1998 RUF Turbo R Limited

heroldius (65)in #cars • 6 years ago (edited)

Next month, in Monterey (California), this stunning 1998 RUF Turbo R Limited will heading to auction through RM Sotheby's for an estimate price of $US 700,000. It looks like a Porsche, it has a Porsche body but it's not a Porsche, it's RUF, German auto company and independent manufacturer.

History of the RUF Turbo R

RUF Automobiles converts Porsche bodies without a factory VIN to create their own supercars. The company was founded by Alois Ruf Sr in 1939 as a service garage. In 1974, after the founder's death, his son, Alois Ruf Jr began to customize Porsche 911 to make them faster. In 1977, he completed his first full conversion.

In 1987, RUF presented the RUF CTR (stands for Group C Turbo RUF). The yellow car participated at a special competition by Road & Track magazine in order to determine the fastest production car in the world. The CTR won the competition with a top speed of 340 kmh beating Porsche 959, Ferrari F40, Lamborghini Countach and Diablo. It was dubbed the Yellow Bird. The concept has evolved; the lastest design, the CTR 4, was introduced in 2017 at the Geneva Motor Show.

CTR 4

For this model, RUF purchased 7 new 993 Turbo bodies to create an incredible air-cooled car based on based on 408 hp Type 993 Turbo engine. Each model is unique with the specification of its purchased, Limited Edition.

Technical specification

Finished in Irish Green with a black leather and Alcantara interior, this Turbo R Limited was the first with full carbon-fiber bodywork. For the engine, we have a RUF-modified air-cooled and twin-turbocharged/intercooled boxer six producing 620 bhp at 6,800 rpm.