After 30 years, the yellow bird is reborn. A tribute to the original model with 710 hp, manual transmission, rear-wheel drive… and without electronic aids.
I lost count of the number of cars I saw and people I spoke to at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show . But out of all of them, there were especially special moments – forgive me the redundancy.
One of those “especially special” moments was when I shook hands with Alois Ruf, founder of the brand with the same name: RUF.
Between meeting Chris Harris, greeting the Lord March — the gentleman who founded the Goodwood Festival of Speed — and talking to Alois Ruf, among others, I don't know what was the moment that struck me the most. He looked like a kid in a toy store. And speaking of toys, the toy I'm going to tell you about has more than 700 hp and "zero" electronic aids.
Moments that mark
As I said, I was in conversation with Alois Ruf. More specifically 40 seconds. Hey there…! An eternity.
For my part, there was all the time in the world to hear the adventures of those who he took a bus company and turned it into a supercar brand. Unfortunately, Alois Ruf didn't have the same time as me. As we were speaking, one of its best customers entered the RUF stand at the Geneva Motor Show.
Between a smiling "hello" and a premature "goodbye", I had the opportunity to thank him on behalf of GREAT COMMUNITY OF READERS OF THE AUTOMOBILE REASON (Caps Lock just because you deserve it) for the fantastic cars that the RUF produces. To which Alois Ruf thanked him and replied with some solemnity “I do it with passion, that's the only way you can win in this field”. I almost had to hold back tears.
Now without exaggeration. It was a shame because I had a lot of questions to ask Mr. Ruf.
Among other things, I was getting ready to "pull my sardine" and say that Razão Automóvel's new office is part of a "sanctuary" of Porsche classics (and not only...) in the center of Lisbon, when Alois Ruf said goodbye from me and went to the "such" client. I hope, at least, they closed the deal.
So, are you going to write more about the RUF CTR 2017 or not?!
Of course I will. But going to Geneva, thanks to the apotheotic growth of Reason Automobile (which is due to your daily visits, keep going!), and then not sharing these moments with you would be a waste. Furthermore, one of the advantages of online media is that there is no character limit and therefore… ok, ok, I get it! The RUF CTR 2017.
Brutal, just brutal. It is the first model built from scratch by the RUF. Furthermore, it is a model loaded with symbolism. It is the successor to its most striking model: the CTR “Yellow Bird”. A crossbow released in 1987 based on the Porsche 911 (930 Turbo). It had two turbos and developed more than 469 hp of power. Some time ago we wrote this:
The 469 hp of power generated by the six-cylinder boxer 3200 cm 3 biturbo, originating from the 911 and prepared by the German house RUF, were delivered without pity or pity to the rear wheels.
We reinforced the “no pity nor pity”, not least because the Yellow Bird had no problems in leaving models like the Ferrari F40 to do their math. A model that was immortalized in a video made at the Nürburgring, with the legendary Paul Frère at the wheel, Le Mans winner, former F1 driver and editor of Road & Track Europe.
It's a real video driving lesson, isn't it? Well know that Paul Frère was one of the first journalists to be able to reduce in writing, in a practical manual, the art of driving a sports car.
We asked Marcel Groos what electronic aids the CTR 2017 had and he laughed: “ABS and a steering wheel”. It's all said."
The 1963 Sports Car and Competitive Driving book is, even today, a reference work that many driving school instructors continue to turn to.
Yes, this is where I will write about the new RUF CTR 2017
There it was, the RUF's big surprise for this edition of the Geneva Motor Show: the RUF CTR 2017. The successor to the beast that rounded the corners of the Nordschleife on powerslide.
The body lines, similar to the 1987 Yellow Bird, make it impossible to guess that underneath that yellow color is a chassis 100% developed by the RUF. Marcel Groos, one of the responsible for the brand explained to us all the details of this new platform:
The Porsche 911's original chassis (inspired by the 930 Turbo) gave way to a carbon base with high-strength steel front and rear sub-frame — the total weight of the set is only 1197 kg . Both at the front and at the rear, Porsche's suspension scheme has given way to “pushrod” type suspensions.
Only the headlamps with the RUF signature and the new taillights suggest that this is a model with 21st century technology. Inside, the five analogue dials typical of the Porsche 911 of the «air cooled» era are accompanied by details that take us straight back to the 1980s. It's a 30-year journey that any of us take with great satisfaction.
Electronic help, yes of course...
… NO! The lucky ones who manage to buy one of the 30 copies of the RUF CTR 2017 that the brand plans to produce, will have to deal with the 710 hp of power and 880 Nm without electronic aids. We asked Marcel Groos what electronic aids the CTR 2017 had and he laughed: “ABS and a steering wheel”. It's all said.
It will take massive doses of talent behind the wheel to control the momentum of the RUF-developed 3.6-litre flat-six twin-turbo engine. The gearbox is manual (naturally…) and distributes the force to the rear wheels through a self-locking differential. Are we going to numbers? This engine is capable of taking the CTR 2017 up to 100 km/h in less than 3.5s and up to 200 km/h in less than 9.0s. The maximum speed is 360 km/h.
Coming soon on the Nürburgring?
It was one of the questions I wanted to ask Mr. Alouis Ruf and I couldn't. I believe the whole world is waiting for a reprint of the original video at the Nürburgring.
I asked Marcel Groos if the brand is planning to make a similar video with the new RUF CTR 2017 and the response was encouraging. “We hope so, for now this copy is still unique. But when production starts on the new CTR, it's possible that one of the units will take a “short break” to the Nürburgring”. We will charge!
