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Bird Spotting: Another RUF CTR Heads to Auction
Collectors will be flocking to bid on a RUF CTR “Yellowbird” just weeks after a similar car sold for more than $6 million at Amelia Island.
The 1989 CTR is one of only 29 built, which makes it as rare as a Porsche 959 Sport, and significantly more scarce than a McLaren F1, of which 64 road cars were made. It’s this rarity that connoisseurs have recently cottoned onto, and RUF vehicles, especially the CTR, are enjoying a renewed wave of popularity.
The CTR gained its notoriety, and its Yellowbird moniker, at Road & Track magazine’s 1987 world’s fastest showdown at the Nardo test track in Italy. At the time Ferrari’s F40 was the car to beat, with a top speed of 201 mph, but RUF rocked up and blew the competition away, by reaching 211 mph on the banked oval track.
That’s courtesy of RUF’s 3.4-liter, turbocharged, flat-six, which puts out 469 horsepower and drives the rear wheels through a RUF-designed six-speed manual transmission.
It’s believed that 13 of the 29 CTRs found homes in the United States, and chassis number 23 comes in classic Blütengelb Yellow with a jet black lightweight interior. The car is said to be in remarkable original condition with just a minor paint repair in the engine bay completed by RUF, and “100 percent first paint otherwise,” according to a Zertifikat of authenticity issued in 2016. As well as giving the car a thorough inspection, RUF meticulously cleaned the underside, shined up the paint, and fitted new wheels and tires to bring it back to the same condition as it left the factory.
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This Yellowbird will be for sale at Broad Arrow’s Porsche Air|Water Auction in Costa Mesa, California on April 26. Broad Arrow’s estimate is $4.5 M to $5.5 M.
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Another one of the “Holy Grail” RUF CTR”S going to auction. If ONE car and ONE car only…………….a RUF Yellowbird is the landslide winner for me. The rest of you can buy one of those “look at me” Singers………which are nice but really have zero history to put them over the top like RUF.
One of the all time greats. I love this car, it was a hero back in the 80’s.
Me too! I had an 89, and wish I still had it!
I owned an upgraded 1986 BTR, rated at 485 HP, for about 10 years. It was truly scary fast when under boost. Sadly, too, I sold mine too soon.
While a RUF CTR is a heroic 911, please do not mention it in the same breath as a the Mighty Mac. A McLaren F1 is a car of such magnitude as to be on par with two of the greatest collector cars the world has ever known… the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe and, of course, the Ferrari GTO. The McLaren F1 was created by a team of visionaries with no financial or engineering restraints. And while the RUF CTR might actually be faster than a McLaren F1 in real world use, that does not mean it should be compared on a desirability scale. The CTR is highly desirable among Porsche enthusiasts. The McLaren F1 is highly desirable among ALL enthusiasts.
Hi there. Just a small correction: the CTR was tested by Road and Track at VW’s Ehra-Lessien test track in Germany.