Tightening emissions regulations prompted Porsche to withdraw its 911 Turbo from sale in the United States in 1977. That motivated boutique German manufacturer RUF Automobiles to introduce a model that retained the car’s mean stance but did without forced induction.

The result was the wide-body RUF Carrera 3.2, which gained a lowered ride height from the fitment of Bilstein suspension, plus bespoke gauges, and hotter camshafts to produce 240 horsepower via a five-speed manual transmission—splitting the 265 horsepower offered by the Turbo and the 207 figure of the standard Porsche. Although the project was curtailed in 1986 as a revised Turbo resumed sale in America, the handful of cars produced remain significant, thanks to their “W09” chassis number rather than the “WP0” prefix that denotes a factory Porsche effort.

According to RUF, fewer than 10 examples were produced. The car offered here, finished in the signature shade of Guards Red over black Recaro seats, is believed to be one of only three originally exported to Canada. Ordered on 1 December 1984 via German Auto Sales of Alberta, first owner Mr Bob Carswell of Ontario paid a $20,000 premium over a regular Porsche Carrera. He owned the car between 30 May 1985 and July 1987 before it was sold to Mr Peter Hutton of Calgary. In January 1989, the 911 entered the long-term custodianship of Mr George B Marcial in British Columbia. The Porsche Club of America member retained the RUF through to May 2007, at which point it was reported to have covered 112,400 kilometres.

The fourth owner was based in Saskatoon, keeping the car until May 2013, at which point it moved to Arizona. The RUF was purchased by a resident of Abu Dhabi in late 2013. During their ownership, it also spent time in Cornwall, United Kingdom and was seen to by marque specialist Williams Crawford before featuring in the September 2017 issue of 911 & Porsche World magazine.

This rare RUF Carrera 3.2 has been carefully maintained throughout its life and is therefore accompanied by a comprehensive history file, stamped service book, owner’s guides, tool roll, and spare wheel. Wearing a set of 17-inch five-spoke wheels by Speedline, this example currently displays 139,968 kilometres.