RUF Yellowbird sold for 4.2 million

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Apocalypse211

Apocalypse211

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Actually this went for a discount as it wasn't yellow.

jHOJhb4.jpeg


This yellow one sold for over 6 million last Match on Amelia island auction.

www.motor1.com

This Is the Most Expensive Ruf Ever Sold

At the 2025 Amelia Island Gooding & Co. auction, a 1989 Ruf CTR 'Yellowbird' sold for more than $6 million.
www.motor1.com www.motor1.com

I thought 993 GT2 is the most expensive but it's actually a relative bargain compared to those RUFs.

A54ZFol.jpeg


Poor people like me can only dream of newer Porsches anymore. :D
 
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Shame about the repainted black Ruf that fell off the back of a tow truck. Probably worth fifty bucks since it's not "original".
 
Imbissbrunto
These prices are getting ridiculous. Imagine paying Bugatti money for an almost 40 year old Porsche.
Click to expand...

Air cooled Porsches are getting crazy. 964 and 993 standard Carreras have over 100K median price. Just those basic ones However you can still buy a basic G-body with high miles for around 60K. Mostly SC's.

964 and 993 basically cost more than new. Special model air cooled cars (like GT2 and 964 Leichtbau) cost 5-10X new prices. That's what market says, I guess it's called "capitalism". 964 RS America was the cheapest 911 back when it was new. Now it's a 150K-200K car.

I wish I had bought one when they were 20-30K. Newer water cooled cars are a relative bargains, esp. 996 and 997.

RUFs are automotive history though. But I agree... those prices are beyond crazy.
 
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Apocalypse211
Air cooled Porsches are getting crazy. 964 and 993 standard Carreras have over 100K median price. Just those basic ones However you can still buy a basic G-body with high miles for around 60K. Mostly SC's.

964 and 993 basically cost more than new. Special model air cooled cars (like GT2 and 964 Leichtbau) cost 5-10X new prices. That's what market says, I guess it's called "capitalism". 964 RS America was the cheapest 911 back when it was new. Now it's a 150K-200K car.

I wish I had bought one when they were 20-30K. Newer water cooled cars are a relative bargains, esp. 996 and 997.

RUFs are automotive history though. But I agree... those prices are beyond crazy.
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It's honestly impressive how well used Porsches retain their value, the situation is the same here in Germany. It's rare to see a used 997 Carrera below 100k. I'm a huge Porsche fan and they're probably my favorite car brand ever (for their motorsport heritage alone) but these prices are getting out of hand.

I've always wanted to own a 991 or 992 Carrera or Carrera S one day (i.e. in a few years time, when they're cheaper) but I don't know how realistic this is if prices are going to remain like this.
 
The new ones will never be as expensive as the last air cooled. It's purely the production numbers that will dicatate it.

Air cooled cars were hand manufactured and they only made roughly 30K 964 and 993 manual coupes. Much larger percentages were Targas, Cabrios and tiptronics. When 996 was introduced it was the first mass produced Porsche that was based on 986 Boxter and they made 1.5 times more of it than 964 and 993 combined. Way more manual coupes.

Porsche went from the verge of bankrupcy to the most profitable car manufacturer in the world. 996 production price was roughly 60% of the air cooled and they asked the same money for them.

There are over 200.000 997's made. It will never be crazy priced as the production number is so big. 997.2 is more desirable but you can buy the early 997's for very reasonable money. I'm actually in market for one.

Production:

964:
63,762

993:
68.029

996:
175,164

997:
212,964

991:
233,540
 
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Apocalypse211
The new ones will never be as expensive as the last air cooled. It's purely the production numbers that will dicatate it.

Air cooled cars were hand manufactured and they only made roughly 30K 964 and 993 manual coupes. Much larger percentages were Targas, Cabrios and tiptronics. When 996 was introduced it was the first mass produced Porsche that was based on 986 Boxter and they made 1.5 times more of it than 964 and 993 combined. Way more manual coupes.

