Got a Need for Speed? This Porsche and RUF Duo You Won’t Forget

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Got a Need for Speed? This Porsche and RUF Duo You Won’t Forget

Porsche people are some of the most devoted car fanatics in the world. Collectors and enthusiasts alike follow these automobiles like hawks, obsessed with their heritage, speed, and high caliber of performance.

Naturally, it’s no surprise that when Gooding Christie’s announced the imminent sale of two of the world’s finest Porsche and RUFs, the car world was ablaze.

The Gooding Christie's Pebble Beach Auctions is right around the corner on August 15th and 16th and registration is open to the public! Register to bidonline now to secure your spot and ensure your readiness for when the 2021 RUF CTR Anniversary and 2017 Porsche 911 RSR-17 cross the auction block.

Meet the 2021 RUF CTR Anniversary (Estimate: $3,000,000 – $4,000,000). If you’re not familiar with RUF, we’ll give you a quick rundown. RUF modifies and builds hyper-custom Porsche-based automobiles. They are among the rarest, best-performing, bespoke and modified Porsche-bodied vehicles worldwide.

Many of the RUFs consist of updated 911 shells, but the Anniversary, first unveiled at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, was built from scratch. RUF secured the rights from Porsche to emulate the exterior design of a 1980s-era 911, and the result is stunning. The Anniversary is the company’s first carbon fiber mocoque chassis, which endows it with the markedly stiff and light composition of a race car. This car was built to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the CTR, an innovative model due to its precise balance of lightweight construction and dizzying capacity for speed. At the time of its release, Road & Track crowned the CTR as the world’s fastest production car. The legacy of the CTR (along with other modified Porsches from the late 80s and early 90s) endures, both in car engineering circles and in the market. For proof of its appeal, one need only to look at Gooding Christie’s recent Amelia Island Auctions, where a realized a stunning result of $6,055,000.

Inside the belly of the beast lies a 3.6-liter twin-turbocharged flat six engine which produces 710 hp at 6,750 rpm and goes as fast as your heart desires. In trials, performance figures measured 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds, 0-124 mph in under nine seconds, and a top speed of 224 mph. This impressive performance is owed to the twin turbochargers, Bosch DME Motronic Fuel Management and seven-speed manual transaxles, and limited-slip differential.

Finished in green over a brown leather and with fewer than 500 miles from delivery, this exceptionally tailored car is a dream come true for anyone with a need for speed.

As luck would have it, good things come in pairs. This wonderful car has a groundbreaking companion in the 2017 Porsche 911 RSR-17 (Estimate: $3,000,000 – $5,000,000). Truly a piece of Porsche history, this Porsche represents the culmination of engineering ingenuity. Based on the 911 Carrera RSR from 1973, the RSR-17 retains some of the 70s traditions, but completely innovates with design and performance.

The RSR-17 was markedly different from what Porsche had traditionally done with the 911 – rather than a rear-engine layout, the RSR-17 introduced a mid engine configuration, which had never been done in the model’s history. Engineers moved the flat-six powerplan in front of the rear-axle, which hadn’t been done since the GT1 in the 90s.

Once word got out that Porsche was considering a big engine relocation, the car community ran rampant with gossip. Perhaps because of this buzz, the prototypes underwent 22,000 miles of testing, more than any prior Porsche GT race car.

The 3,996 CC DOHC Type M97/80 flat six-cylinder engine with direct fuel injection made the car an absolute powerhouse, finishing 2nd in the GTLM class at 24 Hours of Daytona in 2017 as well as garnering numerous class wins at Sebring, Petit Le Mans, 24 hours at Le Mans, Long Beach, Sebring and Watkins Glen.

The RSR-17 now sports the iconic Coca-Cola livery, a perfectly nostalgic callback to the 935-962 era which further enforces its status as an “if-you-know-you-know” gem. Personally, we can’t wait to see it back on a track.

We’ll be here, along with the rest of the Porsche fanatics, patiently awaiting the moment these cross the auction block at Gooding Christie’s Pebble Beach Auctions on August 15th and 16th. You can register to bid for this dynamic duo here, or comb through the catalogue for more.

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