Ruf came into the public eye in 1987 when they released their Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2-based CTR, an extremely limited-production model which for several years held the title of world's fastest production vehicle. Wanting an ultra-high performance model to remain among the company offerings, Alois Ruf Jr., the company owner, followed up the original with a CTR2 in 1995, another production model made in limited quantities, based on the then-new 993-chassis 911 Turbo. Originally offered at a retail Price of $315,000 USD, the CTR2 featured either the standard rear-wheel drive or an optional all-wheel-drive, Recaro racing seats with Simpson five-point belts, enlarged brakes, an integrated roll-cage, a Ruf manufactured coil-over suspension system, an integrated bi-functional rear wing and a kevlar body with lightweight glass; power came from a race derived air-cooled Porsche 3.6 litre, twin-turbochargedFlat-six engine, based on the engine used in the Porsche 962 Le Mans Group C car but tuned by Ruf to produce and 505 ft lb of torque. The car's engine was revised later to bump the power output to. Capable of accelerating from in under 3.5 seconds and achieving a top speed in excess of - actual recorded top speed was - in 1995 the CTR2 was the fastest production sports car in the world; it outperformed Ferrari'sF50, Jaguar's XJ220, and performing on par with Nissan's R390 GT1. The McLaren F1 was the only other production car at the time that broke the CTR2's record, by clocking a top speed of 241 mph in 1998, which then made the Ruf CTR2 the 2ndfastest production car of the decade.
Motorsport
To prove his new car's ability, in 1997, Alois Ruf entered two special wide-body 'CTR2 Yellowbird' prototype 'Sport' versions, code-named 'CTR2sport' with in the 1997 Pikes Peak Hillclimb race. These cars were stringently built to both FIA and Pikes Peak regulations and driven by brothers Steve Beddor and David Beddor. Unlike the other competitors, both cars were not only race modified, but also duly road registered, tractable, street legal cars. In a demonstration of the Ruf's flexibility, they were street driven to and from the Pikes Peak racecourse, and as a lasting testament to the Ruf CTR2sport's enormous capabilities, Steve Beddor was 1st in overall qualifying and finished 2nd overall in the race, while his brother David, finished a close 4th overall. Steve Beddor's 'Pikes Peak' prototype; the Ruf CTR2sport, then went on to win the Virginia City Hill Climb an astonishing 3 times while racking up some 20 other 1st-place finishes nationwide, making it arguably one of the most important 'non-Zuffenhausen' Porsche racecars of the 1990s.
Production
16 standard CTR2s were produced, alongside 12 CTR2 "Sport" versions.
Specifications
Weight:
Tyres: 245/35ZR-19 front, 285/30ZR-19 rear
Power: at 5800 rpm ; 580 hp at 5900 rpm
Torque: at 4800 rpm
Specific output: approx. per litre
Power-to-weight ratio: 382 hp per metric tonne ; 427 hp per metric tonne
*0-: 3.6 sec
*0-: 7.6 sec
*Top Speed:
Power : at 7300 rpm
Torque : at 5500 rpm
Test results
A 520 hp CTR2 was tested by Dennis Simanitis for the February 1997 issue of Road & Track with the following results:
0-: 3.6 sec
0-: 5.6 sec
0-: 7.9 sec
0-: 9.0 sec
Quarter mile: 11.4 seconds at
The tester noted that he suspected that the magazine's Road Test Editor would be even "a couple of tenths quicker" to 60 mph and that "there’s every reason to believe the Silver Flash is capable of an honest 350 km/h or more". A test of another 520 hp CTR2 in a March 1997 issue of Auto, Motor und Sport yielded:
