We’re used to new hybrid and battery technology coming out recently. It’s where the industry is heading with increasing regulations, so to see a brand-new engine layout in 2026 is a special moment. That’s what legendary German manufacturer RUF gave us at the Goodwood Festival of Speed earlier this year with a flat-eight engine. It’s a layout that’s never been put into a road car before.
Reports are now surfacing about a possible eight-cylinder supercar from Porsche within the next few years, and CarBuzz caught up with a member of the RUF family recently to hear about the challenges with this all-new power plant. RUF made quite a statement with this engine’s dynamic debut at Goodwood – and it sounded just as incredible as you might expect.
A New Flat-Eight Roared Into Life At Goodwood
The Goodwood Festival of Speed is a great way to debut a new car. Clients, fans, and the media can get up close to the cars, and you get to hear them dynamically run up the hill at the helm of some of the world’s best drivers. RUF made waves this year, but not for something you can see on the outside. Its reveal came in the form of a new, never-before-seen power plant: the flat-eight engine. The company has called this engine the Erprober, or Tester.
“So many things are a wolf in sheepskin, but the B8 is going to be a wolf in wolfskin. I hope that people see it now, and if they don’t, they may look back and see it then.”
– Aloisa Ruf, RUF Automobile
Speaking to CarBuzz at the Festival of Speed, Aloisa Ruf was excited as it brings RUF into the eyes of more people. “I think now we’re making more noise,” said the future leader of the family firm. “Since we developed an engine that hasn’t existed before in a production car, we might gain some respect from younger audiences.” It’s important to know that while RUF’s cars may share a resemblance to Porsche, each car is bespoke and has a unique VIN – making the company a manufacturer, not simply a tuner.
Aloisa Ruf shows of the RUF B8 Erprober at Goodwood Festival of Speed – prototype flat 8 engineHuckleberry Mountain/RUF
The prototype engine is currently housed in a modified CTR-3 body that has been stretched to accommodate it. This is the first time a boxer-eight engine has been used in a production car, although it has had limited usage in racing. With its Goodwood debut, the automaker was also proud of the sound it produces. It has the deep growl of an eight-cylinder engine yet is still unique.
In terms of specs, this engine’s displacement is 4.8L, and it relies on forced induction to increase total power to over 1,000 horsepower and torque to 738 lb-ft. RUF has also used racing technology in much of its cars to help with handling. “Everything we do is inspired by the racing world,” Aloisa said. “Since 2017, our cars have double wishbone suspension with pushrods, and an integrated roll cage.”
A Flat-Eight Comes With Its Challenges
RUF CTR3 Prototype with Flat-8 EngineGabrielle Schmauderer/CarBuzz/Valnet
Let’s start with the positives of a flat-eight engine. Eight cylinders obviously means you can wring out bigger displacement and you get the deep sound we love. A flat engine also means it can be placed lower in the car, not only freeing up space above for cargo, forced induction, or extra strut bracing, but also lowering the overall center of mass. That helps with stability and can help designers get the bodywork lower, which is great for aero.
“I’m just pretty proud of the sound. It’s such a full-body, dark sound, and it’s quiet until it isn’t. You can perfectly drive this in a city without waking up the neighbors. But if you want to make yourself heard, you will.”
– Aloisa Ruf, RUF Automobile
However, this layout also has several disadvantages compared to the typical V8. For one, maintenance is more complex. Spark plugs are typically harder to access (as any Subaru owner will attest), and the engine requires a relatively large footprint. When asked about why no one else has attempted this engine before, Aloisa had a straightforward answer: “It’s quite crazy, expensive, and on paper, it makes no sense. But we like when people tell us we can’t do something.”
The main challenge the company faced during development, Aloisa said, was the oil system. The engine relies on dry sump lubrication, which means the oil is mechanically pumped through to lower the chance of oil starvation during intense cornering. Circulating oil through a ‘sideways’ engine quickly presents its own engineering difficulties. Another significant challenge is the ECU. Since this is a new engine, there is no off-the-shelf system RUF could have used, so the company had to program and test it independently.
Porsche History Is Intertwined With The Flat-Eight
Close
Think flat performance engines, think Porsche. Based on the Volkswagen Beetle, the first Porsche road car, the 356, used a flat-four engine and the company has been stuck to tradition ever since. Even the naturally aspirated flat-six engine in the 911 makes over 500 horsepower, and with hybrid turbochargers, it pushes the figure to over 700. The flat-eight engine, however, has eluded them for road cars.
For race cars, however, Porsche has used an eight-cylinder boxer previously. The first was used in the company’s short Formula One stint in the 1960s, and it was even designed by Han Mezger. It scored one win at the hands of Dan Gurney, but Porsche retired from open-wheel racing later that year to focus on its sports car efforts. A two-liter flat-eight was used in the original 718, the 904/8, and the 907, among others. These engines later influenced the flat-12 used in the 917 Le Mans winner.
Here’s something you might not know, though: Porsche did make a prototype road car with a flat-eight engine in the form of two 914 mid-engine sports cars. Both are owned by the company and never made it to production, but they were originally built for Ferdinand Piëch and Ferry Porsche as a birthday gift. This engine made 300 horsepower and displaced 3.0L. The 914/8 weighed only 2,100 lbs, so one can imagine how formidable it must have been to drive.
We Could See A Porsche Flat-Eight Supercar
Porsche Mission X brown studio front 3/4Porsche
Porsche’s halo car projects have been in a bit of a stalemate since the 918 ended production in 2015. There were rumors of a 919 race car street car a few years later, but this never made it to production; neither did the more recent Mission X hypercar, which was meant to be an all-conquering electric hypercar. That latter project is still unconfirmed. German newspaper Handelsblatt says that the German manufacturer is working on something new, though.
Rumors are circulating about a brand-new model that sits above the 911 and uses a flat-eight engine for power. It’s allegedly codenamed the ‘S1’ internally and will cost around half a million dollars if it ever makes it out of the design stage. This matches the automaker’s new focus on making fewer, more expensive cars that can bring in extra revenue as customers look for greater differentiation among performance vehicles.
A few years ago, reports also surfaced of an eight-cylinder prototype engine being tested in a Porsche Cayman shell. While it never made it out of the planning stage – as is common – it shows that the Volkswagen Group is still willing to experiment with internal combustion in the background as its EV focus slows. There is no word on whether the RUF engine is related or whether anyone at the company was aware of it, but it is encouraging to see continued development of engines like this.
Sources: RUF, Motor1, Porsche
