We present ASCA data on RE J2248-511, extending existing optical and soft X-ray coverage to 10 keV, and monitoring the soft component. These data show that, despite a very strong ultrasoft X-ray excess below 0.3 keV and a soft 0.3--2 keV spectral index in earlier ROSAT data, the hard X-ray spectrum (alpha~ -0.8; 0.6-10 keV) is typical of type 1 AGN, and the soft component has since disappeared. Optical data taken at two different epochs show that the big blue bump is also highly variable. The strength of the ultrasoft X-ray component and the extreme variability in RE J2248-511 are reminiscent of the behaviour observed in many narrow line Seyfert 1s (NLS1s). However, the high energy end of the ROSAT spectrum, the ASCA spectrum and the Balmer line full widths at half maximum of ~3000 km/s in RE J2248-511, are typical of normal Seyfert 1 AGN. The change in the soft X-ray spectrum as observed in the ROSAT and ASCA data is consistent with the behaviour of Galactic Black Hole Candidates (GBHCs) as they move from a high to a low state, ie. a fall in the ultrasoft component and a hardening of the X-ray continuum. This GBHC analogy has also been proposed for NLS1s. Alternatively, the variability may be caused by opacity changes in a hot, optically-thin corona which surrounds a cold, dense accretion disc; this was first suggested by Guainazzi et al. for 1H0419-577, an object which shows remarkably similar properties to RE J2248-511.
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