9ff GT9-CS - Front - RWD Cars - Hockenheim 2012

9ff is a German

car tuning Car tuning is the modification of a car to optimise it for a different set of performance requirements from those it was originally designed to meet. Most commonly this is higher engine performance and dynamic handling characteristics but cars m ...

company based in

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

. It was founded by Jan Fatthauer in 2001. It specializes in converting stock

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company ...

s into street legal racing vehicles, either as fully tuned cars, or by selling individual parts or kits. The company is best known for building one of the first cars to exceed , the GT9, capable of . The former company, 9ff Fahrzeugtechnik GmbH, filed for

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debto ...

in September 2013. A new company, 9ff Engineering GmbH was founded in October 2013.

History

Early years

Jan Fatthauer founded 9ff Fahrzeugtechnik GmbH in 2001 in

, Germany, as a Porsche tuning company. Fatthauer earned a degree in automotive engineering, and had worked at recognized tuners until 2001. In May 2004, 9ff achieved its first record, reaching with a 9ff T6 on the Nardo Ring race track in Nardo, Italy. The company claimed that they had the "fastest Porsche in Nardo". In December of that year, Fatthauer drove a new car, the 9ff V400, up to . This car held the record for the world's fastest car until the company beat that record with the GT9 later that year. At the time, 9ff was building a wide variety of products, including some powered by

alternative fuel Alternative fuel, known as non-conventional and advanced fuels, are any materials or substances that can be used as fuels, other than conventional fuels like; ''fossil fuels'' (petroleum (oil), coal, and natural gas), as well as nuclear materi ...

, setting several records. In September 2006, the 9ff TRC-85 reached , becoming the fastest street-legal convertible of its time. In October 2008, the 9ff CT78, based on the

Porsche Cayman Cayman may refer to * Cayman Islands, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom ** Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, or Little Cayman, three islands that are part of the Cayman Islands * , a British frigate in service with the Royal Navy from 1944 to 19 ...

, won the top-speed record for cars powered by alternative fuel, with its top speed of , powered by

bioethanol Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl group linked to a hyd ...

. On April 10, 2008, the 9ff GT9 reached (confirmed with GPS), becoming the fastest street-legal car in the world. In 2009, 9ff unveiled the Speed9, the second car entirely built by 9ff. The Speed9 is a classic roadster that has a lower windshield and cleaner horizontal lines than the 1955

Porsche 356/1 The Porsche 356/1 was the first real car created by Ferdinand "Ferry" Porsche. This prototype car was a two-seater open roadster with a mid-mounted, air-cooled flat-4 engine of 1,131 cc displacement that produced . While the body was an original ...

500S Speedster and the 911 and 964 Speedster (1989 and 1993 respectively) that it is based on. The same year, the 9ff TR1000 became the fastest

Porsche 911 The Porsche 911 (pronounced ''Nine Eleven'' or in german: Neunelfer) is a two-door 2+2 high performance rear-engined sports car introduced in September 1964 by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a rear-mounted flat-six engine and ori ...

in the world on the racing circuit in Papenburg, with a top speed of . In early 2010, 9ff introduced the twin-turbocharged version of the Porsche GT3 and the Porsche GT3RS, through its new tuning program, the GTurbo. Two turbochargers were added to upgrade the vehicle's horsepower to 750, 850 or 1,000 hp. 9ff added new bumpers front and rear, side skirts, new quarter panels, and extra vents. With the 1,000 hp option, the car could reach in 2.9 seconds, with a top speed of . The company also upgraded the direct-injection Porsche Turbo.

Bankruptcy

In 2013 9ff filed for bankruptcy, along with

Gumpert Gumpert is a surname and may refer to: * Ben Gumpert (born 1963), English barrister * Dave Gumpert (born 1958), American baseball player * Friedrich Gumpert (1841–1906), German horn player and teacher * Martin Gumpert (1897–1955), Jewish Germ ...

Wiesmann Wiesmann GmbH is a German automobile manufacturer that specializes in hand-built custom convertibles and coupes. The company, which has its factory in Dülmen, was founded by brothers, engineer Martin Wiesmann and businessman Friedhelm Wiesma ...

, Artega and

Lola Lola may refer to: Places * Lolá, a or subdistrict of Panama * Lola Township, Cherokee County, Kansas, United States * Lola Prefecture, Guinea * Lola, Guinea, a town in Lola Prefecture * Lola Island, in the Solomon Islands People * Lola ...

. This has been attributed to a decline in business as Porsche drew in more customers seeking unmodified cars. A new company, 9ff Engineering GmbH, was founded in October of the same year. 9ff GTurbo 750 based on 2006 Porsche 997 GT3 RS

9ff GTurbo 750 based on 2006 Porsche 997 GT3 RS

Models

Production (2019): * 9ff GTurbo * 9ff GTronic * 9ff GT9 * 9ff Speed9 Discontinued models (partial list): *9ff T6 *9ffV400 *9ff TRC-85 *9ff TRC-91

References

External links

{{Automotive industry in Germany Companies based in Dortmund Automotive companies of Germany Automotive companies established in 2001 Automotive motorsports and performance companies German companies disestablished in 2013 German companies established in 2001 Porsche