Porsche 911 Carrera 4 RUF BTR

The Porsche 911 Carrera 4 RUF BTR

The race to build the first production car with a top speed of 200 miles per hour turned into a veritable spectacle in the 1980s. In 1987, Ferrari claimed that the F40 was the first to break the sound barrier at 201 mph (= 323.4 km/h). Until, in the same year, a small German manufacturer named RUF improved the record to 209 mph or 336 km/h as part of the speed shoot-out organized by the American magazine "Road & Track".  Set with the "Yellowbird" on the 8.65 kilometer straight of the VW test track in Ehra-Lessien. Thanks to this record and the later promotional video "Fascination at the Nürburgring" with RUF test driver and "auto motor und sport" editor Stefan Roser at the wheel, the Yellowbird catapulted RUF into the consciousness of an international audience. But the origins of the RUF myth go back a few more years. Although he had just set out to become an independent manufacturer, Alois Ruf was already invited to the first "World's Fastest Car-Test" by R&T in 1984. And for this he entered a dark blue RUF BTR (Group B Turbo RUF) on these pages also in Ehra. The chassis number 1 car was driven by Phil Hill and Paul Frère and reached a verified top speed of 186.2 mph (299.6 km/h). Frère even managed 189 mph (304.1 km/h) by folding back both wing mirrors, leaving a Ferrari BBi, a Lamborghini Countach and even a Porsche 911 Turbo and a 928 S behind. The BTR was built to dominate German autobahns, and "Road & Track" named it the fastest production car in the world that day. Unlike the contemporary 930 Turbo, RUF opted for the standard narrow body of the 911 when building its ultimate road car - the "wide body" option would have pushed the top speed down by at least 15 mph. However, the BTR received the 930 rear spoiler in the shape of a whale tail fin and behind the low-slung front apron an external oil cooler and two brake cooling ducts were hidden. RUF's super-wide 17-inch wheels filled the wheel wells perfectly, and only at the front did RUF use Porsche's own 930 calipers, while its own reinforced calipers did duty on the rear axle. The body has an integrated roll cage.

The RUF BTR offered here was ordered as a Carrera 4 in 1989 by its first owner, a well-known Porsche collector. Immediately after delivery of the car, the owner asked RUF to convert it into a BTR. A certificate is available. In the following years the BTR remained in the possession of the first owner in his private collection and was used with exception of regular movement journeys only extremely rarely. In 2021, the purchase by our company took place. In this course, the car received a major customer service at RUF. The BTR shown here is both a significant piece of RUF history and a usable high performance sports car designed and built for high speed pleasure. With a mileage of only 2,900 kilometers from the factory, this example is certainly unique in the market. For detailed questions, please feel free to contact our sales staff at any time. Please note that vehicle inspections are generally only possible by prior appointment.