See this car? It looks like a Porsche 911, right? Well it isn’t. At least it’s not actually based on one.
What you’re looking at is the 2017 RUF CTR, revealed for the first time at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show. It’s the celebrated Porsche tuner’s first original chassis, and despite its design, it does away without the actual 911 underpinnings.
Instead the new CTR is based on an entirely original carbon monocoque chassis – the first of its kind to put the engine way in the back over the rear axle, just like Zuffenhausen’s iconic sports car.
Inspired by the legendary 1987 “Yellow Bird” that was the fastest car of its time, the new RUF CTR packs a 3.6-liter twin-turbo flat six rated at 700 horsepower and 659 lb-ft of torque. All that muscle is channeled through a six-speed manual and limited-slip differential to the 19-inch rear wheels alone, which promises to be quite a handful to manhandle.
The narrow bodywork is similarly crafted from carbon fiber, and the minimalist cabin (blending modern design with retro cues) features carbon-fiber seat shells, aluminum pedals, and a three-spoke steering wheel – helping keep the dry weight down to 1,200 kilograms (2,640 pounds). The result is a 0-62 time of quoted at less than 3.5 seconds, passing 200 km/h (124 mph) in under 9 seconds on its way to a top speed of 225 mph.
A pushrod double wishbone suspension and carbon-ceramic brakes aim to keep all that power and performance in check. But as keen as we’d be to drive one, we’d do so carefully and in dry conditions, thank you very much.
The German tuner turned manufacturer says it will only build 30 of them (on top of the prototype unveiled in Geneva), starting next year at its factory in Pfaffenhausen, halfway between Stuttgart and Munich in Bavaria. Pricing will be revealed at a later date, but we wouldn’t expect to find a bargain here, by any stretch of the imagination.
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