way to discount the price ...