RÜNGE KAROSSERIE’s Frankfurt Flyers are Absolutely Magnificent
Chris Runge is a Porsche fan and automotive enthusiast. Looking through Porsche’s history, he fell in love with the racers of late ’40s Germany. And, since those cars are extremely rare and precious these days, decided to build one of his own.
He’s since built a few, and they’re truly special.
“I realised that I was really fascinated with the post-war late 1940s German racers that were built out of the rubble of war torn Germany. Those cars don’t really exist much any more. There’s only a handful. I got to a point where, man, what would it be like to try to build one of these cars.”
In 2011 Chris began hand hammering his own aluminum-bodied car – not a replica, but a new car of that post-World War II era in Germany. That car, FF001 became his prototype ‘Frankfurt Flyer’ and was finished in 2012.
“It’s my time machine, clearly the look and the sound are something out of the past but at the same time, the aesthetics are futuristic.”
FF001 captured the hearts and minds of the motoring world and Chris, and his RÜNGE KAROSSERIE :: Flyer Motorwerks workshop began building bespoke Frankfurt Flyers for customers.
His latest work is the very-nearly-finished FF004. The car was built on one of Chris’ mid-engined chassis with a Ray Litz Big Bore 356 engine, Porsche Pre-A brakes and a limited slip Getrag 4-speed transaxle. The motor should put out around 115 horsepower, which will be plenty to push around the car’s featherweight 1130 pounds.
He’s invested in a commercial grade polishing system, the same machine that people who restore vintage warbirds use, and has put it to great work in this car. It is very, very shiny. There’s something about that chrome look that transports me back to the ’50s.
Adding to the cool factor are ‘suicide’ doors, influenced by a 1952 Heini Sauter Porsche special.
Enjoy the car, and hit play on the video to learn more about Chris’ inspiration and his journey to building FF001.
Head to the RÜNGE KAROSSERIE website or get in touch with Chris to learn more.
Images via RÜNGE KAROSSERIE
