Remember Ruf? Before the days of Singer restored 964s and record-breaking Manthey GT2s, Ruf was arguably the defacto aftermarket tuner for all things Porsche 911. The hair-raising ‘Faszination’ video of Stefan Roser wrestling a bucking CTR Yellowbird around the Nurburgring will have been the gateway to the German tuner for many, or by driving one on a computer game that didn’t have the rights to use the Porsche name. Most people who are aware of what Ruf does have probably never seen one in the wild, especially in right-hand-drive markets.
While we don’t hear nearly as much from Ruf these days as we used to, the tuner is still doing what it does best: making outlandishly rapid versions of Porsches old and new. Recent releases include the sleek R Spyder, wonderfully silly Ruf Rodeo and downright ballistic CTR3 Evo. Of course, those are just a handful of the off-the-shelf models. Rock up to the firm’s Pfaffenhausen headquarters with a briefcase stuffed with cash and it’s hard to imagine anything being off the table. And those are the buyers we can thank for this extremely purple RCT.
You’d be forgiven for not knowing your RCTs from your RGTs or CTRs. After all, Ruf loves an acronym and seemingly comes up with a new one whenever it dreams up another head case of a 911. But the RCT (meaning Ruf Carrera Turbo) has actually been around since the early '90s, when the company decided to strap a single turbocharger (plus many other tweaks) to Porsche’s 3.6-litre flat-six, and drop it in the back of a 964. A jump to 370hp was relatively tame by Ruf standards, as was the restrained styling, which is likely why you’ve never heard of it.
This, however, isn’t the same RCT the company was making back in the '90s. Nope, this is the RCT Evo, commissioned in 2019 to a substantially different brief. While still based around a 964, and a right-hand-drive one in this case, the RCT Evo brought a notable step up in performance - and a drop in turbo lag - with 431hp and a punchy 420lb ft of torque on tap thanks to an upgraded ECU from the 993. The original five-speed manual was ditched for a newer six-speed unit and a limited-slip differential added at the back alongside fully adjustable suspension.
That’s about it for the ‘normal’ Evo changes, but the original owner of this car wanted to take things a step further. During the bare-metal restoration, the owner requested that a full roll cage be welded in and hidden behind the reupholstered interior trim, and that the body be reassembled in carbon fibre. The result is a 75kg drop in weight over a conventional Evo, which, with a not outrageous amount of power, should make this RCT one of the more approachable offerings to come from Ruf.
Don’t think that makes it cheap though. Ruf’s always carry a lofty premium, as you can see with this near quarter of a million pound RGT that’s currently for sale. This RCT Evo, however, is three times the price at £749,995, though a service record with plenty of Ruf Germany stamps should bring a little peace of mind. If that wasn’t special enough, you can buy Ruf UK’s original RCT show car, which has done its fair share of motor shows and media work, though you’ll need to give the seller a bell to find out how much they want. Be prepared for an answer somewhere in the region of one arm and one leg.
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