Porsche went from the verge of bankrupcy to the most profitable car manufacturer in the world. 996 production price was roughly 60% of the air cooled and they asked the same money for them.

There are over 200.000 997's made. It will never be crazy priced as the production number is so big. 997.2 is more desirable but you can buy the early 997's for very reasonable money. I'm actually in market for one.

Production:

964:
63,762

993:
68.029

996:
175,164

997:
212,964

991:
233,540
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Interesting, I appreciate your thorough response! Well that makes sense, it's good that the later generations are more affordable, at least by comparison.

Btw the 997 is probably my favorite Porsche 911 generation concerning the design, imo it's the perfect balance between staying true to its roots and still looking modern enough. It's absolutely timeless and these cars look just as good today as they did back then.
 
I'm actually surprised that there are more 997s than 996s, consider a sizeable part of the 997's production run was in the depths of the GFC. I'd bet, like the C6 Corvette (and the Z06 in particular) almost all of the 997s out there are the 997.1s and the lower production, later cars, are quite rare. I see a 997.2 Turbo S Cabrio (highly optioned, including carbon ceramic brakes) near where I live and it actually looks odd to me because there are so few of them compared to the 997.1 turbos - it even has those at-the-time-trending LED matrix clear tail lights like below, which I'm not sure were optional or standard equipment on the later year cars:

1img9645.jpg
 
I thought that the Yellowbird had a big NACA duct on top of the rear fender, though?
 
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Eunos_Cosmo
I'm actually surprised that there are more 997s than 996s, consider a sizeable part of the 997's production run was in the depths of the GFC. I'd bet, like the C6 Corvette (and the Z06 in particular) almost all of the 997s out there are the 997.1s and the lower production, later cars, are quite rare. I see a 997.2 Turbo S Cabrio (highly optioned, including carbon ceramic brakes) near where I live and it actually looks odd to me because there are so few of them compared to the 997.1 turbos - it even has those at-the-time-trending LED matrix clear tail lights like below, which I'm not sure were optional or standard equipment on the later year cars:

1img9645.jpg
Click to expand...

True, .2 is way more desirable as it fixed a lot of things.

I always find it weird that Youtubers who speculate about car values don't even talk about production numbers which is one main reason why some models become collectible and some won't.

Take Mercedes R129 for example. Amazing Bruno Sacco design, many people think it's the best SL ever made and Sacco himself said it's his "most perfect creation". Well those cars are all over the place... they made 213.000 R129's. The car was a massive success story and that's a huge number for a car that expensive (when new). And it's a solid car that lasts long time. Many of them still in great condition are on sale everywhere. But it will never become collectible. Maybe 600SL, 73 AMG but a base 300/500 SL... nope. Same with Corvettes... all boxes tick... it's a great car and timeless design. Guess what there's 358.000 C4 Vettes alone. Sure ZR1's and special models are a different story.

Those are GREAT cars to buy for the enthusiasts. Just like 996 and 997. I've dreamed of a 993 Turbo since I was a kid 993 Turbo with reasonable mileage is now 200K. I can never afford one of course... and it's a great dream car... but in reality I wouldn't even want to drive a car that costs that much. Where's the fun is that? Those RUF's, 964 Leichtbaus and 993 GT2's will never get driven anymore. Some white haired 80-year old milloinaires just buy those cars to their collections.

Then there are relatively low production number cars like Porsche 928 and BMW 850 (E31) with a lot of potential classic value. There's a lot of love for those cars but enthusiasts know how tough they are to maintain. That's why the prices never really went crazy (besides 850 CSI and 928 GTS).. Many Jaguars too. XKR-S and F-Type are among the best looking cars out there but people shy away from them because of their reputation as being money pits.

