In 1939 Alois Ruf (the father) founded Auto RUF, as a general service garage located in Pfaffenhausen, Germany. A year later, in 1940, a gas station was added; and in 1949, a bus company. The enterprise grew into a prosperous business.

There was a deep economic crisis that followed-up the Second World War, (Ruf had to enlist as a soldier, while his business started to work), he came from the War with financial worries, and thought many others would be passing through the same situation; as a result, Ruf focused his efforts to create a simple and economic car, the Volkswagen Käfer. Its cubic capacity was modified in order to shorten the consumptions. This version of the Käfer was sold quickly in Germany, which allowed Ruf to treat other matters.

During the last years of the 50's and first of the 60's, Ruf expanded and became supplier of stranger brands; in 1963 BMW was added to the list. Shortly after, he became specialized supplier nominated by Stuttgart for the model 356.

Upon the death of Alois Ruf, Sr. in 1974, his son, Alois Ruf, Jr., took over directorship of the company and vowed to continue its development and philosophy of innovation and quality. Alois Ruf's understanding of the strengths and inherent sporting characteristics of the Porsche 911 led to the company's concentration on this model as the platform for all of its future automotive developments.

The first RUF enhanced Porsche model made its debut in 1975. Two years later, the turbo charged 911 engine, which was enlarged to 3.3 liters by RUF through the use of larger pistons, had a distinct performance increase compared to the standard Porsche Turbo model.

"Alois Ruf enjoys his cars as much as his customers, recognizing that powerful and sporty cars require extra skill behind the wheel not only for safety, but to be also able to enjoy the car's true potential." That's why RUF has offered regular driver training events since then, which are carried off on race tracks such as Germany's Hockenheimring and the Salzburgring in Austria.

The company's first "work of art," representing the culmination of RUF engineering advancements for the 911, was brought together in 1983 with the introduction of the RUF BTR. This model, with a 3.4 liter turbo engine of 374 bhp and five speed transmission, was available in either a narrow body or turbo body configuration. The construction of each vehicle began at the bare chassis level in the RUF tradition of handmade craftsmanship.

Developments continued at an increasing pace and in 1987 the newest RUF high speed sports car, the CTR, received its certification for normal road use.This incredible car, a 469 bhp twin turbo coupé, exceeded the top speed world record for production cars on the Nardo Racetrack at a rate of 342 km/h!! It was at the time, and still today, a truly astonishing pace.

In 1993, two new single turbo engines of 3.6 and 3.8 liter displacement became available to the RUF and Porsche enthusiast.

With the introduction of the water-cooled 996 and Boxster model generation came new prospects for future RUF products. The RUF 3400 S, unveiled at the 1999 Es-sen Motor Show, enhanced the power available to the Boxster line.

For the model year 2002, RUF created the logical evolution of the 3400 S: the 3600 S. Powered by the optimized 3.6 liter naturally aspirated engine of the 996 Carrera (with up to 345 bhp), the 3600 S betters the concept of the comfortably powerful roadster even further through the combination of a uniquely designed exhaust system, rear carbon fiber undertray, and advanced frontal aerodynamics.

For modern sports cars, there is often not enough ground clearance especially in city traffic. In summer 2004, RUF began offering a sport suspension that is hydraulically height adjustable and offers 50 millimeters more ground clearance by pressing a button at speeds up to 60 kilometers per hour.

The first Porsche, the Porsche 64 of 1938, used many components from the Volkswagen Bettle. Many regard the 356 as the first Porsche simply because it was the first model sold by the fledgling company.