In 1987, a Ruf CTR Yellowbird topped 210 mph and took barely 4 seconds to go from zero to 60 mph. Needless to say, Ruf sports cars hasn't exactly slowed down since.
I've been invited to Ruf headquarters in Pfaffenhausen, Germany, to drive the fastest car the company has ever built: the 650-horsepower 2006 Ruf Rt 12. After a morning spent visiting the factory and testing Ruf's equally new R Kompressor, it's finally time to sample the star attraction. Parked within the factory gates sits a row of wicked-looking sports cars in jellybean shades of red, green, orange and yellow. A bright blue Rt 12 is amongst them, and it's mine for the next 36 hours.
Looking out and in
Like a pop-star diva refusing to go on stage at the final moment, it wasn't until late afternoon on my first day at Ruf headquarters before the Rt 12 was finally primped and polished enough to make an appearance. In the metal, it looks much more menacing than it does in pictures. The Ruf-designed front and rear bumpers, lowered suspension and widened rear fenders make the car look ready for takeoff. Air intakes in the rear fenders appear big enough to swallow a seagull. The wild blue hue of this example, and its enormous carbon-fiber rear spoiler, ensure that the Rt 12 is no supercar wallflower.
It's the interior that leaves me deflated. Heavily bolstered sport seats, Ruf gauges and aluminum pedals are nice, except that you'll find the same thing in the Ruf R Kompressor a car that costs half as much. Actually putting a price on an Rt 12 is difficult, since each one is custom-built to a client's demands. With the 650-hp engine, optional four-wheel drive and Ruf's integrated roll cage, the example I'm set to drive costs somewhere in the region of $300,000. So call it nit-picking, but I'd like the cockpit to remind me of this.
Day one Scared by a bluebird
A twist of the ignition key sets aside this disappointment. My bank of auditory-related adjectives is suddenly flashing "insufficient funds." The 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged and intercooled flat-6 engine sounds absolutely ferocious.
Driving down the same two-lane country roads that I traveled earlier in the day in the R Kompressor, the experience somehow feels completely new from behind the wheel of the Rt 12. For starters, the ride is stiffer as the 19-inch front and 20-inch rear wheels transmit a lot more jostles and bumps to your posterior. Surprisingly, the clutch isn't heavy it's actually lighter than the one in the 435-hp R Kompressor though it has a narrower sweet spot and I nearly stall several times. The six-speed manual gearbox rewards nothing but a firm and determined shove. In fact, the entire car gives the impression that it's sizing me up.
With the engine temperature needle safely past 90 degrees Celsius and an empty stretch of road in front of me, I finally press hard on the gas pedal. The four-wheel-drive system hooks all four tires into the asphalt and launches the car forward with a ferocious urge. The tachometer swings to its 7,200-rpm redline in the blink of an eye. Bap-bap-bap! The rev-limiter kicks in for a second before I shift to 2nd, 3rd and smack into the realization that these triple-digit speeds have relegated my previously endless stretch of open road to driveway proportions. Up to 4,000 rpm, the pace is staggering. Ruf claims a 0-60-mph time of 3.1 seconds. Beyond 4,000 rpm, the twin-turbos wake up and you're greeted with an even more potent slug of power.
Deciding to rein things in, I hit the brakes hard and the 15-inch front, 13-inch front rear ventilated and perforated discs drop anchor. The ABS kicks in and I'm literally thrown against my belts as my notepad goes orbital, soaring from the passenger seat and slapping into the windshield.
Day Two Taming the Beast
My first day in the Rt 12 only allowed me enough time to dip my toes into the car's straight-line performance pool. Now, knowing what to expect from that 650-hp 3.8-liter six, eight-piston front brake calipers and sport-tuned suspension, I'm not quite as intimidated. However, an unsettling moaning and groaning coming from somewhere in the car has me worried. I hadn't noticed it the day before. Is something wrong? Is the car broken? Or is it Paris Hilton's new CD? The mechanical grumbling turns out to be normal operating procedure for the Rt 12's center differential, which comes with the optional four-wheel-drive system. I decide that I can live with the clunky-sounding noise for the security of all-wheel drive.
On the open highway, I press the gas pedal to the floor and am again amazed at the power. This time I quicken my shifts to match the spinning tach, and after a few miles the shifter and clutch become more willing partners despite still taking some care to get right. Less handy are the tiny side mirrors that Ruf has installed. They're small and look cool, but their convex outer edges distort things and I'd gladly ditch them for a set of more useful Porsche 911 mirrors.
First impressions were that the Rt 12 felt far too intimidating, and that it pushed the limits of Ruf's claims that its cars can be driven every day. Eventually the Rt 12 becomes more comfortable, the racecar edge softens, the steering feels alive in your hands, and the car exudes a tremendous sense of solidity. An everyday supercar? Probably not. Yet Rt 12 owners are undoubtedly lucky enough to have a few more sensible toys in the garage for everyday driving duty.
Green with G-forces
To see what the Rt 12 can really do when grabbed by the scruff of its neck, I enlist the help of one of Ruf's official road testers. H.P. Lieb is both shop manager and one of the gentlemen responsible for the high-speed checkups that ensure all is running smoothly before a car is delivered to a customer. Sitting in the passenger seat, I tell H.P. that it's OK to scare me. I shouldn't have said a thing.
He floors the throttle and the Rt 12 dances across the pavement. Off-camber curves, broken asphalt and big menacing trees bordering the roads do nothing to stop the car's momentum or slow H.P.'s progress. Each jab of the gas or brakes has my neck straining under the G-forces. H.P.'s input is light yet unyielding, his car control is fantastic as the tires scream around the tightest corners. After an hour I'm dizzy from laughing, while doing my best to hide the fact that I'm one or two corners away from losing my lunch.
Luckily, this is the moment H.P. decides to show the docile side of the car. At 25 mph, he slots the shifter into 6th gear. Rather than grumbling in protest or bucking like a bronco, the Rt 12 calmly trundles along at under 1,000 rpm. Back at the factory, I thank H.P., kiss the pavement and say good-bye to the Rt 12 and Ruf Automobile.
Out of the ordinary
No, the Rt 12 isn't perfect: Those side mirrors are useless, the interior is way too ordinary, and that grumbling center diff sounds like it should be baling hay. But the massive acceleration, the undiluted messages from the steering and the overall vaultlike solidity of the Rt 12 make up for these mostly minor flaws. It's one of the fastest cars on Earth and manages to make other brash and bolder-looking exotic cars suddenly seem very ordinary.
[Insideline]
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