In 1987, Road & Track paired the CTR with modern supercars such as the Ferrari 288 GTO, Porsche 959 and Lamborghini Countach. The results beat the Ruf, which clocked 209 mph on Volkswagen’s Ehra-Lessien test track. The magazine said of the CTR: “At each gear change the Ruf went a little sideways, only to straighten up to direct the explosive speed into the next gear, as I thought a more fuel-efficient car than a well-driven car. .”
The following year, the magazine’s 1988 World’s Fastest Cars edition saw the CTR go faster, reaching 211 mph and setting a new road car record.
Priced at $177,000 with a trade-in of the day, the Ruf CTR was described as an “amazing performance for the money,” and the magazine concluded: “There are other cars that will cost you as much or more, but try. to find the fastest one. By our calculations, it’s impossible.”
Despite the Yellowbird nickname, the CTR was also available in colors other than canary yellow. A black model sold on the market in 2018 for $1,022,500. In total, 30 CTR models were built.