Ruf has been in business since 1939, transitioning from a Porsche modifier to a full-blown automotive manufacturer. But even in the brand’s 86-year history, we’ve never seen a Ruf model as expensive as the one that recently crossed the auction block.
At this year’s Gooding & Company auction in Amelia Island, Florida, a 1989 Ruf CTR ‘Yellowbird’ sold for just over $6 million, making it the priciest Ruf model ever. It beat out the previous most-expensive Yellowbird, which sold for a scant $1.08 million by comparison in 2018.
Photo by: Mike Maez | Gooding & Company
The car in question is one of just 29 examples ever built, and one of just nine finished in the factory Blossom Yellow (or, Blutengelb) paint. That makes this a particularly rare example. It features the lightweight Leichtbau package with aluminum body panels and an aluminum roll cage. All told, this particular car has driven just 1,056 miles since new.
Under the hood is a twin-turbocharged 3.4-liter air-cooled flat-six making 463 horsepower and 408 pound-feet of torque when new, paired to a six-speed manual transmission as part of the Leichtbau package.
Photo by: Mike Maez | Gooding & Company
Photo by: Mike Maez | Gooding & Company
Ruf owner Alois Ruf was on hand to watch the record-breaking Yellowbird cross the block.
“The CTR Yellowbird was a significant turning point for Ruf and for modern performance cars in general,” noted Ruf. “And it remains a testament to the very essence of our brand: an unrelenting commitment to engineering excellence, innovative technical design, and the highest possible standard of automotive performance.”
The $6.0-million Yellowbird wasn’t the only car that the German automaker had at Amelia. Ruf also showed some of its newest vehicles on the Amelia concours lawn, including two stunning SCR models and a BTR2, which was equipped with Ruf’s new 993 Precision LED lighting system for 993 911 models.
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Source: Gooding & Company
