Hiding Behind The Bamboo Was Ralph Lauren's Fast Ride To Como

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Guests usually park in the underground garage at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. With his Ruf CTR 3, later show winner Ralph Lauren didn't.

It's not often you see one of these mid-engined supercars. Most people don't even know what Ruf is. They've never heard of the Yellowbird, don't want a 911 with a V8, and looking at the CTR 3's front, they think it's some sort of tuned 997. Well, it's actually based on a Cayman...

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Two years ago, Peter Orosz had some intimate moments with Ralph Lauren's Mercedes-Benz, and I certainly had some fun this year with his Bugatti Atlantic. Still, this Ruf kept crossing my mind with all its 750 horsepower and kevlar-carbon body panels.

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While the engine and most parts came from Porsche, this is far from being a Porsche. It's a Ruf, as the company is classified as a manufacturer instead of a tuner.

The CTR 3 is much less practical than a Dacia pickup, I'll give you that.

Photo credit: Máté Petrány