RUF is not an invented brand name but a surname: Alois Ruf Sr. founded the company in 1939 in the Bavarian village of Pfaffenhausen, where it is still family-owned.
- Country
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Germany - Active
- Since 1939
- Founded by
- Alois Ruf Sr.
- Website
- Official website ↗
A village garage with a surname on the door
RUF is not a word someone dreamed up in a branding meeting. It is a family name. Alois Ruf Sr. founded the company in 1939 in Pfaffenhausen, a village in Bavaria, and it started out as an ordinary repair garage.
Porsche entered the story by accident. According to Motor Authority, in 1963 a Porsche 356 crashed after overtaking a bus belonging to Alois Ruf Sr. He repaired the car, and that job sparked his son’s fascination with the brand. Alois Ruf Jr. went on to grow the garage into something much bigger: a carmaker in its own right rather than a tuning shop.
It is still a family business, still at Mindelheimer Straße 21 in Pfaffenhausen. Today it is run by Alois Ruf and Estonia Ruf, and RUF says the name stands for engineering excellence, authenticity, passion and raw driving.
Three letters leaning into the wind
The RUF logo is simply the family name. Three heavy capital letters lean forward as if they were already moving, and the R and the U run together through a long sweeping curve. There is no crest, no animal and no hidden symbol. Both the RUF name and the RUF logo are registered trademarks of RUF Automobile GmbH.
RUF doesn’t publish an explanation of the design, so we won’t invent one. What it does say is that Ruf is the founder’s family name, and that is exactly what the badge spells out.
The Yellow Bird and its descendants
For years RUF cars were built on Porsche bodies, especially the 911. Then RUF started designing its own carbon fibre monocoque. The thread running through it all is speed, and one bright yellow coupe in particular.
Landmark RUFs, from Pfaffenhausen to the record books
- 1984: BTR. Went past 300 km/h in a Road & Track test of the world’s fastest cars.
- 1987: CTR “Yellow Bird”. The first RUF biturbo coupe. It hit 211 mph at the Ehra-Lessien proving ground and won Road & Track’s World’s Fastest Cars shootout.
- 2017: CTR Anniversary. A tribute to the Yellow Bird, built around a carbon fibre monocoque that RUF designed and manufactured itself. It was shown at the Geneva motor show.
- 2018: SCR. Taken up as a prototype in 2018, with a naturally aspirated four-litre engine with 510 hp and a manual six-speed gearbox.
- 2026: B8. A boxer eight-cylinder prototype with a 4.8-litre biturbo engine, which made its debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The memory of that record run lives on in the name of a newer model, the EHRA, named after the proving ground where RUF set a world high-speed record. And the air-cooled RUF Tribute is the company’s nod to six decades of working with the Porsche 911. For more on how badges like this one come together, see how car logos are designed.
Frequently asked questions
What does RUF stand for?
It isn’t an abbreviation. Ruf is the family name of the founder, Alois Ruf Sr., who started the company in 1939.
Is RUF part of Porsche?
No. RUF Automobile GmbH is a family-owned manufacturer based in Pfaffenhausen, Germany. Many of its cars have been based on Porsche models, but it is an independent company.
What does the RUF logo look like?
It is the word RUF in bold, forward-leaning capitals, with the R and U joined by a sweeping curve. RUF does not publish an official explanation of the design.
What is the RUF Yellow Bird?
The nickname of the 1987 RUF CTR, the company’s first biturbo coupe. It reached 211 mph at Ehra-Lessien and won Road & Track’s World’s Fastest Cars test.
The Yellow Bird logbook
- Founded
- 1939
- Founder
- Alois Ruf Sr.
- Country
- Germany
- Headquarters
- Pfaffenhausen, Germany
- Current emblem
- The RUF name in bold, forward-leaning capitals, with the R and U joined by a sweeping curve
- Known for
- The CTR Yellow Bird and Porsche-based sports cars
- Website
- Official website ↗
