RUF Automobile and Gran Turismo teamed up for a pop-up event in Tokyo’s Ginza district on March 14, coinciding with the inaugural Luft Tokyo air-cooled Porsche celebration happening just up the road on the city’s elevated KK expressway line.
The pop-up, held at Ginza Sony Park, featured an appearance by the RUF Tribute and served as the launch event for a new limited-edition clothing collaboration between the two brands. RUF shared photos from the event on Instagram, including a visit to Polyphony Digital’s Tokyo offices.
A Relationship That Goes Back to GT2
RUF is billing the collaboration as a celebration of “30 years RUF x Gran Turismo,” though the math on that is a little fuzzy. RUF first appeared in Gran Turismo 2, released in December 1999, after series creator Kazunori Yamauchi approached Alois Ruf Jr. in a hotel to ask about including the brand’s cars. The partnership may well stretch back to 1996 or so in terms of licensing discussions, but the public-facing relationship began with GT2’s launch.
That first appearance was the start of something much bigger than either party probably anticipated. For nearly two decades, an exclusivity agreement between Porsche and Electronic Arts kept the Stuttgart brand out of most non-EA racing games. RUF, which builds its own cars from Porsche body-in-white shells and is recognized by the German government as an independent manufacturer with its own VIN codes, became the go-to substitute.
When the Porsche exclusivity deal ended in 2016 and Stuttgart’s cars started appearing everywhere, RUF began to disappear from the gaming landscape. It looked for a while like the brand’s gaming era might be over entirely. GT Sport launched in 2017 with Porsche on the roster and no RUF in sight, despite the brand’s logo appearing in early menu mock-ups.
Then, in November 2019, RUF made its return with the CTR3 arriving in GT Sport’s Update 1.50, after eagle-eyed fans had spotted the car on a monitor in a Sony Bravia TV ad months earlier. It was a meaningful choice: the CTR3 is one of the few cars in RUF’s lineup built on an entirely original chassis, meaning it sidesteps any potential complications with Porsche. The brand has continued into Gran Turismo 7, and Yamauchi has stated that RUF is an important brand to GT players.
The Collection
The clothing line, dubbed the “30th Anniversary RUF x Gran Turismo Kollektion 2026,” was designed by Aloisa Ruf, the third generation of the Ruf family to work in the business. The collection draws on both RUF’s automotive heritage and Gran Turismo’s visual identity.
T-shirts and a long-sleeve feature original design sketches and technical illustrations from the Tribute, while a hoodie takes its inspiration from the in-game interface. Rounding out the collection are Japanese street-style bucket hats, crewneck sweatshirts with “Pfaffenhausen RUF” lettering, and a softshell jacket based on the team’s actual uniform back in Pfaffenhausen.
The collection is available through the RUF Automobile online shop.
Luft Tokyo
The pop-up was timed to run alongside Luft Tokyo, the first-ever Japanese edition of the Luftgekühlt air-cooled Porsche event. The main show took place on the Tokyo Expressway KK Line in Ginza, a stretch of elevated highway that’s being redeveloped into a pedestrianized urban space. Gran Turismo fans will recognize the setting as similar to the fictional Tokyo Expressway circuit from GT Sport and GT7.
Polyphony Digital was listed among the event’s sponsors, alongside Porsche Japan, Tag Heuer, and others. The event displayed over 150 air-cooled Porsches, headlined by historic racing cars with Japanese competition pedigree, including a 1964 Porsche 904 that won at the second Japan Grand Prix, a 1967 910 that competed in the 1968 Japan Grand Prix, and a 1984 956 that won the 1000km of Fuji in 1985.
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