Porsches (genearally) are very reliable and the air cooled cars are superbly made. You only have to close the bank vauilt door and you'll see. Sure every model have their flaws like the new ones have bore scoring etc but those are relatively easy stuff compared to Italian sports cars. There are some old Porsches with insane mileages.

hqdefault.jpg
 
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The Yellowbird through Gooding & Co was original & had under 1,100 miles on it.

Redbird's special, but its unique features might have been seen as personal choices over the factory preset & the 2nd owner had the factory go in and upgrade/change the car 15 years later which hurts originality. Additionally, the car also suffered a bit from the same thing several cars had during the auction, coming up just short of Sotheby's low end estimates, which may or may not be a sign of the exotic market's current trend given this was Monterey week where there's usually no shortage of cash on hand.
 
Apocalypse211
True, .2 is way more desirable as it fixed a lot of things.

I always find it weird that Youtubers who speculate about car values don't even talk about production numbers which is one main reason why some models become collectible and some won't.

Take Mercedes R129 for example. Amazing Bruno Sacco design, many people think it's the best SL ever made and Sacco himself said it's his "most perfect creation". Well those cars are all over the place... they made 213.000 R129's. The car was a massive success story and that's a huge number for a car that expensive (when new). And it's a solid car that lasts long time. Many of them still in great condition are on sale everywhere. But it will never become collectible. Maybe 600SL, 73 AMG but a base 300/500 SL... nope. Same with Corvettes... all boxes tick... it's a great car and timeless design. Guess what there's 358.000 C4 Vettes alone. Sure ZR1's and special models are a different story.

Those are GREAT cars to buy for the enthusiasts. Just like 996 and 997. I've dreamed of a 993 Turbo since I was a kid 993 Turbo with reasonable mileage is now 200K. I can never afford one of course... and it's a great dream car... but in reality I wouldn't even want to drive a car that costs that much. Where's the fun is that? Those RUF's, 964 Leichtbaus and 993 GT2's will never get driven anymore. Some white haired 80-year old milloinaires just buy those cars to their collections.

Then there are relatively low production number cars like Porsche 928 and BMW 850 (E31) with a lot of potential classic value. There's a lot of love for those cars but enthusiasts know how tough they are to maintain. That's why the prices never really went crazy (besides 850 CSI and 928 GTS).. Many Jaguars too. XKR-S and F-Type are among the best looking cars out there but people shy away from them because of their reputation as being money pits.

Porsches (genearally) are very reliable and the air cooled cars are superbly made. You only have to close the bank vauilt door and you'll see. Sure every model have their flaws like the new ones have bore scoring etc but those are relatively easy stuff compared to Italian sports cars. There are some old Porsches with insane mileages.

hqdefault.jpg
Click to expand...
The ironic thing for me is this - Porsche has gained such a following because they were the more accessible alternative to Ferrari, particularly second hand due to the amount of them made compared to equivalent Ferraris and relatively lower cost to maintain. Ferraris now look like a bargain in comparison. For the price of a clean 993 Turbo, you could get a Ferrari F355 (the theoretically more desirable car, with similar performance) and basically lifetime maintenance with the money left over. I'm also not sure the Porsche bubble is going to last forever. It's already lasted longer than I thought it would. And yes the build quality even on my humble 986 has basically ruined Japanese sports cars for me, they just can't give the same substantial feeling.
 
I'd agree with that sentiment of certain enthusiast cars just being too common to be collectable if I hadn't witnessed firsthand what has happened to Fox Body Mustangs and third generation F-Bodies (of which they made literally millions of both). I think the issue with the specific cars in question here (996, C4, R129) is that they just were never as desirable as the cars that came before or after, and never will be even though the cars that came after (and before, in the case of the Corvette and SL) were more common. I love all three but they all have pretty major, somewhat insurmountable and inherent problems with them; if anything the value of their successors still not finding price floors has made their values basically lock in place.
Eunos_Cosmo
I'm actually surprised that there are more 997s than 996s, consider a sizeable part of the 997's production run was in the depths of the GFC. I'd bet, like the C6 Corvette (and the Z06 in particular) almost all of the 997s out there are the 997.1s and the lower production, later cars, are quite rare. I see a 997.2 Turbo S Cabrio (highly optioned, including carbon ceramic brakes) near where I live and it actually looks odd to me because there are so few of them compared to thyhreve 997.1 turbos - it even has those at-the-time-trending LED matrix clear tail lights like below, which I'm not sure were optional or standard equipment on the later year cars:

