Porsche Specialist Ruf Builds a 750-hp Sports Car for the Fearless

July 26, 2011 at 3:14pm by Alexander Stoklosa

German Porsche tuning firm Ruf has just updated its absolutely insane CTR 3 with what it perhaps needed least: more horsepower. Ruf is famous for extracting huge power from Porsches, but because of how heavily it modifies vehicles, it is actually a full-on manufacturer in the eyes of the German government. Like the V-8-powered RGT-8, the CTR 3 is also sure to scare the neighbors. It may look like a stretched and harder-edged Porsche Cayman, but Ruf calls it an original design. A tubular space frame is wrapped in aluminum and kevlar-composite bodywork, and the resulting welterweight coupe is powered by a mid-mounted turbocharged 3.8-liter engine from the 911.

The CTR 3 first hit the market in 2007 with “just” 691 hp and 657 lb-ft of torque from a twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter flat-six engine; the latest CTR 3 sees its output bumped up to 750 hp and 708 lb-ft of twist. The 3.8-liter’s might is routed to the rear wheels through a sequential six-speed gearbox and a limited-slip differential. The car weighs just over 3000 lbs, and its power-to-weight ratio is just 4.4 pounds per horsepower. Ruf claims that the CTR 3 can kick itself to 62 mph in just 3.2 seconds, and in just 9.6 seconds it will rocket past the 125 mph mark before charging on to an alleged top speed of 236 mph. If those numbers are accurate, that would make the CTR 3 even quicker than the Porsche 911 GT2 RS we recently tested.

The Ruf CTR 3 is a car that seems to lend itself to italicized descriptions, so it’s nice to know that drivers who explore its italics-worthy performance capabilities can rely on a racy integrated roll cage and four 14.96-inch brake discs squeezed by six-piston calipers to help save their bacon if they get in trouble. The suspension is equally racy, and features MacPherson struts in front and a pushrod setup with laydown coilovers in the rear with anti-roll bars at both ends. Aiding the cause are wide, sticky tires sized 8.5 by 19 inches in front and 12.5 by 20 inches in the rear, mounted on forged aluminum center-lock wheels. Ruf has yet to announce pricing for its refreshed CTR 3, but we imagine customers will cross-shop it with vacation homes in exotic locales.

Tags: Porsche, Porsche 911, Ruf |

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New Subaru Sports Coupe Spy Photos Show Interior, Nose

May 31, 2011 at 3:04pm by David Gluckman

For us auto journalists, there’s a familiar face (and shirt, and shoes) in these latest spy photos, which show a Subaru rear-wheel-drive coupe prototype surrounded by company hangers-on. For everyone else, the important bit concerns the clearest shot yet of the cabin. There, a pretty plain shift lever is visible, as are a row of toggle switches on the center console. The steering wheel appears to be equipped with shift paddles, as promised.

The photos also provide a good look at what we can confidently say is the Subaru nose, which will in fact resemble the Toyota/Scion’s. The cars will share most if not all body panels and will differ minimally, possibly with unique front and rear fascias, but maybe in badge only. As we’ve reported previously, the cars’ overall shapes resemble a toned-down version of the styling seen on the most recent concept version, the Scion FR-S.

The extent of all the badge-engineering should become clear at the end of November when the Toyota and Subaru versions of the car are unveiled at the Tokyo auto show.

Tags: Scion FR-S, Subaru, Subaru coupe, Toyota FT-86 |

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2012 Scion FR-S / Toyota FT-86 / Subaru RWD Sports Car Spy Photos – Future Cars

May 16, 2011 at 6:29pm by Jon Yanca

The Scion/Subaru/Toyota rear-wheel-drive coupe gets caught testing in a camouflaged production-ready body.

Toyota is such a tease. Way back in the fall of 2009, it showed a swoopy yet angry-looking rear-drive, two-door sports-car concept called the FT-86. Although we weren’t big on its looks, we were excited by the thought of a north/south powertrain once again gracing a Toyota coupe—and surprised that Toyota was working on the car with Subaru, which will get its own version. Then, at Geneva this year, we saw a slightly redesigned version with a bigger maw accented by LEDs, appropriately called the FT-86 II concept. Our mouths watered, and at the New York show we learned that the car would arrive in the U.S. as a Scion, which was previewed by the FR-S concept. But, based on these shots from our spy photographers, it seems that the FT-86/FR-S will lose much of its visual snap in production.

Keep Reading: 2012 Scion FR-S / Toyota FT-86 / Subaru RWD Sports Car Spy Photos – Future Cars

Tags: coupe, Japanese, Scion, Scion FR-S, sports car, spy photos, Toyota, Toyota FT-86 |

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