This Rare 1995 RUF 911 Is Nearly As Fast As Today's Supercars

But is it worth its crazy asking price?

Special edition versions of the Porsche 911 have become the envy of collectors, with insane price tags to match. There are many rare 911 models that have been built over the years, but some of the rarest and most impressive models come from German manufacturer RUF. The CTR Yellowbird was perhaps the most legendary car that RUF ever produced, so much so that the company is actually reproducing the car. The Yellowbird was certainly legendary, but its successor was also an extremely impressive car.

RUF burst onto the scene with the Yellowbird, which was based on a Carrera 3.2. In 1995, RUF needed to replace the CTR with a new model, which needed to be spectacular to live up to the legend of the Yellowbird. RUF called this new car the CTR2, and it was based on the 993 Turbo. The 993 generation is now one of the most popular 911 models on the market, and prices have clearly reflected that. Back in 1995, the CTR2 had an extremely high asking price of $315,000. This may not sound too bad by today's standards, but keep in mind that a V12 Lamborghini Diablo would have been around $230,000 back in 1995.

The CTR2 may have been expensive when new, but after seeing one for sale today, it's obvious that the car was a good investment. We found a 1995 CTR2 for sale at McLaren of Scottsdale for a whopping $799,000. This is one of the most expensive 911 models that we've seen in a while, but there are many reasons why this car demands such a big premium over a normal 993. For starters, this CTR2 is one of only 16 produced from 1995 to 1997. Power comes from a race-derived version of Porsche's air-cooled 3.6-liter twin-turbo flat-six, which was used in the Porsche 962 Le Mans Group C car. RUF tuned this engine to produce a massive 520 hp and 505 lb-ft of torque.

The CTR2 was available with either RWD or AWD and came with Recaro racing seats with five-point belts, enlarged brakes, roll-cage, RUF manufactured coil-over suspension, bi-functional rear wing, and a kevlar body with lightweight glass. Performance was off the charts at the time, and is still competitive with today's supercars. 0-60 mph took just 3.5 seconds and the top speed was around 220 mph. Only the McLaren F1 was able to best the CTR2's performance by 1998. In a 1997 issue of Road & Track, the CTR2 completed the quarter-mile in 11.4 seconds at 133.7 mph, which could easily keep up with today's sports cars.

This example has less than 26,000 miles on the odometer, and looks extremely fresh on the inside and out. It is not very often that a RUF comes up for sale in the US, so Porsche collectors should be quick to scoop this one up.