1987 Ruf CTR Yellow Bird
The Ruf Yellow Bird is one of the most prolific tuned vehicles and gained notoriety from a Road & Track cover article which called it the ‘Fastest car in the world!’. It achieved this title during to two-day event in 1987, where Road & Track was testing various cars in Northern Germany and stunned everyone by achieving 211 mph at Volkswagen’s Ehra-Lessien track.
Alois Ruf purposely made the CTR for Road & Track’s event and the editors quickly nicknamed it the Yellow Bird. Since Alois made the car as fast he could it must have made an outstanding impression. He took the standard 930 body, replaced doors, hood and engine cover with aluminum panels and then made substantial modifications to the engine. At the time it was the only twin turbocharged 911 in the world.
Addional changed to the CTR included RUF’s 5-Speed Gearbox which helped found the company. Eventually the CTR would be approved in the US and help propel RUF name and business.
In 1989 Porsche replaced the 930 platform with the 964 and RUF continued to offer a similar package called the CTR.
In Detail
| submitted by | Richard Owen |
| price $ | $223 000 usd |
| engine | Twin Turbo Flat-6 |
| valvetrain | SOHC |
| displacement | 3367 cc / 205.5 in³ |
| bore | 98.0 mm / 3.86 in |
| stroke | 74.4 mm / 2.93 in |
| compression | 7.5:1 |
| power | 349.7 kw / 469.0 bhp @ 5950 rpm |
| specific output | 139.29 bhp per litre |
| bhp/weight | bhp per tonne |
| torque | 553.2 nm / 408.0 ft lbs @ 5100 rpm |
| redline | 6800 rpm |
| body / frame | Unit Steel & Aluminum |
| driven wheels | Rear Engine / RWD |
| front tires | 215/45ZR-17 |
| rear tires | 255/40ZR-17 |
| front brakes | Vented Discs w/Vacuum Assist |
| f brake size | x 330 mm / x 13.0 in |
| rear brakes | Vented Discs w/Vacuum Assist |
| r brake size | x 330 mm / x 13.0 in |
| front wheels | F 43.2 x Not Available cm / 17.0 x 8.0 in |
| rear wheels | R 43.2 x Not Available cm / 17.0 x 10.0 in |
| steering | Rack & Pinion |
| curb weight | 1170 kg / 2580 lbs |
| wheelbase | 2273 mm / 89.5 in |
| front track | 1433 mm / 56.4 in |
| rear track | 1491 mm / 58.7 in |
| length | 4290 mm / 168.9 in |
| width | 1775 mm / 69.9 in |
| height | 1311 mm / 51.6 in |
| transmission | 5-Speed Manual |
| gear ratios | 3.50:1, 2.06:1, 1.41:1, 1.07:1, 0.86:1, 0.72:1, :1 |
| final drive | 3.44:1 |
| top speed | ~334.7 kph / 208.0 mph |
| 0 – 60 mph | ~3.9 seconds |
| 0 – 1/4 mile | ~11.9 seconds |
