Ruf Automotive Models

Ruf Model List. Every Ruf, Every Year.

As we dive into the comprehensive list of Ruf models, we'll see why Ruf holds a special place in the hearts of car enthusiasts who value driver-centric experiences and high performance.

Ruf's fascination with Porsche was that of a chance encounter with a crashed Porsche 356 notchback in 1963, when he witnessed a 356 lose control, exit the road, and crash. After ensuring the driver was OK, he brought the damaged steed back to his shop for storage and instantly took a shine to it. He then bought it from the insurance company and took his time restoring it to factory fresh. This started Ruf on the path of opening a Porsche-specific service shop which quickly caught on around Germany as the place to go for any degree of maintenance, including the painstaking task of reshaping Porsche bodywork of the era by hand.

Beginning in 1977, RUF's first move was modifying the 930 Turbos to produce 300 horsepower, thanks in part to stroking its engine to 3.3 liters. This became what was dubbed the Turbo 3.3. Then, 1978 saw the introduction of RUF's first high-performance naturally aspirated 911, the SCR, which was essentially a lightened and modified 911 SC.. RUF managed to crank out nearly 40 more horsepower as well as add a limited-slip differential and updated the bodywork. That was the start of a legend. Since then Ruf has produced over 50 models, not including all of the one-offs and customer specials that don't get publicized.

RUF’s most widely recognized model is the CTR. Dubbed the Yellowbird by photographers who snapped shots of it on-track for Road & Track in 1987, the specs were incredibly impressive, especially when the Ferrari F40 and Porsche 959 were the legacy manufacturer options to beat. The 2,500-pound CTR possessed a 3.2-liter turbo-six that made 463 horsepower, did 0-60 in 3.6 seconds, 0-100 in 6.7 seconds, and reached a top speed of 211 mph. The CTR is truly the stuff of legends, and its wild character is immortalized in the company's Faszination auf dem Nürburgring, a video that thoroughly demonstrates its immense performance. The original CTR is widely regarded as the original model to fully embody the brand's goals of being beautiful, functional, well-thought-out, and above all engaging.