The Ruf B8 Engine a New Era For Performance Cars

RUF has spent half a century making fast Porsches feel slightly more unhinged than Stuttgart intended. Now the Pfaffenhausen firm is showing its hand in a different way. Say hello to the Boxer-Eight, or B8, an engine that was developed entirely by the company.

There are moments in a company’s history that define the future. For RUF, the Boxer 8 is one of those moments. A boxer-eight has never been part of our story, or anyone else’s in this form, so we decided to write a new chapter in automotive history. We look forward to letting the engine speak for itself at Goodwood
– Alois Ruf

This is a long way from the company’s beginnings in the 1950s, when it was still running tourist buses. The path from bus operator to Porsche modifier to full-blown low-volume manufacturer has been filled with fast machines. RUF built its name on making already excellent cars quicker and sharper, eventually becoming a full-fledged manufacturer in its own right.

The story so far

The turning point for most enthusiasts remains the CTR Yellowbird, the star of the world’s first viral car video. Launched in 1987, it turned the world’s idea of a road car on its head and made RUF a byword for outrageous speed. The Yellowbird was based on a Porsche 911, but RUF took it to the nth degree.

The legend grew stronger in 2007 with the CTR3, which moved the company deeper into bespoke engineering territory through a full body and suspension repackage. Ten years later came the CTR Anniversary, a car that went further again by adopting an all-new carbon-fibre monocoque. Suspension, subframe and the rest of the bones were RUF’s own work. The company was no longer standing in Porsche’s shadow. It was building its own.

The B8 engine sits directly on that line of development. It is a RUF-designed powertrain, created as part of the next phase of the company’s road-car program. The B8 displaces 4,8-litres through eight horizontally opposed cylinders. Thanks, in part, to twin-turbochargers, the engine produces over 1 000 bhp (750 kW) and 1 000 N.m of torque… the best part is that it is mated with a six-speed manual transmission.

RUF describes the B8 as the flattest eight-cylinder engine. A horizontally opposed engine keeps mass low in the car, which helps with centre of gravity, balance and high-speed composure.

B8 engine at a glance

Configuration: horizontally opposed eight-cylinder
Capacity: 4,8 litres
Induction: twin turbochargers
Output: more than 1 000 bhp
Torque: 1 000 N.m
Gearbox: six-speed manual
Display car: modified RUF CTR3 prototype

Goodwood debut

The CTR3 prototype makes its debut at Goodwood this weekend with Tanner Foust at the wheel. The B8 is the clearest sign yet that RUF sees its future as a manufacturer of original high-performance cars rather than a specialist building sharper versions of someone else’s product.