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This 700-hp RUF CTR might look like a Porsche, but it isn't one

Seriously -- it's not even built on a Porsche chassis.

Andrew Krok Reviews Editor / Cars
Cars are Andrew's jam, as is strawberry. After spending years as a regular ol' car fanatic, he started working his way through the echelons of the automotive industry, starting out as social-media director of a small European-focused garage outside of Chicago. From there, he moved to the editorial side, penning several written features in Total 911 Magazine before becoming a full-time auto writer, first for a local Chicago outlet and then for CNET Cars.
Andrew Krok
2 min read
RUF

The Yellowbird is back! Sort of. Kind of? Oh, who cares, the new RUF CTR is awesome no matter what.

The 2017 RUF CTR is the German automaker's first car that was both designed and engineered in house. Saying the car was "designed" is a bit of a stretch though -- it bears a striking similarity to a car that was once manufactured by a company whose name starts with a P and ends in orsche.

Understanding why a new car looks like an old car requires a quick history lesson. The original RUF CTR, nicknamed the Yellowbird, was built for the 1987 model year. The body was from Porsche, the engine was a modified 911 unit, and the result was a 469-horsepower behemoth that was one of the fastest cars on the planet at the time.

RUF's new CTR is a 225 mph throwback to the Yellowbird

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While this new one clearly pays homage to the Yellowbird of old, it no longer relies on Porsche parts. The body was built in-house, and it's made entirely of carbon fiber. Even the chassis is completely bespoke -- and it's carbon fiber, too. All the carbon fiber helps keep the curb weight to a svelte 2,640 pounds, just 105 pounds heavier than the original.

The engine isn't from Porsche, but it relies on the Hans Mezger design that Porsche used for eons. A 3.6-liter, twin-turbocharged flat six sings the song of its people, to the tune of 700 horsepower and 649 pound-feet of torque. (Get your German Hellcat jokes out now, folks.) It'll hit 62 mph in less than 3.5 seconds, and it will continue pulling until it hits 225 miles per hour. A six-speed manual is the only transmission available, as it should be.

The interior relies heavily on Alcantara suede, both because RUF likes the way it looks and because it's somewhat lightweight. The seats are carbon fiber, and the pedals are aluminum, again in the name of weight savings. A three-spoke steering wheel harkens back to the good ol' days when an accident would put the wheel clear through your ribcage.

Only 30 of these bad boys will come out of RUF's factory in the hilariously named town of Pfaffenhausen, Germany. Each one is expected to cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $750,000 to $800,000 (presumably to pay for legal battles with a certain automaker).

2017 RUF CTR
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2017 RUF CTR

"I'm pretty sure that's a-"
"Nein, nein, ist RUF."

RUF