If you’re an automotive enthusiast, you will no doubt be familiar with the name Ruf and will associate the name closely with ‘Yellowbird’. You may also recall the numerous times you’ve watched the twenty-minute promotional video on YouTube featuring, what appears to be, an old bright yellow 911 dancing skilfully around the corners of the Nürburgring at phenomenal speeds, producing huge plumes of smoke from the rear tires. Well, it’s just another fast Porsche, right?

Far from the truth, as this was the iconic Ruf CTR 001, which was crowned ‘the fastest car in the world’ during the late '80s.

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Introducing The Ruf CTR

Ruf CTR
Via: Falcon® Photography, Flickr - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

The first generation Ruf CTR, nicknamed ‘Yellowbird’, is undoubtedly one of the most recognizable 911s of all time. Actually, one of the most famous 911s not to bear the Porsche crest on its hood.

Based in Pfaffenhausen, Germany, Ruf Automobile GmbH differs from other tuners in the sense that it builds and designs its own catalog of parts in-house as opposed to badge engineering. Essentially, the factory relies on Porsche platforms for its creations. Further, the company is recognized as an independent German manufacturer and has been for the past three decades.

The CTR (abbreviation of "Group C Turbo Ruf") is not a Porsche. Yes, it bears the iconic shape of the 911 brand and even has a huge turbo-style tea-tray rear spoiler, but the rest is pure Ruf engineering. The 1987 CTR was based on a naturally aspirated 911 Carrera 3.2, opposed to the turbocharged 930. The reason being, the Carrera body weighed less and was more aerodynamic.

Ruf’s only intentions were to develop a 911 with the performance of a race car, and according to reports, the engine in the Yellowbird was actually Ruf’s interpretation of a Porsche 956 Group C engine. The 911 based car was extensively modified to the optimum by adding lighter body panels, upgrading the suspension and braking system, as well as heavily tuning the flat-six engine. The result? A supercar in the making with a record-breaking performance.

Performance And Spec

1280px-Ruf_CTR_Yellowbird_engine
Wikipedia

In 1987, the radical Ruf CTR had the performance to rival supercar heavyweights such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Porsche. The CTR not only carried more power than the Porsche 911 turbo, it even beat Porsche’s very own advanced supercar, the 959. Starting with the base 930 body, Ruf replaced most of the panels with aluminum and fiberglass panels.

However, the air-cooled engine was the main talking point. Ruf’s engineers enhanced the flat-six’ performance by installing two turbochargers paired with a five-speed manual gearbox, as a four-speed box was considered insufficient. Weighing only 2,530 lbs, the total power output was measured at 469 BHP, that’s 408 lb-ft of torque (although, to insiders, 550 BHP was more realistic).

This gave an impressive time of 0-60 MPH in 3.7 seconds and to 100 MPH in sub seven seconds. These were performance figures unheard of in the 1980s. Further, the CTR recorded a top speed of 213 MPH, knocking Porsche’s 959 off the top spot as ‘the world’s fastest’.

Most, if not all parts, of the Ruf CTR, were unique and not Porsche derived. Even the interior encapsulated Ruf’s individuality with the bucket seats, steering wheel, roll-bar, and customized gauges, all of which were revamped.

The distinctive 17-inch Speedline alloy wheels on the CTR were naturally wider at the rear. It is believed that because the CTR 001 had so much power, early prototypes were prone to spin the rims inside the tires. In the end, Ruf’s holistic approach in building the CTR paid off.

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The Driving Experience

1987 Ruf Ctr Yellowbird
Car and Driver

To automotive aficionados, the CTR Yellowbird epitomized the ultimate track-focused 911, or indeed a race car with the silhouette of a 911. For those fortunate to have driven the Ruf CTR, the performance must have felt jaw-droppingly fast, particularly in the late 1980s. In fact, even by today's standard, the Ruf CTR looks impressively quick on paper against many technologically advanced sports cars.

The Yellowbird goes above and beyond all expectations. Further, it’s a pure analog supercar experience that can be challenging, even for experienced drivers. Indeed, driving this engineering marvel in anything other than a straight line can very easily throw you off the tarmac, especially when the boost starts winding up.

You have to remember there was no ABS or ESP in the '80s to get you out of trouble. Therefore, accelerating around corners required expertise, particularly in the wet. However, race car performance remained unparalleled for many years, and, it can be said, the Yellowbird is still considered the ultimate road-going Porsche.

A Legend Is Born

ruf ctr
Youtube 'Faszination'

A supercar race held at Volkswagen’s Ehra-Lessien proving ground in 1987 would secure the Yellowbird's status as ‘the quickest’. The race, organized by Road and Track Magazine, saw the Ruf CTR 001 annihilate the opposition and pass the 200 MPH barrier effortlessly. It’s true to say, a certain promo video of the CTR being drifted around the Nürburgring would place Ruf firmly at the forefront of the automotive world.

Faszination on the Nürburgring was a twenty-minute video created by Ruf in 1987 for promotional purposes, demonstrating the potential of the Yellowbird. In this video, driver Stefan Roser silently passes every vehicle during the lap while maintaining complete control and precision around each bend.

No other video captures the sensation of driving the thunderous Yellowbird as visualized in this '80s video. It is one of the most divine examples of automotive control.

Exclusivity And Cost

Ruf ctr Yellowbird
Roadandtrack,com

Ruff only built 29 original units of the CTR up to 1996, plus a further 20 customer conversions on request. The cost of a Ruf CTR back in 1987 would have landed around $142,900. Today, the price tag of an original is easily over a million dollars. In 2018, RM auctions in Monterey sold an original Ruf CTR (Chassis No.10) for a cool $1,022,000. The only thing was, this Yellowbird wasn’t yellow.

NEXT: Watch The All-New RUF CTR Yellowbird Documentary