RUF CTR3: When a Porsche is Not a Porsche

By Feann Torr - 16/Apr/2007

Sakhir, Bahrain — Not unlike Gemballa, RUF is known for taking Porsche vehicles and modifying them to such a point that sometimes they are unrecognisable. We're not just talking engine and suspension tweaks - the cars' frames, engines and body work are all part of the RUF metamorphosis and because of these fundamental modifications the company is recognised as a wholly independent vehicle manufacturer by the German Government.

Understandably then, whenever the German company unveils a new model we stand up and take notice, and RUF's latest weapons is called the CRT3. So we stood and, err, noticed.

Launched in Bahrain - considered by some to be the original Garden of Eden - the beguiling CTR3 has the trademark Porsche 911 headlights, but there's a lot of styling cues that are unique to this design. There are the Porsche Cayman brake lights at the rear, but most of the car is relatively new, from the front airdam, to the birdcage frame and of course the thoroughly developed power core.

Take a look at the vehicle from the side and it looks very unlike the 911 Carrera. And then there's the waspish rear end and engine cover that are far more conceptual than most 'modded' sports cars. It's not the most flattering car design in the world, but when your looking at reaching speeds of more than 350km/h sometimes form takes a backseat to function. 

There are some particularly impressive design features, including the myriad air dams all over the car. In addition to the three front air intakes hovering millimetres above the blacktop, there's also a roof scoop, a pair of intakes behind the doors to feed air to the engine and a number of vents at the rear to aid engine cooling.

In all, it's a confronting image, and while there are some similarities with modern-day Porsche models reflected in its design, there's also something unique about the way it sits on the road - and something completely insane about the way it accelerates down the road...

The enigmatic German sports car marque has set high the bar high with its new CTR3, citing competitors like the heavy-hitting SLR McLaren, Porsche's own V10-powered Carrera GT and even the most famous modern Ferrari, the V12 Enzo.

On paper, the stats speak loudly and would suggest that the CTR3 can indeed rival such legendary sports cars: it's powered by a 3.7-litre boxer engine that is given an extra charge thanks to a pair of turbochargers, and challenges one of the quickest Ferraris ever built by slamming down an incomprehensible 0-100km/h sprint in just 3.2 seconds.

By the time most passenger cars are shifting into first gear and slowly releasing the clutch, the relatively light (1400kg) CTR3 is piling on speed - it's velocity increasing at a ludicrous rate - until it tops out at 375km/h (235mph). Yep, this thing is one of the few vehicles on the road that could tangle with the completely potty Bugatti Veyron and not come away with a bruised ego -- a top speed of 235mph is not to be sniggered at.

Even it's proportions are fast: it's not particularly long, measuring 4.44 metres long or about the same as a Ford Focus sedan, but is nice and low at 1.2 metres, able to defy the wind at high speeds and as the photos suggest it's an aerodynamics machine, all curves and slink.

Unveiled at RUF's new manufacturing facility in the Middle East (Bahrain), the new model's body is made from steel, aluminium and kevlar-carbon fibre, and is based on top of a "space frame and birdcage" frame according to RUF Automobiles. The German automaker's latest creation uses an interesting joining of the front and rear, as RUF explains: "The birdcage forms a torsion resistant unit with the front chassis by joining to the sill beam and the A pillar."

This should mean the car is impressively stiff which would suit high-speed cornering, and with a 515kW punch from its twin-turbo engine, the CTR3 will no doubt be a real handful. Priced at €380,000, or about A$618,000 it's not cheap either, and it's somewhat odd looks may put some exotic collectors off side, but the real enthusiasts out there will be blown away by its performance.

Power comes from a horizontally opposed (or flat) 6-cylinder engine, given more muscle thanks to a pair of KKK turbochargers that are fed by twin air-to-air intercoolers. The compression ratio for the hotted-up six is 9.2:1 and the a Bosch Motronic system takes the place of the engine's brain.

Outputting a mammoth 515kW or 700hp @ 7000rpm, the 3746cc engine doesn't need have its guts revved out before its reaches its sweet spot, but even more impressive is peak torque: 890Nm @ an undisclosed engine speed, but we're betting it hits at about 4500rpm.

All this power is slammed down to the ground through the huge rear wheels via a 6-speed sequential manual gearbox, and to keep everything relatively balanced the CTR3 gets a limited slip, multi-disc locking diff. As well as the slippery differential, the car also has a serious suspension rig to ensure it can post decent lap times, featuring McPherson struts up front backed up with a large anti-roll bar to keep body roll to a minimum. The rear wheels are suspended by a multilink rear axle with horizontal coil over shock absorbers, and again a large anti-roll bar is present to keep things level.

Though power steering will help make the car easier to pilot at lower speeds, the RUF CTR3 will not be most friendly of cars in the city, particularly with the inclusion of humongous 380mm ventilated and cross drilled ceramic composite discs. I've driven a few cars with ceramic composite brakes and all of them offered less pedal feel than standard steel brakes - the only place they perform better is on the race track where their inherent thermal properties ensure reduced brake fade. Nevertheless the brakes are clamped by large six-pot fixed calipers, backed up by an 8.0 channel Bosch ABS setup.

Giving the car traction are rather large front and rear tyres, measuring 255/35 ZR19 at the front and colossal 335/30 ZR20s at the rear. There's something about cars with 1-inch smaller rims at the front that seem to have a hardened look about them, a more aggressive stance perhaps?

RUF doesn't release many sports cars, so it's always an occasion when it does, and this 890Nm street brawler is one of its most aggressive yet. It won't win any design awards - the thing looks ungainly from more than one angle - but it will win a few street fights thanks to its biturbo boxer powerplant. If you can afford the $618,000 (€380,000) asking price and trip to Europe or the Middle East, you can be sure that there won't be many of these down at the mariner on a Sunday afternoon. It may look quite as cool as a Ferrari, but it sure does have a lot of stomp.

Related articles:
- Mercedes SLR McLaren (2007)
- Porsche Carrera GT (2005)
- Bugatti Veyron (2006)
- Ferrari Enzo (2003)