RUF RtR: Spotted

Can't get a GT2 RS? Want a manual? Do we have the car for you...

There can be little doubt, regardless of your prejudices, affinities or beliefs, that the Porsche 911 GT2 RS is a very exciting motor vehicle. It's a 700hp, rear-wheel drive sports car, after all, despite its new-found apparent civility. It's going to be entertaining.

Trouble is, as with so many limited-edition Porsches, the RS will prove very tricky to get hold of. If you missed the boat and didn't get a new car, one or two might leak onto the used market in time; expect them to carry a hefty premium over the £207,506 list price though. Especially when most will surely have the £21,042 Weissach Package.

Let's call it £300K. And at that money one or two interesting alternatives come into view. One of which is this, a narrow-body Ruf RtR. It's another ludicrously fast, turbocharged 911, just ever so slightly different...

Launched in 2013, the RtR was a 40th anniversary celebration of the original Ruf Turbo. It was described by its makers as offering "the best levels of stability for handling performance without compromising daily drive comfort". Honestly, that's as florid as Ruf's description of the car gets. It's simple, direct and to the point, which is rather how the car appears.

RtR buyers had a few decisions to make when speccing their cars; not complex options that might make a subtle change (we're looking at you Porsche), but clear choices that would have a significant impact on the finished product. Rear- or four-wheel drive? Manual or PDK? Narrow body or wide? Big power, or absurd amounts of power? That seems to have been about it.

This Ruf RtR is a narrow body manual, with the lower-output engine. So yes, just the 645hp. It was registered in 2013 but only had 650 miles on it; the car is effectively brand new because it's spent a lot of its life being used as Ruf's show car, and is now being sold by Ruf UK. Predictably enough, therefore, it's absolutely pristine. And looks absolutely terrific. What the heck must a widebody car be like, if this is the attitude of a narrow one?

At £300,000 this is a very expensive car, although one that comes with the provenance, desirability and kudos of Pfaffenhausen product. This yellow thing is not going to depreciate much, is it? Best of all, the cost of Ruf cars has been made to look more affordable - all things being relative, of course - with the extortionate rise in Porsche values. This 993 Turbo S, for example, is £40K more than the Ruf. It's not just air-cooled stuff either, with this 996 GT3 RS for sale above a quarter of a million. A previous-gen, left-hand drive GT2 RS with 10,000 miles on it is available in Germany at £385,000. So if ever £300,000 could look good value...

And it's a yellow Ruf. A very fast, turbocharged Ruf that looks like a 911. Whether on video, on Gran Turismo or on YouTube, you will have discovered at some point in your childhood that yellow turbocharged Rufs are very, very cool. No argument - they just are. Oh sure, the vast majority will see it as simply another 911 in a daft colour with a silly spoiler (and an integrated roll cage), but a select few will know. And they'll love it. Who wants a regular 911 anyway?

SPECIFICATION - 2013 RUF RTR

Engine: 3,746cc, flat-six turbo
Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 645@7,300rpm
Torque (lb ft): N/A
MPG: 20.9
CO2: 320g/km
First registered: 2013
Recorded mileage: 650
Price new: Probably about £300,000
Yours for: £300,000