Introduced and built in 1987, the Ruf CTR was a limited production high performance sports car based on the Porsche 911.
Design.
Weight savings was a priority with the CTR. The doors, hood, and engine cover were replaced with aluminum components. The front and rear bumpers were replaced with fiberglass units designed to increase air flow to the intercoolers. These modifications allowed the CTR to weigh 200 kg (441 lbs) lighter than the Porsche 911 curb weight.
Performance.
The CTR used an enlarged and highly tuned version of Porsche’s 3.2L flat six cylinder engine that produced 469 horsepower and 408 lb-ft of torque. Not only was the CTR Yellowbird powerful, it was light as well. It has a curb weight of just 1,170 kg (2,580 lbs). The Ruf CTR Yellowbird could accelerate from 0-60 mph in just 3.7 seconds and had a top speed of 211 mph. The 5 speed transmission was built by Ruf because the 5 speed Porsche transmission wasn’t strong enough to handle the increased horsepower. The Porsche 4 speed would have handled the power, but Ruf wasn’t satisfied with only four forward gears.
Legacy.
The 1987 Ruf CTR Yellowbird could easily outperform most high performance sports car at the time. Only 29 Ruf CTRs were built, the rest were converted from customer cars.
In the video below, you can hear the sound of the blow off valve which sounds almost like the chirp of a canary, thus making the Yellowbird nickname stick. The nickname for the Ruf CTR “Yellowbird” originated from Road & Track staffers.
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