After much anticipation, Marc Philipp Gemballa GmbH has finally revealed its tribute to Porsche's iconic 959 Paris-to-Dakar racer that's loved by many.
Revealed as the Marsien, this Porsche starts life as a 911 Turbo S, but undergoes a number of modifications, that leaves it as a high-riding, all-wheel drive, carbon fibre-clad monster.
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Before we dive into the Marsien, it's worth noting that Marc Philipp Gemballa is the son of Uwe Gemballa, and has started a completely different company to the one that his late father used to run.
If you're wondering where the name came from, it's the French word for Martian, because this car was tested in the red sands of the Al Faya desert, a landscape that looks like Mars.
“We felt like as if we were in an entirely different universe,” says Marc Philipp Gemballa. “Since it looked and felt like we were on Mars paired with the futuristic design and the vehicle’s off-road capabilities, we couldn’t think of a more fitting name for our first project.”
Based on a 992 generation 911 Turbo S, the standard 4.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six engine is sent off to RUF for modification. This results in up to 610kW and 930Nm of torque, which is sent to all four wheels through the eight-speed PDK transmission.
When sitting on tarmac-friendly rubber, this Marsien will reportedly make the 0-100km/h sprint in just 2.6 seconds before topping out at 300km/h. When swapped to the all-terrain rubber, this figure would drop, but not by much.
In terms of performance, the Marsien sits on a completely new double-wishbone system that makes use of Cayenne joints for extended driveshafts. It also gets up to 250mm of ground clearance.
On the inside, the Marsien takes inspiration from the Carrera GT with a lifted centre console and carbon fibre accents everywhere. It also gets bucket seats with the company's logo embedded.
In terms of cost, Marc Philipp Gemballa GmbH is going to charge around $900,000 for the conversion alone, and you have to supply the 911 Turbo S on top of this. This brings it into the region of $1.3 million, meaning the plan to build just 40 units makes sense.
