The Runge RS Racer Is a Hand-Built Bespoke Automobile

As much as we’re all for modern automotive innovations like superchargers, turbochargers, tiptronic transmissions and crumple zones, there’s something to be said for the absolute beauty and pure mechanical performance of the race cars from the golden era of racing in the 1950s. Runge Cars is the shop of Christopher Runge, a former competitive snowboarder and all-around petrolhead who turned the operation from a barn-built enterprise to a world-class operation that hand-builds bespoke automobiles that will absolutely make you lose your shit. The Runge RS Racer you see here is everything a late 1950s racer should be. As Runge himself tells it, “the design pulls from the RSK and Spyder [Porsches, obviously] racers blended with Maserati and Ferrari styling cues.” Mission accomplished. The polished aluminum body and two-seat, leather-trimmed cockpit perfectly complement the flat four powering it and the vintage/period mechanical components that make this a modern race car with vintage roots.