The RUF Tribute Is an All-Carbon 911 Homage With a 550-HP Air-Cooled Flat-Six
Let's just start off by saying that the car you see here is not a Porsche 911. This is the RUF Tribute, a carbon-chassis creation of RUF Automobile. The German company made its name making wild Porsche-based creations, and in 2016 rolled out a bespoke carbon-fiber chassis to underpin a new generation of cars including the CTR Anniversary and SCR. The Tribute, like CTR and SCR, may resemble a 911, but it's a unique, ground-up car.
Unlike the CTR and SCR, the Tribute uses an air-cooled flat-six. This is company boss Alois Ruf Jr.'s tribute to the 60th anniversary of the 911 and more specifically, its long-running air-cooled flat six. Ruf designed an all-new, twin-turbo 3.6-liter flat-six for the occasion. It may not use radiators, but it's a thoroughly modern engine, with three-valve heads that feature dual overhead cams and variable timing and lift. Stuff that never came on the 911's air-cooled engine, even in its most advanced iterations.
The Tribute's mill is controlled by a Bosch engine management system and uses a fly-by-wire throttle and a two-stage resonance intake system. Dual intercoolers keep the charge air from the turbos cool, and twin catalytic converters keep everything clean. RUF claims an output of 550 horsepower at 6750 RPM and 553 lb-ft of torque at 4500 rpm. So, it packs a punch.
As with RUF's other carbon-chassis cars, you get double-wishbone suspension all around with inboard pushrod-actuated KW coilovers. We drove the SCR last year and were blown away. It feels like the best mix of new and old 911, but with a sense of urgency that only a new GT3 can match. Expect the Tribute to offer similar thrills, just augmented with the characteristic thrum of an air-cooled flat-six.
RUF hasn't announced pricing yet, but given the SCR costs about $1 million, expect the Tribute to be about the same.
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