Gemballa Teases First Bespoke Supercar With Over 800 HP

Ever since it was founded in 1981, Gemballa specialized in modifying vehicles built by other manufacturers, mostly Porsche, and has made a fine name for itself as one of Germany’s leading tuners.

Well, perhaps “tuner” isn’t the right word, as since 1985, it has been being recognized as a bona fide car manufacturer by the German Motor Vehicles Authority.

Despite that, Gemballa has yet to build a standalone vehicle of its own – but that is about to change. The company has just announced plans to build its own supercar, the first in its 38-year history.

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To make that possible, it is opening up for new investors for the first time since 2010 when it was acquired by current owner Steffen Korbach and other investors in the wake of founder Uwe Gemballa’s death.

Since 2010, the company has received investments of over €15 million ($16.9 million) that have been used for the relaunch and new tuning projects. With further investments of €20 million ($22.5 million) at its disposal, Gemballa is now planning its own, bespoke car that will not be based on anything else.

The first design sketch of Gemballa’s standalone supercar

“We’re planning a thoroughbred super sports car with a unique, aggressive design and engine power considerably over 800 bhp,” says Steffen Korbach, owner and managing director of Gemballa. “As part of this, we’d like to reference the existing Gemballa legends, and implement a range of innovative concepts. You can expect an uncompromising vehicle, radical, pure and luxurious,” the executive adds.

The announcement is accompanied by a sketch of the upcoming supercar that features a mid-engine layout. It looks really spectacular but, then again, most sketches do, so we’ll reserve final judgement until we see the finished item. The launch of Gemballa’s first supercar will also mark the reinvention of the company into a standalone small production run manufacturer that will also be “an exclusive modification company for extreme, complete conversions of Porsche cars.”

Gemballa says the first designs will be presented to selected clients soon, with the first prototype to be built as early as 2020. If all goes well, production of the supercar will start in 2022. The company will fund the project through private equity and venture capital companies, and says that concrete discussions “already underway.”

Note: Gemballa Mirage GT pictured in the gallery below