The Brand New Ruf That Isn't Based On A Porsche Still Looks Like One Anyway

You know we said Ruf had built its own car that for the first time wasn’t based on a Porsche? Well, as it turns out, it’s not quite the split from convention that we imagined.

In homage to the 1987 CTR Yellow Bird, a completely bonkers 210mph version of the contemporary 911, Ruf has clothed its brand new carbon-tubbed CTR 2017 in a body that, well, let’s just say Porsche might be a bit miffed if Ruf hasn’t asked permission.

The reason for bothering with an all-new chassis, then? Porsche’s latest are too big to get the effect Ruf wanted.

It’s 1987 styling all over again, with flat-cut five-spoke alloys and a gigantic spoiler, yellow paint and upright, round headlights. But the details are very much 2017, like the lower ride height, the modern headlight technology and the obviously not Porsche interior, clothed in Alcantara at almost every surface apart from the tartan leather seats.

That amazingly wide body is all carbon, too, so you really, really wouldn’t want to crash it even at low speed. Is it a slice of pure hotness or is it a shame that Ruf didn’t come up with its own styling to match all the effort it put into building the chassis?

Either way, it’s fast. A dry weight of just 1200kg makes it lighter than a McLarenn 720S, but taller gearing for the 700bhp twin-turbo Ruf means it’s not as fast. Expect 0-62mph in 3.5 seconds and 0-124mph in less than nine, but the top speed of 224mph does trump the McLaren’s 212mph.

Traction comes from 305-section rear tyres that dwarf the 245-section fronts, and it needs plenty of grip to contain the 649lb ft of torque at just 2750rpm. The engine, a Porsche-mimicking 3.6-litre flat-six, is built by Ruf itself based on the design of the engine in the 1987 Yellow Bird.

We don’t know whether to love it for blending the old and the new so completely, or wish the exterior was more than just a carbon copycat.