9ff
German Porsche tuner known for the 256-mph GT9.
Based in Dortmund, Jan Fatthauer started 9ff in 2001. The company turns standard Porsches into road-legal race cars, selling either complete vehicles or individual tuning kits. Its GT9, capable of 256 mph, was among the first cars to break 400 km/h. The original firm, 9ff Fahrzeugtechnik GmbH, went bankrupt in September 2013, but a new company, 9ff Engineering GmbH, was launched the following month.
Quick Facts
- Founded
- 2001
- Headquarters
- Dortmund, Germany
- Key people
- Jan Fatthauer
- Industry
- Automotive
- Products
- Automobiles, Automotive parts
Facts from the source article.
History
Jan Fatthauer started 9ff Fahrzeugtechnik GmbH in Dortmund, Germany, in 2001, focusing on modifying Porsches. He had studied automotive engineering and worked for other well-known tuners before founding his own company. The firm set its first speed record in May 2004, when a 9ff T6 hit 372 km/h on the Nardo Ring in Italy, which the company called the fastest Porsche at that track. Later that year, Fatthauer drove a 9ff V400 to 388 km/h, making it the world’s fastest car until 9ff topped that with the GT9.
Around this time, 9ff was making a range of products, including some running on alternative fuels, and broke several records. In September 2006, the 9ff TRC-85 reached 380.5 km/h, becoming the fastest street-legal convertible of its era. In October 2008, the 9ff CT78, built from a Porsche Cayman, set the top-speed record for alternative-fuel cars at 347 km/h, powered by bioethanol. On April 10, 2008, the 9ff GT9 hit 253 mph, verified by GPS, claiming the title of fastest street-legal car worldwide.
In 2009, 9ff showed the Speed9, its second fully in-house car. This classic roadster had a lower windshield and cleaner horizontal lines than the 1955 Porsche 356/1 500S Speedster and the 911 and 964 Speedsters from 1989 and 1993 that inspired it. That same year, the 9ff TR1000 became the fastest Porsche 911 globally on the Papenburg circuit, reaching 391.7 km/h. In early 2010, 9ff launched the GTurbo program, adding twin turbochargers to the Porsche GT3 and GT3RS.
This boosted horsepower to 750, 850, or 1,000 hp. The package included new front and rear bumpers, side skirts, quarter panels, and extra vents. With the 1,000 hp option, the car could go from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.9 seconds and hit a top speed of 392 km/h. 9ff also upgraded the direct-injection Porsche Turbo. In 2013, 9ff filed for bankruptcy, alongside Gumpert, Wiesmann, Artega, and Lola.
This was linked to a drop in business as Porsche attracted more customers who preferred unmodified cars. A new company, 9ff Engineering GmbH, was founded in October of that year.
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