It looks like a Porsche 911, right?
Well it isn't. What you're looking at
is the 2017 RUF CTR, revealed for the first time at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show.
It's the celebrated Porsche tuner's first original chassis, and despite its
design, it does away without the actual 911 underpinnings.
Instead the new CTR is based on an entirely original
carbon monocoque chassis – the first of its kind to put the engine way in the
back over the rear axle, just like Zuffenhausen's iconic sports car.
Inspired by the legendary 1987 “Yellow Bird”, the new RUF CTR packs a 3.6-liter twin-turbo
flat six rated at 700 horsepower and 659 lb-ft of torque. All that muscle is
channeled through a six-speed manual and limited-slip differential to the
19-inch rear wheels alone, which promises to be quite a handful to manhandle.
The narrow bodywork is similarly crafted from carbon
fiber, and the minimalist cabin features carbon-fiber seat shells, aluminum pedals, and a three-spoke steering
wheel – helping keep the dry weight down to 1,200 kilograms. The
result is a 0-62 time of quoted at less than 3.5 seconds, passing 200 km/h in under 9 seconds on its way to a top speed of 225 mph.
A pushrod double wishbone suspension and
carbon-ceramic brakes aim to keep all that power and performance in check. But
as keen as we'd be to drive one, we'd do so carefully and in dry conditions,
thank you very much.
The German tuner turned manufacturer says it will
only build 30 of them (on top of the prototype unveiled in Geneva), starting
next year at its factory in Pfaffenhausen, halfway between Stuttgart and Munich
in Bavaria. Pricing will be revealed at a later date.
