Risk Everything and Buy This Turbocharged, 360-Horsepower Volkswagen Beetle ‘Yellowbird’
Built as a tribute to the infamous Ruf CTR Yellowbird, this Beetle is the perfect way to go out in a blaze of glory.
You couldn't be blamed for thinking that the Ruf CTR "Yellowbird" is the easiest way to shorten your life courtesy of automotive madness. The Porsche 911 on which it was based was already known for being something of a handful, and turbocharging the bejeezus out of one didn't make it any easier to drive. Its driving experience is not one we 99-percenters are ever likely to taste, as examples of the Yellowbird tend to sell for more than a million dollars, but fear for one's life while driving isn't an emotion you need to be a millionaire to cultivate. Terror behind the wheel can be had for much, much cheaper.
And by cheaper, we mean in the form of a Volkswagen Beetle. One Race Cars Direct seller built a Bug which they call an homage to the Yellowbird, and as any half-decent tribute does, this salute thereto goes beyond just a coat of paint and a set of real Ruf wheels. Rather than one of the anemic flat-fours that originally powered this Type 1 Beetle, the seller tells us that they crammed in the engine from a four-cylinder Porsche 914, not to mention a pretty big turbocharger along with it.
They claim to have "invested" €120,000 ($133,000) into this power plant to make it produce 360 horsepower, which probably won't impress you until you consider the fact that a stock Type 1 weighs less than a ton, and that this car likely ways little if any more. In all likelihood, it has a power-to-weight ratio of approximately 350 horsepower per ton, putting it in the neighborhood of cars like the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat.
Unlike the Hellcat, though, there's not much of an argument to be made for this car being a performance bargain; its seller asks €79,000 (over $87,000) for the car. With that kind of money, you could either pick up a discounted Hellcat Redeye for almost $8,000 off sticker and have $25,000 left over to spend on tires, or make your down payment on a 2019 Ruf GT.
But don't let us tell you what to do. If you’d rather end up in a ditch without the protection of modern safety, then that’s your call.