Uwe Gemballa’s son launching offroad sports car

Marc Philipp Gemballa, Uwe Gemballa‘s son, has come out of the shadows to announce a new off-road sports car that will debut at same time as the 2020 Geneva Motor Show. A dark teaser image offers a limited first look at the vehicle, which appears to be a custom Porsche with possible hints of the legendary 959 rally car. Just don’t call it a Gemballa, because the old company is its own separate entity.

For Marc, 2020 denotes 10 years since his father’s murder. In the decade that has passed, Uwe’s company Gemballa GmbH was sold and has continued to build tuner cars with a focus on Porsches. In 2019, Gemballa announced plans to build its own supercar and released an initial rendering of what it could look like, but a real prototype has yet to be seen.

Unrelated to Gemballa GmbH, Marc started his own company, Marc Philipp Gemballa GmbH in 2018. After two years of conception and development, he’s ready to show what he’s been working.

Although a single teaser image is the only look at the project thus far, it appears the car will be based on a Porsche 911, as suggested by the single rear light bar. Look closely, and 911-like taillights are outlined, as well, though they appear to have a slightly different design. Furthermore, the wing and the air vents seem to call on styling cues from the old 959 rally car. Marc Philipp Gemballa GmbH says this will be an off-road sports car, so that would make sense. Furthermore, designer on the project Alan Derosier posted the teaser and hashtagged #porsche959, #tribute, and #porsche992. 

The project is said to be completely funded, and some orders have already been placed. Marc partnered with KW Automotive on the suspension, Akrapovic on the exhaust, Michelin and BF Goodrich on the tires, DS Fasertechnik for carbon fiber and VELA performance for the engineering. The press release suggests this type of special project will be the focus of the new company, rather than purely tuning. 

“Marc Philipp sees a new market opportunity arising in creating special vehicles in the ultra-high luxury segment, by breaking it down to the core of his father’s success in creating holistic masterpieces and taking that to the next level combined with a new fresh approach, leaving the era of tuning behind, and ultimately achieving a USP position in the market.” 

Run-on sentences aside, Marc will show his new creation at a private launch event surrounding the Geneva Motor Show. More details to come.

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