Soul vs. Perfection
Twelve years into his passion driven metal shaping journey, Minnesota’s Chris Rünge crafts one-off hand formed aluminum specials that evoke the post WWII spirit, or what he calls, soul. He started with a fire in his heart, a modest investment of approximately $3500, and basic metal shaping tools. Now approaching 20 bespoke builds Chris shares the knowledge he has gained by hosting workshops, providing lessons, and producing an extensive collection of videos: Rünge Cars (YouTube).
Each commissioned build harnesses the charm of hand formed aluminum, a process that he has studied and practiced extensively since embarking on his first build in 2010. Modern processes could produce more consistent, potentially more elaborate designs. That said as he pushes the limits of his skills with each new build, he reminds himself that it is that charm that drew him in to this in the first place, and his clients desire that same charm.
His videos discuss his inspiration, techniques, and processes but when taken in aggregate it is clear he has found his zen as evidenced by his philosophy. “There is this pursuit of perfection, but perfection is not the same as excellence, and different people have different ideas but really to me it comes down to … really it’s a journey of learning and pursuing excellence in your craft.”
“My son was working alongside me in the shop last winter and asked “when do you know you’ve mastered something?” I’ve thought a lot about this over the past ten years since I built the first RÜNGE car. I told him in my eyes, the true masters are the ones who are decades into their craft and still passionately discovering new techniques and ideas. A true master never claims to be a master, he quietly pursues excellence in every single aspect of what he does yet isn’t afraid to make mistakes and correct them, more importantly acknowledge them. He doesn’t tear apart someone else’s work, this only proves that he’s lost site (sic) of his own humble beginnings, or perhaps never experienced the benefits that come from humble beginnings. The master makes the best of what he has to work with. If your fellow tradesmen respect your work, you know you’re on your way, if they respect your attitude and passion you’re on a fast track. Don’t forget excellence is a journey, not a one time event. Make today’s work better than yesterday’s. I explained to him that if he can set a tone of excellence in life, chases it even when he is absolutely beat… tired, even when you see an easier way out but take the path of excellence… You will be unstoppable. This photo (RS012) is the current stage of my journey in pursuit of excellence. It is finding a balance of contentment in my work and not only knowing I still have so far to go, embracing it.”
In addition to producing magnificent aluminum coach work, Chris does his own leatherwork, period component selection, chassis development, and he has recently partnered with Dean Polopolus of Temecula CA’s Polo Motors, to produce a RÜNGE spec 4 cam, 4 cylinder, air cooled engine based off of the greatest hits of Porsche 911 6 cylinder engine architectures.
Now I can’t help but ask myself, what’s your excuse? Go build something.
To learn more about commissioning your own work of art, contact Info@RungeCars.com
