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Ruf CTR (2017)
Germany’s Ruf has specialized for decades in reimagining Porsche’s products as even more hardcore machines. At the Geneva Motor Show, the firm is breaking from that legacy by using the fourth-generation CTR to introduce its first ever in-house designed and produced chassis. The company claims this platform creates world’s first rear-engine road car with a mostly carbon fiber monocoque – crash structures at the front and rear are steel.
The new CTR’s design picks up cues from the original 1987 model, nicknamed the Yellow Bird, by incorporating a relatively narrow body and having air intakes at the rear. The exterior panels are carbon fiber for saving weight. At the tail, Ruf fits its biturbo 3.6-liter flat six engine producing 700 horsepower (522 kilowatts) and 649 pound-feet (880 Newton-meters). A newly developed six-speed manual routes power to the rear axle, which sends the grunt to the wheels through a limited-slip differential.
“We have been waiting for the right point in our history to build our own car and the 30th anniversary of the CTR ‘Yellow Bird’ is that moment,” Alois Ruf, President and owner of RUF Automobile GmbH, said in the press release. The new supercar required five years of development.
So much carbon fiber means an extremely low weight of 2,646 pounds (1,200 kilograms). Ruf estimates the latest CTR can get to 62 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour) in less than 3.5 seconds and to 124 mph (200 kph) in under 9 seconds. If a driver keeps his or her foot on the throttle, the coupe can reach a maximum of 224 mph (360 kph).
Handling and braking should be equally impressive. The front and rear axle have double-wishbone layouts with a pushrod configuration. The carbon fiber brake discs measure 15 inches (380 millimeters) with six-piston calipers in front and 9.8-inch rotors with four-pot calipers in the back.
Inside, there’s seating for two in an Alcantara-upholstered interior with a mix of leather and carbon fiber trim. An integrated steel roll cage is also part of the standard equipment.
Production of the fourth-gen CTR begins in 2018, and Ruf isn’t discussing the model’s price yet. The firm only intends to make 30 examples, plus the prototype that premiering in Geneva.
We’re very curious to get a closer look at the new model because the existing CTR 3 Clubsport has a more impressive spec sheet. It uses a biturbo 3.8-liter with 766 hp (571 kW) and 723 pound-feet (980 Nm). The latest generation’s chassis upgrades could be an equalizer, though.
The new CTR’s design picks up cues from the original 1987 model, nicknamed the Yellow Bird, by incorporating a relatively narrow body and having air intakes at the rear. The exterior panels are carbon fiber for saving weight. At the tail, Ruf fits its biturbo 3.6-liter flat six engine producing 700 horsepower (522 kilowatts) and 649 pound-feet (880 Newton-meters). A newly developed six-speed manual routes power to the rear axle, which sends the grunt to the wheels through a limited-slip differential.
“We have been waiting for the right point in our history to build our own car and the 30th anniversary of the CTR ‘Yellow Bird’ is that moment,” Alois Ruf, President and owner of RUF Automobile GmbH, said in the press release. The new supercar required five years of development.
So much carbon fiber means an extremely low weight of 2,646 pounds (1,200 kilograms). Ruf estimates the latest CTR can get to 62 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour) in less than 3.5 seconds and to 124 mph (200 kph) in under 9 seconds. If a driver keeps his or her foot on the throttle, the coupe can reach a maximum of 224 mph (360 kph).
Handling and braking should be equally impressive. The front and rear axle have double-wishbone layouts with a pushrod configuration. The carbon fiber brake discs measure 15 inches (380 millimeters) with six-piston calipers in front and 9.8-inch rotors with four-pot calipers in the back.
Inside, there’s seating for two in an Alcantara-upholstered interior with a mix of leather and carbon fiber trim. An integrated steel roll cage is also part of the standard equipment.
Production of the fourth-gen CTR begins in 2018, and Ruf isn’t discussing the model’s price yet. The firm only intends to make 30 examples, plus the prototype that premiering in Geneva.
We’re very curious to get a closer look at the new model because the existing CTR 3 Clubsport has a more impressive spec sheet. It uses a biturbo 3.8-liter with 766 hp (571 kW) and 723 pound-feet (980 Nm). The latest generation’s chassis upgrades could be an equalizer, though.
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