Manufacturer Ruf Class Supercar (S) | Production 1995-1997 Body style 2-door coupé | |
 | ||
Layout Rear-engine, all-wheel drive / rear-wheel drive Related | ||
The Ruf CTR2 (Group C, Turbo Ruf, 2nd generation) was a 2-door supercar built by manufacturer Ruf Automobile of Germany as the successor to the CTR Yellowbird, but based on Porsche's Type 993 generation 911.
Contents
History
Ruf came into the public eye in 1987 when they released their Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2-based CTR, an extremely limited-production model which for several years held the title of world's fastest production vehicle. Wanting an ultra-high performance model to remain among the company offerings, Alois Ruf Jr., the company owner, followed up the original with a CTR2 in 1995, another production model made in limited quantities, based on the then-new 993-chassis 911 Turbo. Originally offered at a retail Price of $315,000 USD, the CTR2 featured either the standard rear-wheel drive or an optional all-wheel-drive, Recaro racing seats with Simpson five-point belts, enlarged brakes, an integrated roll-cage, a Ruf manufactured coil-over suspension system, an integrated bi-functional rear wing (for downforce, and air induction to 2 intercoolers, one on each side) and a kevlar body with lightweight glass; power came from a race derived version of Porsche's air-cooled 3.6 litre, twin-turbocharged flat-six engine, also based on the engine used in the Porsche 962 Le Mans Group C car (hence the name CTR2) but tuned by Ruf to produce 520 hp (388 kW) and 505 foot-pounds (685 N·m) of torque. The car's engine was revised later to bump the power output to 580 hp (433 kW).
Capable of running from 0-60 mph in under 3.5 seconds and hitting a top speed in excess of 220 miles per hour (354 km/h) - actual recorded top speed was 217 mph (349 km/h) - the CTR2 was one of the fastest production supercars in the world, capable of out-running Ferrari's F50 (193 mph), Jaguar's XJ220 (213 mph), and performing on par with Nissan's R390 GT1 (220 mph). The one million dollar McLaren F1 was the only other production car at the time which was later found to have performed better under testing, by 1998, making the Ruf CTR2 the 2nd fastest production car of the day.
To prove his new car's ability, in 1997, Alois Ruf entered two special wide-body 'CTR2 Yellowbird' prototypes, 'Sport' versions, code-named 'CTR2sport' with 702 hp (523 kW) in the 1997 Pikes Peak Hillclimb race. These cars were stringently built to both FIA and Pikes Peak regulations and driven by brothers Steve Beddor and David Beddor. Unlike the other competitors, both cars were not only race modified, but also duly road registered, tractable, street legal cars. In a demonstration of the Ruf's flexibility, they were street driven to and from the Pikes Peak racecourse, and as a lasting testament to the Ruf CTR2sport's enormous capabilities, Steve Beddor was 1st in overall qualifying (despite driving a legal street car) and finished 2nd overall in the race, while his brother David, (in the second Ruf) finished a close 4th overall. Steve Beddor's 'Pikes Peak' prototype; the Ruf CTR2sport, then went on to win the Virginia City Hill Climb an astonishing 3 times while racking up some 20 other 1st place finishes nationwide, making it arguably one of the most important 'non-Zuffenhausen' Porsche racecars of the 1990s.
16 standard CTR2s were made for production, alongside 15 CTR2 "Sport" versions.
Specifications
Test results
A 520 hp CTR2 was tested by Dennis Simanitis for the February 1997 issue of Road & Track with the following results:
The tester noted that he suspected that the magazine's Road Test Editor would be even "a couple of tenths quicker" to 60 mph and that "there’s every reason to believe the Silver Flash is capable of an honest 350 km/h (217 mph) or more".
A test of another 520 hp CTR2 in a March 1997 issue of Auto, Motor und Sport yielded: