In what may go down as one of 2025’s most expensive mishaps, a rare black RUF CTR Yellowbird worth approximately $5 million fell off a car transporter in San Francisco. With RUF having made just 29 examples of the fearsome twin-turbo sports car based on the Porsche 911, an accident like this certainly hurts. Even more so when the full story is unfolded: this particular car reportedly had just been returned from a trip back to RUF headquarters in Germany, where it was treated to a full $150,000 repaint to black, as in these photos.
It appears that the mishap occurred due to a fundamental oversight on the delivery company’s part, with the driver forgetting to place chocks behind the tires. This simple but critical error led to the CTR rolling off the transporter’s upper deck, leaving the car stranded in a precarious, near-vertical position with its rear bumper and exhaust system as the only points of contact with the ground.
The CTR earned its legendary status through its incredible performance capabilities, with its 463-horsepower twin-turbo flat-six engine enabling speeds that made it the fastest production car in the world when new. The 211mph top speed was the kind of figure that most other manufacturers could only dream of. The Yellowbird’s promotional video, Faszination on the Nurburgring, also became one of the first viral videos before the internet, featuring footage of the very yellow RUF lapping the ‘Ring in sideways fashion.
While the extent of the damage to this RUF Yellowbird remains unclear, the incident is a reminder of how quickly automotive history can hang in the balance. For the owner who had carefully orchestrated the car’s return from Germany with fresh paint, this delivery became an unforgettable nightmare rather than a homecoming celebration.
