RM Sotheby’s Retromobile Paris sale – RUF CTR sells for £273k
Watch back the RM Sotheby’s Retromobile Paris auction and find out some of the results too
RM Sotheby’s first European auction of 2018 saw no less than 83 lots go under the hammer on 7 Febraury. Should you want to relive the action and see the full results you can watch the video above.
Looking at the diverse lots that crossed the auction block, a 1989 RUF CTR Clubsport was certainly our favourite. Offered without a reserve, the Mint Green RUF sold for £273k, well within its £243k-£288k estimate.
The 1989 car remained as it left the Porsche factory for two years, before the owner turned to the renowned Porsche experts at RUF seeking more performance. RUF put the Porsche Carrera 3.2 (G-series) on a strict diet and carried out a comprehensive engine overhaul.
Major body panels cast from steel – such as the doors and bonnet – were replaced by lighter, aluminum items saving 200kg. Further weight saving efforts saw fibreglass bumpers fitted front and rear, while the arches were widened to accommodate larger Speedline wheels and the rain gutters were shaved flush with the body to reduce drag.
RUF coaxed 469bhp (supposedly a conservative figure) from the flat-six – over double the factory output – by boring-out the engine to 3.4 litres and mating it to two K26 turbochargers. In order to balance the air-to-fuel ratio, race-spec ignition and fuel delivery systems – derived from the Porsche Group C 962 – were fitted to match up to the turbos. To cope with 408lb ft of torque, RUF engineered a heavy-duty, five-speed gearbox that was later swapped out for a six-speeder.
> RUF: the original Porsche tuner
In 1993 the car was exported to Japan where it saw plenty of use, clocking up over 120,000 miles before returning to RUF in 2015 for a gearbox rebuild – shortly after that, the turbos got a once over, too.
In addition to the RUF model above, the obligatory contingent of Porsches featured, including a 1965 356 C Cabriolet as well as a 2005 911 GT3 RSR, that sold for £114k and £152k respectively.
Elsewhere, plenty of Italian exotica bearing Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini badges went before bidders. The highlights included 80s pin-ups in the shape of a Countach and an F40. Despite the pair’s similarly iconic status, the final prices paid were far apart: £260k for the Lamborghini and £738K for the Ferrari.
