hesperus

here's a rare one i think!

an old "Super Battle" race at Tsukuba:

1) Ferrari 512TR
2) Ferrari F40
3) Ruf CTR
4) Skyline GT-R (R32)
5) Mazda RX-7
6) Honda NSX
7) Toyota MR2

The F40 started last grid, the CTR was 2nd last. I think the MR2 was on pole (probably arranged the cars according to HP).

To all of you who are convinced that the Japs rig these races so that their cars (particularly the NSX) do well, please do watch

interestingly, while the F40 soundly trounced the CTR in the actual race, the Ruf managed to just beat the Ferrari in the "time attack". though the F40's lap during the race was still noticeably quicker than its lap attack time. (probably driver? though it seems like all the "time attack" laps were done by the same driver).

anyway, here's the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s5LZptSoz0

enjoy!!!

Jean

Great find Hesperus! Really interesting video.
I think the weakness of a narrowbody/narrow track car is very obvious in this video. The CTR stands no chance against an F40 despite its lightning quick performance and good suspension setup (little body roll). Notice how slow it is in the corners as a result, and how fast it pulls on exit!


Great video. Thanks

fer2367

Isn't it amazing that a regular 997 will do Tsukuba (driven by Best Motoring drivers) in 1.05? I still love the F40, but the pace of current sports cars is just in a different level versus supercars of 15 years ago.

hesperus

very true. though i do wonder how much TIRE technology has to do with it. there have been more significant advances in tires, with resultant gains to performance, than I think almost any other aspect of a performance car. at least that's what i've read and heard people say.

slap Michelin Pilot Sports 2's or even cups (because surely if they had cups in the F40's day, it would have come with them) on the F40, and i wonder what it would do?

GO_ANALOG

I don't disagree... wider track, lower CG is always better and the F40 has alot more tire under it than the CTR. Considering all that...

That video doesn't represent the CTR. Too much traffic. Which Driver is better??? who knows???

This shows a different result for the F40 vs. CTR. Big file, be patient...
http://www.racingflix.com/downloadvideo.asp?v=1595

That CTR is not the Yellow Bird. There's only one Yellow Bird and that’s the first one, I was corrected by the Ruf guys… The Yellow Bird is the only CTR with the intercooler ducts over the rear wheel wells.

The Yellow Bird was here in Dallas for the one year anniversary of the Ruf Auto Center. I had a chance to get a ride and learned the meaning blindingly fast. It made my vision blur!

Regards,

Here is a car they call the Black Bird, wide body with a CTR engine, nice...

hesperus

yup, i got to see the original yellowbird at Pfaffenhausen last year. unfortunately, i didn't get to ride it

but here it is anyway, along with Stefan Roser (famous for his exploits in the car on the Nurburgring, as immortalized in the "Faczination" video) and current Ruf chief test driver HP Lieb. HP is also father of Porsche works driver Marc Lieb.

(the fellow in the back poking his nose underneath the engine cover is Herr Ruf )





and here's a shot of Rennlister AdamT's own CTR:



some detail shots of AdamT's car:



the CTR was listed at 469HP... though Adam's car makes quite a bit more than that on the dyno

Jean

Go Analog,

The CTR can give a pretty nice show with power slides ala Mr. Sideways Stefan but it is not meant to be a fast track car. It is light however, and that gives it a serious edge on the track beynd its power to weight ratio.

The "Yellowbird" was called as such by a magazine, they are all RUF CTRs, one of them had Naca ducts on the rear fenders to bring air to the intercoolers. The idea was dropped in later versions and they adopted a more efficient air intake underneath the car and changed the intercooler angles. They are all CTRs though.

As far as our friend Adam's car, these cars rated at 469BHP (1.1 Bar) are known to deliver up to 520BHP depending on the boost you crank (1.3 Bar).

Even at "only 469BHP" I would not mind to have one for some Sunday autobahn fun

sweanders

I found it impressive to see how quick that Skyline was caught and passed on the last lap!