Each of Germany’s automotive titans has their own synonymous tuning house: AMG for Mercedes, Alpine for BMW, and RUF for Porsche. Founded by Alois Ruf Sr. in the early 1960s, the Pfaffenhausen-based tuning firm has remained singularly dedicated to Porsche and their sports cars, earning worldwide notoriety after a video was produced of hot shoe Stefan Roper taking a RUF CTR ‘Yellowbird’ for a tyre-smoking lap of the Nürburgring, featuring plenty of tail-out action long before the art of drifting entered motorsport’s lexicon.

Now a time-warp example of the very model that establish RUF as tuning royalty is heading to Gooding’s Amelia Island sale on March 6th, where it is estimated to achieve more than 6,000,000 dollars. The second model produced after Alois Ruf Jr. took the reigns in 1974, the CTR was unveiled in 1987. Short for “Group C Turbo RUF,” the CTR was built on the standard, narrow-bodied 911 Carrera 3.2 to keep aerodynamic drag to an absolute minimum. Starting from a ‘body-in-white’, RUF replaced the standard steel Porsche doors, hood, and engine cover with their own lightweight aluminum body panels, shedding over 180 kg in the process. 

However, these modifications were just the start: RUF removed the rain gutters, added more aerodynamic wing mirrors and composite front and rear bumpers, widened the rear arches to accommodate the 17” Speedline alloys, and added a passenger-side oil-filler door à la Porsche’s 1972 “Oil Klappe” 911. 

Nestled above the rear wheels was the Yellowbird’s thrumming heart, a hand-assembled 3.4-liter, air-cooled flat-six engine, featuring twin turbochargers, twin intercoolers, and an early version of Bosch Motronic fuel injection originally developed for the Porsche 962. Power figures were conservatively rated at 463 hp at 5,950 rpm, but the driver could turn up the craziness via a cabin-mounted boost adjustment knob provided they had the stones to do so. 

The example you see here — chassis 026 — is among the finest CTR and air-cooled RUFs in existence, showing a mind-boggling odometer reading of less than 1,700 km since new. One of just nine Yellowbirds originally finished in yellow, this Blossom Yellow example was fitted with the desirable Leichtbau package and boasts the ultra-rare RUF-developed 6-speed manual. As far as RUF’s creations go — and Porsches in general — this Yellowbird is near impossible to beat. 

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