What's in the issue

Yellowbirds. You wait an age to see one and then a stack of ‘em appear at the same time. At least, this is how it feels right now. I guess it’s to be expected — with a recent high-profile RUF CTR (that’s Group C Turbo RUF, to give the Yellowbird its official name) fetching in excess of six million dollars at a Stateside auction, owners of this rare sighting are fidgeting in their leisure suits and deciding now might be the time to offer their Carrera 3.2-based beast for sale. Hence, more Yellowbirds coming out of the woodwork and making their way to auction. Considering fewer than thirty CTRs rolled out of RUF’s workshops in Pfaffenhausen, it’s beginning to feel as though this car is less exclusive than we previously thought. Kinda. What if you don’t have millions tucked down the back of your sofa, but want a Yellowbird parked on your driveway? Independent Porsche sales specialist, William Francis, has just the ticket. Originally a 1979 911 SC, but now a convincing CTR impersonator, the RUF CR (no T means no turbocharger) is, in fact, a RUF conversion, delivering a 3.4-litre normally aspirated version of the CTR at a fraction of the price. Specifically, you’ll need £174,995. That’s a fair few mill cheaper than the cost of acquiring a CTR, but bags you a 911 virtually indistinguishable from the real thing. Thinking about it, indirectly stating the CR isn’t ‘the real thing’ is a bit like saying Diet Coke isn’t as authentic as full-fat Coca-Cola. Ultimately, this CR was created by RUF at Pfaffenhausen, meaning it’s every bit one of the company’s creations and not an independent conversion designed to look like a CTR. To the untrained eye, though, it’s a CTR, an illusion encouraged by the car’s front and rear aprons, as well as those five-spoke wheels, a hallmark of RUF’s output in the 1980s, as is Blossom Yellow paintwork. For all but a handful of marque enthusiasts, a RUF CTR is beyond financial reach, and that’s before the challenge of finding one for sale. The CR, though? A cut-price Yellowbird authored by RUF in Pfaffenhausen, not to mention a 911 you wouldn’t mind regularly putting to good use, is a seriously compelling prospect.