RUF Automobile has revealed the B8, an in-house flat-eight prototype engine installed in a lengthened test car based on the CTR3. The 4.8-litre twin-turbo unit produces more than 1,000 horsepower and more than 1,000 Nm of torque according to RUF.
It is the first eight-cylinder boxer engine developed by the German manufacturer. RUF is not presenting the B8 as a production engine yet. Instead, it sits in a prototype known internally as the Erprober, or Tester, which is being used to validate technologies intended for a future model.
The layout is notable because it changes one of the most familiar parts of RUF's engineering identity without abandoning it. The company has spent decades developing high-performance flat-six cars, while the B8 adds two cylinders but retains the horizontally opposed architecture rather than moving to a conventional V8.
The prototype made its public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. RUF scheduled the car for Supercar Run appearances from July 10 through July 12 with Tanner Foust driving, after announcing and displaying the B8 on July 9. The elongated CTR3 body is therefore a development mule rather than an early production styling proposal.
The important part of the announcement is not a production date, which RUF has not given. The company has confirmed that the flat-eight is a testbed for a future RUF model. For now, the CTR3-based Erprober provides the first running indication that the next major RUF powertrain may move beyond the flat-six while keeping the boxer format at the centre of the car.