Andrew Ritter is a talented artist who renders famous cars in a cartoony, cutesy art style in pseudo-realistic 3D. He has created many lovingly detailed, yet adorable renditions of cars that most enthusiasts instantly recognize. Ritter's company Ritter Goods has now taken this to the physical realm with its first scale model: A 1/43 Ruf CTR Yellowbird.
The officially licensed, chibi-fied Yellowbird is currently available for purchase at Ritter Goods. It is the first in a (potential) series of Ritter-reimagined machines, and it comes in a display case with a small information plaque on its base.
The Yellowbird model is made from dozens of individually molded resin components and produced by Element 79 Collectibles. This is actually the second time it's come up for sale; the first time around was July of last year. Ritter sold out the first run of 1,000 models in around three days flat.
Since Ritter makes all of his art in Blender as 3D models, he was even able to release a promo video of the toy replicating the infamous half-sideways Nurburgring lap that the real car completed when it was released in the late 1980s.
The model isn't cheap, though, at $150 plus shipping. But it's also exquisitely detailed all the way to the undercarriage, which has a fully modeled exhaust, turbo wastegates, and suspension. The interior is also realistically crafted, even featuring a speedometer that's pegged at 211 miles per hour—the top speed of the Ruf CTR.
If you do want one and can afford it, don't hold out for a future run; Ritter said after this release sells out, he'll be moving on to focus on the next model in the series and discontinuing the Ruf.
Personally, I might ask for one of these for Christmas. It's adorable.
