Welcome to the world of 996/997 aftermarket tuning. It’s common nature for these type of kits to float the 30-50K range on this chassis. RUF’s RT package is a $30K option and that’s for a mere 550hp. 99% of the people who own these cars and buy these kits have the car picked up, brought to the place for work completion, and have the car delivered back at their place with key in the ignition and some Andes chocolate mints on the front seat…while I agree $50K is pushing the limits it’s not too far off the edge from the normal stuff for these cars when all things considered…
For reference here’s a basic rundown of what’s typically included in a “bolt on” kit for these cars pushing the 8-850hp mark:…manifolds, turbos and gates, titanium cell cats, full exhaust, new heat shielding, oil and coolant lines, drain back tanks, new drysump scavenge pumps off the heads, decklid cooling upgrade, all fasteners and gaskets, 72mm-80mm DBW throttle body and y pipe, charge piping and couplers, new intercooler and liner duct work, single mass FW, clutch kit, injectors, four fuel pumps and associated lines, MAF’s, fuel pumps, chip software, dyno tweaking, VNT electronic delete(997), PASM adjustment in some cases(done in tuning, to control additional power or PCM goes nutty) and last but not least…installation labor at typical going rates of $120-$150hr. You typically have to remove the drivetrain, which on a normal 911 isn’t bad but toss in the AWD setup of the turbo’s and it get’s a little more hecktic.
I’ve installed a few 996 kits before(Protomotive and 9ff)and it is an ass ton of work for an extensive kit like this. The lightweight kits with basic K24/26 upgrades ot Gt28’s are pretty simple, yet still manage to call up price tags over $20 grand. I agree it can be rediculous, but I guess someone’s gonna pay it.
I haven’t worked on a 997 turbo yet but they’re not enormously different then their predecessor so I can only guess that the work load is similar.
you wanna know what’s really sad…you could probably still fall asleep behind the wheel of the 1000bhp car there and still drive it looking like a hero. They’re just so electronically controlled you almost can’t screw up…