Ruf CTR3 | Showpiece of the Week

When is a Porsche not a Porsche? When it's a Ruf CTR3

Ruf has a long and storied history of turning up the wick on some of Porsche’s most celebrated models. From its early tuned variants of the 911 and 911 Turbo, via the original CTR which spawned the Yellowbird legend, right up to the recent homages to those cars, the company has become known for unleashing the wilder side of Stuttgart’s creations.

By and large those brighter-burning specials still resembled the 911s on which they were based, though, a chunkier set of five-spoke wheels often the sole giveaway that something more special resided within. That wasn’t the case when it came to the CTR3, however, a model for which Ruf decided to truly go its own way for the first time.

Don’t let the Cayman-esq styling fool you, beneath the sloping clamshell bodywork lurks the structure and floorpan of a 997 911 Turbo. Where the 997 offered a maximum of 480hp and 502lb ft from its 3.6-litre flat-six, however, Ruf’s own 3.7-litre unit - with its twin KKK turbos and dual air-to-air intercoolers - produced a whopping 701hp and 656lb ft. The wheelbase was extended by 30cm, too, allowing the CTR3 to adopt a proper mid-engine layout, and to better contain its prodigious power output.

There is, of course, another car which the CTR3’s looks are said to ape, yet its 0-62 time of 3.2 seconds and top speed of 236mph put the Carrera GT’s 3.9-second and 205mph benchmarks to shame. Not only was that down to the 90hp advantage held by the Ruf over the marginally heavier Porsche, but thanks to its six-speed manual sequential transmission as well - the sturdy aluminium shifter allowing drivers to slam through the gears to their heart’s content.

The integrated roll cage, carbon-kevlar bodywork, ceramic composite brakes, gold leaf-coated dry sump oil tank and titanium exhaust box were all indicators of the CTR3’s exotic status. As was its price, which began north of €450,000. Even that wasn’t enough for some buyers, however, with Ruf going on to offer a Clubsport package from 2012 onward. This increased output to 777hp and 723lb ft, decreased the 0-62 and top speed figures to 3.0 seconds and 236mph respectively and added the option of a seven-speed PDK transmission.

And, despite this week’s Showpiece being a 2010 machine, it was exactly this upgrade which it received just three years after its creation. One of just 50 examples produced, this right-hand drive car, with a black Alcantara interior, manual sequential transmission and Clubsport upgrade could be the most perfectly specced CTR3 going. With such a unique blend of Porsche heritage, Ruf magic and hypercar performance, you can bet it won’t hang around for long.

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