Car Tuning

Well-preserved Ruf CTR Yellowbird sells for 41 times the initial price

Legendary German Porsche specialist Ruf has produced countless memorable cars over the years, but few are as recognizable as the famous CTR Yellowbird. One of these went up on sale earlier this week and fetched $6,050,000 – quite a premium over its base price of under $150,000.

A 1987 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 provided the basis for the conversion. The tuner produced only 29 examples, out of which this one was number 26. It ended up with an engine stroked out to 3.4 liters of displacement and boosted to 470 PS (464 hp / 346 kW). RUF tasked a five-speed manual transmission with delivering 553 Nm (408 lb-ft) of torque to the rear wheels.

The original owner of the car optioned it with the automaker’s Leichtbau (Lightweight) package that included aluminum replacement parts, a roll cage out of the same metal, Recaro seats and a Blaupunkt stereo.

With only 1,673 km (1,039 miles) under its belt, this Yellowbird managed to stay in pristine condition throughout the years. It helped that its owner performed regular maintenance, too.

Editor: Andrew Raspopov