Today a pure beast... This 1997 Ruf Porsche CTR2 Sport Prototype will be heading to auction through Bonhams during the sale Les Grandes Marques in Paris in February. It looks like a Porsche, it has a Porsche body but it's not a Porsche, it's RUF, German auto company and independent manufacturer producing monsters.

History of the RUF CTR

RUF Automobiles converts Porsche bodies without a factory VIN to create their own supercars. The company was founded by Alois Ruf in 1939 as a service garage. In 1974, after the founder's death, his son, Alois Ruf Jr began to customize Porsche 911 to make them faster. In 1977, he completed his first full conversion.

In 1987, RUF presented the RUF CTR (stands for Group C Turbo RUF). The car, painted in yellow, participated at a Road & Track magazine's competition in order to determine the fastest production car in the world. The CTR won the competition with a top speed of 340 kmh beating Porsche 959, Ferrari F40, Lamborghini Countach and Diablo. It was dubbed the Yellow Bird.

The concept has evolved; the lastest design, the CTR 4, was introduced in 2017 at the Geneva Motor Show.

1998 RUF Turbo R Limited (source)

CTR 4

This model is the first Ruf CTR2 Sport prototype built with the most powerful engine producing 702 hp. It was the runner-up at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb's Open Class in 1997 ; Steve Beddor, the driver, finished 2nd. After, the car won three times the Virginia City Hill Climb between 1999 and 2001...

Specification

The Ruf Porsche CTR2 is based on the the Type 993 Porsche 911 Turbo with its 3.6 litre engine producing 520 hp with a top speed 350 kmh. Other features added by Ruf are :

Kevlar body panels,
Integral roll cage,
Redesigned rear wing,
Recaro racing seats..

Tuned to produce 702 hp with Ruf six-speed manual transmission, this model is one of the two prepared for the 1997 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The rear wing was adapted and is much higher than the standard CTR2.

As I said in the introduction, pure beast...