1img9645.jpg
Click to expand...
Those are aftermarket ones but the only difference in design is that those are Altezza lights and the factory ones were red.
 
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Tornado
I'd agree with that sentiment of certain enthusiast cars just being too common to be collectable if I hadn't witnessed firsthand what has happened to Fox Body Mustangs and third generation F-Bodies (of which they made literally millions of both). I think the issue with the specific cars in question here (996, C4, R129) is that they just were never as desirable as the cars that came before or after, and never will be even though the cars that came after (and before, in the case of the Corvette and SL) were more common. I love all three but they all have pretty major, somewhat insurmountable and inherent problems with them; if anything the value of their successors still not finding price floors has made their values basically lock in place.

Those are aftermarket ones but the only difference in design is that those are Altezza lights and the factory ones were red.
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I think Porsche offered the clear ones originally, must have been an option nobody picked because this is the only 997 I've ever seen with them.

www.suncoastparts.com

Replacement Tail Light - Clear

Check out the deal on Replacement Tail Light - Clear at Suncoast Porsche Parts & Accessories
www.suncoastparts.com www.suncoastparts.com
 
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Eunos_Cosmo
The ironic thing for me is this - Porsche has gained such a following because they were the more accessible alternative to Ferrari, particularly second hand due to the amount of them made compared to equivalent Ferraris and relatively lower cost to maintain. Ferraris now look like a bargain in comparison. For the price of a clean 993 Turbo, you could get a Ferrari F355 (the theoretically more desirable car, with similar performance) and basically lifetime maintenance with the money left over. I'm also not sure the Porsche bubble is going to last forever. It's already lasted longer than I thought it would. And yes the build quality even on my humble 986 has basically ruined Japanese sports cars for me, they just can't give the same substantial feeling.
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There aren't so many of the air cooled Turbos. Of course way more than 355's but relatively speaking.

This is not a Turbo however but a 4S. Two best looking cars Porsche and Ferrari ever produced (with honorable mention to 964 Turbo). Unfortunately not my garage, pic is a web find. :)

gMA2V3O.jpeg
 
Tornado
I'd agree with that sentiment of certain enthusiast cars just being too common to be collectable if I hadn't witnessed firsthand what has happened to Fox Body Mustangs and third generation F-Bodies (of which they made literally millions of both). I think the issue with the specific cars in question here (996, C4, R129) is that they just were never as desirable as the cars that came before or after, and never will be even though the cars that came after (and before, in the case of the Corvette and SL) were more common. I love all three but they all have pretty major, somewhat insurmountable and inherent problems with them; if anything the value of their successors still not finding price floors has made their values basically lock in place.

Those are aftermarket ones but the only difference in design is that those are Altezza lights and the factory ones were red.
Click to expand...

Not much knowledge about Foxbody Mustang because I'm European and we never had those. But I know the car and I've heard about the price increases etc.

Could it be that those cars got so cheap at some point that most of them were simply ruined and trashed and not so many good ones left? Same thing happened with Mercedes C126 (560 SEC). It's very hard to find one in original condition without rust. Most of them have been bastardized with clear front blinkers, black rear lights, spoilers, skirts, aftermarket wheels and other horrendous stuff. Those cars are worthless but one in mint original condition is becoming valuable. I know I'd love to own one... what a beautiful car.

