Uwe Gemballa may not be with us, but his son, Marc Philipp, continues his legacy of creating mad Porsches for the unreasonably rich. And his first creation from his newly-formed eponymous company certainly fits the bill. Called the Gemballa Marsien, it is a 551kW love letter to the 1980s 959 Dakar rally car.
French for ‘Martian’, the Marsien takes its name after the Mars-like dunes of the Arabian desert, where some of the car’s development took place. Though it looks out of this world, the Gemballa Marsien is based on the flagship Porsche 911 Turbo S.
What is the Gemballa Marsien?
The Marsien’s space-age shape is the work of Alan Derosier, the designer behind the stunning Porsche 908-04 concept. Unlike Gemballa creations of the past, its 959-inspired body isn’t some fibreglass facsimile.
Instead, Marc Philipp went all out to reclothe its exterior in a full carbon fibre body. For that, the company contracted a “leading German carbon fibre specialist” that supplies OEM sports car manufacturers and several F1 teams with producing the body.
More than just a featherweight body, Marc Philipp keeps up the Gemballa tradition by giving an extra bit of punch. For that, he enlisted the services of Porsche-specialists RUF, who upped the 911 Turbo S’ flat-six turbo engine from 478kW/800Nm to 552kW/930Nm. For starters.
According to Marc Philipp, there is a second stage upgrade for the discerning customer, which brings power up to 610kW. With either option, the engine will come paired with a bespoke titanium exhaust system developed by Akrapovic.
Being a tribute to the 959 Dakar rally car, the Marsien features various tweaks to make it desert-bashing ready. BMC is responsible for designing its air filter that can filter out fine desert dust. Its bespoke suspension features a front double-wishbone setup and an electronically-controlled hydraulic adjustable ride height system, which can raise the body to an overall ground clearance of 250mm.
Like the engine, the Gemballa Marsien will also have optional extras for customers with an adventurous bent. The Marsien can be specified with a Reiger Suspension rally-spec off-road dampers with more suspension travel and ground clearance.
Marc Philipp will even throw in two sets of wheels; one running on road-spec Michelin UHP rubber and another with all-terrain tyres. In case the mood takes you.
The 21st century Gemballa
Only 40 examples of the Gemballa Marsien will be made, each sporting a price tag of €495,000 before options. That is more than double what Porsche asks for the €222,000 911 Turbo S.
As you can expect with these limited-edition creations, there are ready buyers. Already reports state that the first 10 in launch edition trim have been accounted for. Whereas more than half of the remaining builds have been sold.
Marc Philipp doesn’t have anything to do with the legendary company his father built – Gemballa GmbH. However, the Gemballa Marsien looks worlds apart from Uwe’s creations in appearance and philosophy. Where Uwe shocked with the 90’s tuner aesthetics and performance, Marc Philipp charms with futuristic chic and cutting-edge coachbuilding.
If Marc Philipp Gemballa GmbH continues building on the ambition and imagination of the Marsien, we may see the rise of a new and vastly different Gemballa tuner. One that suits the spirit of the new millennium.