RUF has been one of the premier manufacturers of modified Porsches since the 1970s. The car that made RUF a worldwide name was the CTR (Group C, Turbo, RUF) Yellowbird, a limited-run performance car built on a G-series Porsche 911 chassis. Since then, RUF has been making some of the most exciting Porsche-inspired sports cars in the world. And while RUFs have been available to United States buyers since the ’90s, it’ll soon have its own exclusive import, distribution, and service center Stateside in Miami. We reached out to RUF to see when the center will be fully operational but haven’t yet heard back.
The U.S. has been RUF’s biggest market since the NHTSA approved RUF models for import. So it makes sense that the small German manufacturer would want to open up shop in the States. According to RUF North America, the purpose of the Miami location is to offer “Sales, Service, and Style.” OK.
RUF’s Miami base will be located at The Concours Club, a private race track and country club in the center of the city. In addition to acting as an import and distribution center, it will also provide service and maintenance for existing RUFs.
There are currently two RUF models in production: the CTR Anniversary—an homage to the Yellowbird, and the SCR. It’s the CTR Anniversary that gets fans giddy, though. The throwback to the iconic Yellowbird is built on RUF’s first carbon fiber monocoque chassis and features a carbon fiber body that resembles the 1980s Yellowbird. Except this one has a twin-turbocharged 3.6-liter flat-six engine with 710 horsepower, 649 pound-feet of torque, and a dry weight of 2,756 pounds. It’s no wonder the CTR has a claimed top speed of 224 mph. The best part, though, is that it uses a seven-speed manual transmission.
Alois Ruf Jr. first came to the U.S. in 1970 and was impressed by the automotive scene. Even then, Ruf knew that the U.S. was a prime location to sell his cars. Now, 53 years later, RUF finally has its own distribution center right here in the good ole U.S. of A.
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