Pretty much the same thing happened to many other great cars like BMW E31 (sure I know it can be problematic car) but despite 20 years of speculation of its "soon-to-be-expensive-classic-status" it never happened. Many of them got ruined and modded to oblivion. But you can still buy one for 20K which is incredible. I mean look at it... it's a thing of beauty!

R129 isn't that problematic. The early ones have that deteriorating wiring harness but most of them have been replaced by now. Post 1996 models you don't have that issue anymore. The only potentially expensive thing is the roof mechanism. The cars are very solid. V12 engine is very reliable but of course that model has a lot of extra electronics and very little space to work on.
 
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Imbissbrunto
I‘d understand the price if it was an NSX-R but for an Integra…
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Honestly the Integra is more special. The NSX, and the R variant, did a great job at being a purist sports car, but many cars had done so before and since using the same recipe for success. It is an outstanding entry in a somewhat crowded field. I find it to be a sweet spot but others might not take it over a ton of other offerings for various reasons. The Ferraris and Porsches that the NSX might be compared against have their drawbacks, but they also have their advantages.

The ITR is one of the greatest front drive cars ever made, and probably that ever will be made. I'm sure some would argue mini, or Clio. But even if you'd die on that hill, the ITR has to be on the shortest list. The ITR is, to me, fundamentally more interesting in that it is a more unique entry in the automotive world. I was a fan of my RSX-S until I met the ITR, but the 'teg crushes it without blinking.

Having driven only one old 911 ('83), my notes from that drive say that I was wishing to be in my NSX while driving the Porsche. It was a very compromised vehicle (mostly the transmission).
 
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Danoff
Honestly the Integra is more special. The NSX, and the R variant, did a great job at being a purist sports car, but many cars had done so before and since using the same recipe for success. It is an outstanding entry in a somewhat crowded field. I find it to be a sweet spot but others might not take it over a ton of other offerings for various reasons. The Ferraris and Porsches that the NSX might be compared against have their drawbacks, but they also have their advantages.

The ITR is one of the greatest front drive cars ever made, and probably that ever will be made. I'm sure some would argue mini, or Clio. But even if you'd die on that hill, the ITR has to be on the shortest list. The ITR is, to me, fundamentally more interesting in that it is a more unique entry in the automotive world. I was a fan of my RSX-S until I met the ITR, but the 'teg crushes it without blinking.

Having driven only one old 911 ('83), my notes from that drive say that I was wishing to be in my NSX while driving the Porsche. It was a very compromised vehicle (mostly the transmission).
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I'd say it's a matter of personal taste. The Integra is definitely a great car (has been one of my favorite JDM cars because of Gran Turismo 4 and Need for Speed: Underground) but the NSX is special. It was the first car with a full aluminum monocoque and offered performance on par with Ferrari's paired with the relative comfort, build quality and reliability of a Civic. Iirc it was the first super car at the time that could be used as a daily driver.

Speaking of which, the Civic Type R is probably my favorite FWD sportscar ever, the lap record in its category at the Nordschleife speaks for itself.

I haven't driven old Porsches but I got to drive a 991 Turbo S a while ago and it was by far the best car I have ever driven. I might be biased as a life long Porsche fan but to me this is the best car ever built. There are cars that are quicker (Ferrari's and Lamborghini's high end models) or more luxurious (Bentley Continental GT) but no other car combines exceptional build quality, high level of performance and usability like a Porsche Turbo. A Nissan GT-R might come close but the build quality and comfort are way worse (I got a ride in a first-gen R35 once).

But like I said, at the end it comes down to your individual taste in cars.
 
