For the uninitiated, Ruf is a German carmaker whose products riff of Porsches, but take them in a different, often wilder direction.

These are cars we need in our lives. So if you want a 911-based supercar with 800hp put through its rear wheels from the factory, it’s possible to acquire one.

Still not convinced? Here are five Ruf greats to whet your appetite…

Ruf CTR3

While most of Ruf’s models directly resemble their Porsche relation, the CTR3 is its own thing.

Bits of 911 here, touches of Cayman there… and a 787hp six-cylinder turbo beneath that magnificently slatted engine cover.

Its power figure isn’t its most Top Trumps-worthy stat, though. No, that honour goes to its 423km/h claimed top speed.

That’s 30km/h more than the claims Ferrari and Lamborghini make of their most potent supercars.

Ruf RCT Evo

Ruf isn’t just a purveyor of new Porsche-based goodness. A number of its current products are spun from 911s old, this 964-based Evo among the most appealing of all. Especially when bona fide 964 RSs are so hard (and expensive) to source.

At the Evo’s core is a 425bhp turbocharged 3.6-litre flat-six, from which Ruf promises the behaviour of a naturally aspirated engine. It operates through a 6spd manual gearbox, and whisks the wee Evo (this is from the days when 911s were still small…) to 320km/h. Nice.

Ruf RK Coupe

A Ruf from the middle of the last decade now. As your eyes may already have deciphered, this one has a previous generation Porsche Cayman as its contributory model.

Except it’s rather more hot rod-esque, isn’t it? What with its candy red paint, blanked out rear windows and lightly dished alloys…

While the Cayman S of its day had a peak of 316bhp, the RK offered up 440bhp, with a supercharger to thank for its extra muscle.

The result? A 4.0sec 0-100km/h time and a 305km/h top speed, figures which far outstrip its base car. With a 200,000-euro tag when new, though, so did its price.

Ruf RTR

Back to the current line-up, now. And if the thought of driving that 777bhp CTR3 gave you the heebie-jeebies, then make sure you’re sat comfortably: this considerably more 911-shaped RTR has 802bhp. And you can have it with the rear wheels driven only. Yikes.

You can have your RTR with all-wheel drive too, mind, though both come with a delightfully traditional 6spd manual gearbox.

Its top speed is quoted at ‘350km/h-plus’. Might want to check the weather conditions a few miles ahead if you’re considering finding out just how ‘plus’ it’ll go…

Ruf CTR Yellowbird

There’s only one car we could end on; the car which established both Ruf and the Nürburgring as regulars in the petrolhead vernacular back in 1989.

They did so with the clip ‘Faszination on the Nürburgring’, a viral video before YouTube, or even the internet, could catalyse such things.

The Yellowbird became an instant star, and so much more than the Porsche 911 it first resembles.

Beneath the skin is much tuning, with twin turbos yielding 469bhp (though some reckon it unofficially tops 500bhp), a dog-leg manual gearbox and some astounding performance figures for its day: 340km/h and a 7.3sec 0-160km/h time are staggering now, never mind the late 1980s.

Ruf has many great cars in to its name, but there can be no argument about which is the greatest.

STORY Stephen Dobie