Car of the Week: This 1989 Ruf CTR ‘Yellowbird’ Could Fetch $6 Million at Auction

Yellowbird. The mere mention of the name will likely send jolts of electricity down the spine of any lover of classic 1980s supercars. After all, back in 1987, the Ruf CTR “Yellowbird” participated in Road & Track magazine’s “World’s Fastest Cars” shootout and hit a top speed of 211 mph. It also clocked a zero-to-60 mph time of 3.7 seconds and covered zero to 100 mph in 7.8 seconds—in all, leaving such revered rivals as the Porsche 959, Lamborghini Countach, Ferrari Testarossa, and Mercedes-Benz AMG Hammer in its slipstream.

Based on Porsche’s 911 coupe, the CTR “Yellowbird” was the creation of Alois Ruf, based in Pfaffenhausen, Germany. Between 1987 and 1989, his RUF Automobile atelier built just 29 examples of the  CTR “Yellowbird,” which, following the Road & Track test, together with a heart-pounding Ruf-produced video called Faszination on the Nürburgring—showing a “Yellowbird” drifting around the famed Nürburgring track—has taken on an almost mythical status.

What’s perhaps the very best example of the model is being offered at Gooding & Company‘s Amelia Island Auctions in Florida on March 7. This 1989 build is No. 26 of the 29 made, and one of nine finished in the model’s definitive Blutengelb (Blossom Yellow) paint. It’s also one of just six built to lightweight spec—with alloy body panels—and one of four equipped with a Ruf-designed six-speed manual gearbox in place of the Porsche five-speed configuration.

Perhaps its most appealing feature, though, is the only 1,673 kilometers (1,039.5 miles) on the odometer. It seems that the car spent the first 30 years of its life tucked away in a climate-controlled collection in Germany. When it sold to an American collector in 2020, it was again relegated to private display with no miles added.

“This is an astonishing example of this iconic car, a true time capsule” says Gooding & Company senior specialist David Brynan. “We’re finding a new generation of collectors rediscovering supercars from the 1980s and ’90s, and looking for the best-of-the-best. This CTR “Yellowbird” checks all the boxes in terms of collectability.”

With the narrow-bodied Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 as its basis, the car is fit with a modified version of that model’s standard air-cooled flat-six engine. RUF re-bored the power plant to 3.4 liters, added twin turbochargers, twin intercoolers, and an early version of Bosch Motronic fuel injection designed for Porsche’s 962 Le Mans racer. The result is an engine that produces a claimed 463 hp and 408 ft lbs of torque, a significant increase over the 228 hp of the standard 911 3.2, as well as the 911/930 Turbo’s 325 hp.

Specified as one of the six, track-focused Leichtbau (lightweight) variants of the model, the auction car had its steel doors, hood, and rear engine cover replaced with lightweight aluminum versions, and its front and rear fenders switched to fiberglass ones. At each corner, lightweight, forged five-spoke Speedline wheels were added. All of this eliminated over 440 pounds to give a slender 2,579-pound total weight to the vehicle.

While the car’s profile is unmistakably that of a 911, it features a more aerodynamic front end with a central lower air intake. There’s also a redesigned rear bumper below the trademark 911 Turbo picnic-tray rear wing. To improve aero, the stock bodyshell’s rain gutters were shaved and the standard door mirrors replaced with a smaller, single version. Inside, the cabin features the basic Porsche 911 RS vinyl trim, body-hugging Recaro Clubsport racing seats upholstered in cloth, a full roll cage, and a three-spoke Ruf steering wheel.

“Maybe it was the color, maybe that astonishing 211 mph top speed, but the “Yellowbird” was up there with the Countach as the dream car of every enthusiast growing up in the ’80s and ’90s. I’m still amazed watching that Faszination video on YouTube,” says Brynan.

The auction house is counting on the car’s rare spec and “as new” condition to deliver on that “in excess of $6 million” estimate next month. With only a handful of the CTR “Yellowbird” cars ever coming up for sale, comparisons are difficult. The last to cross the block was a black 1989 example, chassis No. 10, with approximately 32,300 miles on it. That one sold at the RM Sotheby’s 2018 Monterey auction for $1.02 million. That’s an impressive appreciation considering the price of a new CTR was around $150,000 when in production.

Click here for more photos of this Ruf CTR “Yellowbird” from 1989.