RC:
I don't know why RUF is doing this, maybe it has to do with future emissions standards or whatever, maybe he wants to prove a point, I just don't get it. I love the RUF boxer engines, powerful, loud and fast. Everything else...well... 
like you, i have spent some time with Alois and Estonia, and agree they are very passionate about cars.
i don't know this for a fact, but I will throw this out as my guess as to why they have pursued the V8, as well as gone into things like the CTR3, which has polarized opinions.
in the 80's, Ruf were masters of speed; we saw this with the Yellowbird obviously, and that's what put them on the map. But as time went on, others caught up and then surpassed them for outright speed. the RT12 was still pretty quick back in '06, but very soon after, other tuners were at much higher power levels, and then cars like the GTR and turbo Gallardos came, and it was game over.
I think Ruf saw this coming; not just that other tuners would build faster cars, but that there would be extreme competition for tuned 911's (i know Ruf is technically a manufacturer, not a tuner, but they built their reputation on tuned 911's, and continue to derive the bulk of their business from such products). so it was a basic question of how to differentiate oneself from the rest.
one way would be to build their own car.
from what i know, they tried to do this, but realized it was much harder than they initially thought. so the CTR3 was a "halfway step" to doing this. it was not a complete from the ground up design, but it was still a unique car.
another way would be to build their own engine.
and this is what they have done with the V8. and if the motor proves to be as good as promised, there is a good potential ancillary business from selling crate engines for installation in other platforms.
as I said, the above is not something Alois or Estonia told me. its my take on why they may have made these decisions. of course if someone knows for a fact the real reason, please share! :)
cheers!
--
'07 Cayenne TT
'06 Ruf RT12
'06 GT3
'06 Jeep SRT8
'03 911 TT
'99 MB E55
'98 Evo 5
'87 BMW M3
) and they are decent and very pleasant people.
I had a close look at it "in the flesh" in Geneva and me likey!
This was however over a year ago.
