2008 Ruf CTR3
A first step toward supercar supremacy.
At a dinner in conjunction with the unveiling of his new CTR3 supercar, Alois “Louis” Ruf made this interesting statement, “We are all here today, in Bahrain, because of Road & Track magazine.” How’s that? Well, it turns out the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, was studying in the U.S. in 1987 when R&T’s “World’s Fastest Cars” story appeared (July 1987 issue), in which the Ruf Yellow Bird took top honors with a speed of 211 mph.
The Crown Prince was so struck by the Ruf’s capabilities that he knew he had to have one; the relationship between the royal family and the Rufs has been strong ever since. And while we love to take credit for all good things automotive, it’s actually the relationship between the Crown Prince and Mr. and Mrs. Ruf that enabled a Ruf factory to be built on the grounds of the Bahrain Grand Prix circuit. Bringing Formula 1 racing to Bahrain, incidentally, was also the doing of the Crown Prince, a certifiable car enthusiast of the first order.
But back to the sensational car you see on these pages. Although Ruf is classified as a manufacturer, many still consider him a tuner — though a brilliant tuner at that. So it’s long been his goal to build his own super-car from scratch to distance himself.
The mid-engine CTR3 has been in the making for several years. Originally called the R50, two prototypes were built in a secret barn tucked away from Ruf’s Pfaffenhausen, Germany, factory, both attempts at doing the car “completely Ruf” from the ground up.
Unfortunately, that undertaking proved a bit too daunting for a first effort. So Ruf decided instead to use a Porsche 911 GT3 RS front platform (basically from the A-pillars forward) while the rear is completely original, a tube frame design (or “birdcage,” as Ruf likes to call it) engineered in conjunction with Multimatic of Markham, Ontario, Canada.
The design of the rear subframe is super trick — it eliminates any thoughts that the CTR3 is simply a rebodied Cayman or Boxster. The massive tubes of the subframe are a sure giveaway, but what you can’t see deeper within is the extensive use of billet aluminum; at least when you remove the engine cover the very racy horizontal coil-over shocks are visible.
The CTR3 prototype, which is close to production-ready, was designed by 26-year-old Bennett Soderberg. Unbelievably, his position in design and development at Ruf is Soderberg’s first real job since graduating from university. Soderberg is an interesting case all to himself, born to an American father and an Australian mother; he’s a German citizen, but with a Swedish last name.
Ruf says the inspiration for the body he asked Soderberg to pen comes from his own fascination with the 1953 Porsche 550 Le Mans Coupe, driven by Paul Frиre and Richard von Frankenberg. Aside from the aluminum Porsche doors and hood (and Zuffenhausen-issue head- and taillights) the rest of the body is all Ruf and done in carbon fiber. And it’s not just the rear bodywork that’s unique; the front fenders are different as well, with much more of a curve in profile than the 911’s, which form almost a straight line. The windshield, also, is much shorter than that of a 911. You’ll notice the lack of a rear window; the production car will have a backup camera.
Inside, as with all Ruf automobiles, the CTR3 has a full safety rollcage. Although the dash and center stack may look like standard Porsche fare (other than the green Ruf gauges), the entire interior has been completely restitched in rich-feeling thick leather, and such things as the door panels and headliner are new — finished in beautifully stitched and padded Alcantara. The leather-covered seats come from a GT3, but have been reshaped into a wider form.
The other giveaway that this is not simply a rebodied Porsche is the actual dimensions of the CTR3: The wheelbase is 10.8 in. longer than a 911’s and 8.2 in. longer than a Cayman’s; overall length is nearly identical to a 911 (about 3 in. longer than a Cayman), though the CTR3 is about 5 in. wider and about 4.5 in. lower than a 911. Weight is estimated at just under 3100 lb.
The CTR3 uses a 3.6-liter Porsche-derived twin-turbocharged flat-6, increased to 3.8 liters by Ruf and massaged to develop 700 bhp and 657 lb.-ft. of torque, all that power transferred to the rear wheels. Another first for Ruf is the car’s 6-speed sequential manual, built by Hцr; while the current iteration of the transmission requires using the clutch for both up- and downshifts, Ruf says in the future the clutch will be required only for takeoff. Claimed top speed is 233 mph.
The CTR3 comes with cross-drilled carbon-ceramic disc brakes (from a different supplier than Porsche’s carbon brakes), with 15.0-in. rotors and 6-piston aluminum calipers front and rear. Plenty of Michelin Pilot Sport rubber will be gripping the pavement, with 255/35ZR-19s up front and massive 335/30ZR-20s at the rear.
Ruf expects the first customer cars to be ready by October at a price of 380,000 Euros ($519,000 at current exchange rates). The plan is to build 50 CTR3s over the next three years between the new facility in Bahrain and the original location in Pfaffenhausen. By October, Ruf hopes to have a “Ruf Driving Academy” up and running at the Bahrain track, and further down the road he is planning a one-make “gentlemen’s race series” with fully race-prepped CTR3s.
As a first attempt at building his own supercar, the CTR3 is impressive; we’re squirming in our seats waiting to drive one. And Ruf’s realization that it’s better to start small rather than going for broke — just over half the car built from scratch rather than the whole thing — looks like a wise decision. But at the same time, we can’t help dreaming about the “completely Ruf” supercar that is sure to come in the years ahead.
