RUF returns to The Quail 2026 with the EHRA, a new widebody fastback that marks the German manufacturer’s first car developed to tackle extreme performance while retaining everyday comfort and drivability.

It makes its world debut during Monterey Car Week 2026. Racing driver Phil Hill was a major influence on the decision to name the car EHRA, as he broke the top speed record at the Ehra-Lessien proving ground in the original CTR Yellowbird. Now, RUF stretches that thinking toward longer distances and a broader range of driving conditions.

The shape immediately separates it from the CTR Anniversary that shares RUF’s proprietary carbon-fiber monocoque platform, a single structural shell that forms the car’s lightweight, rigid core. Front track width grows by 58 millimeters and the rear by 54, filling out a widebody silhouette that moves into a long fastback rear deck.

RUF has left the familiar fixed whale tail behind in favor of a carbon-fiber spoiler that deploys at highway speeds and can also be controlled manually from the cabin. Newly drawn front and rear fascias handle cooling and airflow, while five-spoke centerlock forged wheels sit close beneath the widened bodywork.

image © RUF

Behind the RUF EHRA sits a 3.6-liter twin-turbo boxer six producing 650 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque. A seven-speed manual sends that power through a fully variable all-wheel-drive system, with a limited-slip differential allowing the car to retain a distinctly rear-driven character. It is an unusual combination at a point when such high-performance cars increasingly lean toward automatic gearboxes and layers of electronic intervention.

RUF keeps the chassis equally specific. Double wishbones sit at all four corners, paired with pushrod-actuated horizontal adaptive dampers. The architecture follows the approach developed for its recent carbon-monocoque cars, placing the suspension hardware inboard while giving engineers tighter control over wheel movement.

Here the setup has been tuned with distance in mind as much as outright response, which gives the EHRA a slightly different brief from the more aggressive members of the RUF family.

image © RUF

The first production EHRA arrives in Liquid Silver, a finish that makes the broader surfaces and uninterrupted rear deck especially easy to read. Inside, natural brown leather is hand-stitched in a Pasha checkered flag pattern against dark matte carbon trim.

RUF Green instruments fill the familiar five-pod gauge cluster, while folding carbon ‘lollipop’ bucket seats bring one of the company’s recognizable details into a cabin conceived for longer stretches behind the wheel. The door handles disappear electronically into the body, and the rear-quarter-window openings double as integrated air intakes.

The EHRA shares The Quail lawn with several customer cars from RUF, including the latest RODEO and CTR Anniversary alongside SCR and CTR3 EVO deliveries. All of the company’s Monterey Car Week cars are running on renewable e-Fuels supplied through a new collaboration with HIF Global.

designboom is at The Quail to see the debut in person, so stay tuned for updates from Monterey and a closer look at the RUF EHRA.

image © RUF

image © RUF

image © RUF