RUF Tribute: An All-New “Air-Cooled 911” That Porsche Can’t Build (Even If It Wanted To)

What Porsche does the Tribute “represent”?

RUF created the Tribute as a celebration of the 911’s 60th anniversary and as a throwback to the air-cooled era.

Visually and dimensionally, it’s described as a throwback to the 964 generation—and Road & Track notes it can read like something “between a 964 and a 993,” deliberately familiar without being a copy. The vibe is also very much classic 911 Turbo: Road & Track calls it “a chip off the old 911 Turbo block,” and The Drive points out details like the wide silhouette and whale-tail-style rear wing cues. So if you’re looking for the shorthand: think “air-cooled Turbo-era 911 spirit,” filtered through modern engineering and RUF’s own platform.

How many will be produced?

RUF itself calls it a limited-production concept on its own model page, but the clearest public guidance on numbers comes from reporting around the production version:

• RUF expects to build between 50 and 100 Tributes over the next five years, according to Car and Driver.

That’s boutique-car scarce—“you’ll probably never see one in the wild” scarce.

Exterior: carbon fiber skin, classic silhouette, modern execution

The Tribute wears an unmistakably classic outline, but it’s not built like an old 911. Underneath the familiar shape is RUF’s modern construction:

• Road & Track describes the bodywork as a carbon-fiber “hat” mounted over a carbon monocoque and safety structure.
• Car and Driver says the Tribute sits on a carbon-fiber tub with front and rear aluminum subframes, and that the body panels are entirely carbon fiber.

The Drive also calls out styling cues that deliberately echo the classic “G-body/air-cooled” attitude: wide stance, center-lock wheels, rear vents, and that whale-tail energy—just executed as a modern, ultra-low-volume carbon-bodied car rather than a restored classic.

Color-wise, early photos and coverage frequently show a deep green example—The Drive specifically mentions the Tribute wearing forest green in its reveal coverage. (And with RUF builds, paint and trim are often a conversation all their own—buyers tend to spec these like they’re commissioning a watch.)

Interior: “classic Porsche feel,” but with a purpose-built backbone

The cabin philosophy is function-first—more “driver’s car” than luxury lounge.

Road & Track notes a cabin with practical intent, plus tasteful details (its demonstrator included houndstooth cloth and green leather trim), while also acknowledging some parts commonality with Porsche components (because even boutique supercars live in the real world sometimes).

The important point is that the Tribute isn’t relying on nostalgia alone. You’re sitting in a modern carbon-tub structure with modern safety considerations, while looking out over a windshield shape and proportions that feel properly air-cooled-era.

Engine and transmission: the headline act

This is the reason the Tribute exists.

RUF built a new air-cooled 3.6-liter twin-turbo flat-six, designed by Alois Ruf and engineered to meet modern requirements—something most people would have called “impossible,” then moved on with their day.

Output (official + reported)

RUF’s own model page lists:

• 550 hp / 405 kW at 6,750 rpm
• 750 Nm at 4,500 rpm
• 3,600 cc
• 7-speed manual gearbox

Car and Driver’s production-version story lists:

• 543 hp
• 551 lb-ft
• 3.6-liter dry-sump flat-six
• Seven-speed manual only

Different outlets quote slightly different figures (common when prototypes evolve into production calibration), but the consistent message is clear: this is a big-power, modern-engineered, air-cooled twin-turbo flat-six, paired with a manual transmission only.

And it’s not a retro museum motor, either. RUF describes modern features like variable valve timing/lift and three-valve cylinder heads as part of the “modernity inside the classic idea.”

Chassis and dynamics: modern supercar bones

This is where the Tribute separates itself from “restomod culture.” It isn’t reworked vintage architecture—it’s a modern RUF platform wearing a familiar suit.

Key hardware called out across coverage includes:

• Carbon-fiber monocoque/tub with subframes
• Double-wishbone suspension with pushrod-actuated springs/dampers (the kind of stuff you expect on race-bred cars)
• Integrated roll cage / safety structure mentioned in multiple sources
• Forged wheels and carbon-ceramic brakes are listed by Car and Driver as part of the production-spec hardware set

Performance claims vary by source and stage, but Road & Track references a claimed top speed north of 200 mph in its write-up context, while Car and Driver discusses the car’s lightweight, compact dimensions relative to modern 911s.

Why the Tribute matters

The Tribute is special because it scratches an itch that modern regulations, modern manufacturing, and modern corporate risk management typically won’t allow.

RUF looked at the air-cooled flat-six—an engine type Porsche left behind in the late 1990s for a whole list of practical reasons—and said, essentially: “We’ll do it anyway… but we’ll do it properly.”

So the Tribute becomes something rare:

• A brand-new car
• With a new air-cooled engine
• On a modern carbon platform
• Built in tiny numbers

It’s nostalgia, yes—but it’s nostalgia that had to pass modern reality checks to exist at all.