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Imbissbrunto
I'd say it's a matter of personal taste. The Integra is definitely a great car (has been one of my favorite JDM cars because of Gran Turismo 4 and Need for Speed: Underground) but the NSX is special. It was the first car with a full aluminum monocoque and offered performance on par with Ferrari's paired with the relative comfort, build quality and reliability of a Civic. Iirc it was the first super car at the time that could be used as a daily driver.
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Yea, the NSX brought a few new things to the scene. But what it really represented was a refinement and honing of a well-established format. A lot of people would prefer various aspects of those non-daily supercars. The reality of it all is that none of these cars are going to be daily drivers, and the idea of using them as such makes little sense. IMHO, if you're going to daily drive something, it needs decent cupholders, places for your stuff, and probably should be an automatic. The Tesla Model 3 makes driving incredibly boring and effortless, and perhaps for that reason it makes for a candidate for great daily.

The idea of an NSX as a daily never really made a ton of sense. To me, it's more of a sense of occasion car. To daily drive something, I don't want to have to go that far sideways to get into the seat.

To be clear, I think the NSX is one of the greatest cars ever made. It represents, to me, perhaps the best of all worlds. The poise and balance of the car while turning, combined with the lightness of inputs, communicability of all controls, the confidence of each driving input, the visibility, sound, power curve, comfort, styling, reliability. All of it comes together in a package that is a pinnacle of the automotive world. But I won't begrudge anyone their Ferrari experience that requires $15k of maintenance at the end either.

Imbissbrunto
Speaking of which, the Civic Type R is probably my favorite FWD sportscar ever, the lap record in its category at the Nordschleife speaks for itself.
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Lap times at the Nordschleife are not what I'm really getting at. The Civic is what... 500-600 lbs heavier than the ITR? That's partly why I said that I think the integra won't be matched in the future, because cars don't seem to be headed downward in weight.

Have you driven an ITR at the redline*? Have you driven the Civic Type R?

*I say redline because the vtec engine is charismatic

Imbissbrunto
I haven't driven old Porsches but I got to drive a 991 Turbo S a while ago and it was by far the best car I have ever driven. I might be biased as a life long Porsche fan but to me this is the best car ever built. There are cars that are quicker (Ferrari's and Lamborghini's high end models) or more luxurious (Bentley Continental GT) but no other car combines exceptional build quality, high level of performance and usability like a Porsche Turbo. A Nissan GT-R might come close but the build quality and comfort are way worse (I got a ride in a first-gen R35 once).

But like I said, at the end it comes down to your individual taste in cars.
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The modern Porsches might be better than the older ones in many respects.
 
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Danoff
The modern Porsches might be better than the older ones in many respects.
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Of course they are. They're faster, they have much better track times and all that.

But people aren't into old Porsches because of the numbers. The analog driving feel is something that no new car can ever duplicate. They are also among the only cars that actually keep their value (and even increase it).

I guess it the same reason why people generally are more into 80's and 90's cars now. BMW E30 M3 for example. I think HP and performance have lost their appeal a lot. KIA electric car is probably super fast.

This sums it up well. A skyscraper elevator is faster than a roller coaster. But which one gives you bigger thrill?

 
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Apocalypse211
Of course they are. They're faster, they have much better track times and all that.

But people aren't into old Porsches because of the numbers.
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I was really thinking more of the transmission.

Apocalypse211
The analog driving feel is something that no new car can ever duplicate.
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Apocalypse211
I guess it the same reason why people generally are more into 80's and 90's cars now. BMW E30 M3 for example. I think HP and performance have lost their appeal a lot.
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I agree about the HP numbers. The E30 is a great car for sure. I personally found it to be wanting when stacked up against the NSX, just for pure driving engagement. The E30 has other downsides too, which is that it look terrible and requires a lot of maintenance. I drove a few versions of the E30, one of which was modified very tastefully to try to make it comparable to the sport evo version. They're great, I'm a big fan. I decided to buy the ITR over the E30 after driving one, because it felt fundamentally more special and more fun. I've never had a reason to second-guess that.

I agree with your assessments about pure speed vs analog driving feel. I think that go-kart lightness and feedback from some of the older vehicles simply can't be replicated today, and probably just won't be. They're in the past at this point, and I do think people miss it.
 
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