Perhaps not many of you know that Ruf Automobile – better known as Ruf – was founded in 1939 in Germany and initially only offered vehicle maintenance and repair. Experiments with new vehicle designs did not begin until the late 1940s and it was not until 1955 that the first Ruf-branded products were marketed on the German market. However, it was not a car but a tour bus, which received positive feedback from customers and Ruf decided to expand his business and start a separate owner bus company.
This was the start of a company that is today recognized as one of the leading aftermarket tuning companies when it comes to Porsche models. German Welts has a new 50 minute documentary that tells the story of Ruf and how he rose to fame with the Ruf CTR, which was the fastest production vehicle in the world when it debuted in 1987. But before Yellowbird made the Ruf famous, the company had several other successful attempts to make a fast Porsche. .
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It all started in 1977 when the first complete Porsche model by Ruf was completed, featuring a modified 3.3 liter engine. The following year, the Ruf 911 SCR debuted as the company’s first non-turbo model, equipped with a naturally aspirated 3.2 liter motor. As mentioned, however, Ruf went from popular in Germany to worldwide acclaim in 1987 with the Ruf CTR.
In the year it was released, the CTR recorded a top speed of 211 miles per hour (339 kilometers per hour), which made it the fastest production car in the world for its time. A year later, even higher speeds hit 213 mph (342 kph) and Ruf released a video of the car crashing into the Nurburgring, which quickly became popular worldwide. A snippet from that video was also featured on Welts‘s documentary, attached at the top of this page.
Most recently, Ruf unveiled the SCR at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show. Looking very much like the classic Porsche 911 from the 964 generation, it has a full carbon fiber monocoque chassis and bodyshell. A modified 4.0-liter naturally aspirated engine with 503 horsepower (375 kilowatts) and 347 pound-feet (470 Newton-meters) sits under the hood, giving the SCR a top speed of 199 mph (320 kph).
