When it comes to companies that take already quick cars and make them faster, they can be broadly separated into two camps — those that festoon the vehicle’s exterior in look-at-me carbon fibre and force a larger turbocharger into the engine bay; and those that take the car to the track and race it in competition, developing new parts and making improvements based on real-life data, driving behaviour and seeking to shave second after second off lap times.
And while many Gemballa cars can look very wild upon first glance, they are a company firmly based in the latter camp. The new GT Concept is a case in point.
Its carbon fibre exterior is there for improving aerodynamics, lowering the car’s centre of gravity and cutting weight. And that’s because the company has taken the car’s 3.8-litre flat-six twin-turbo engine and completely rebuilt it so that now it outputs 828hp instead of 540hp and serves up an astonishing 952Nm of torque (up from 660Nm).
So now the car is a full second faster off the mark — 0-100km/h in 2.38 seconds, but can keep on going right up to 360km/h and beyond, whereas the standard 911 tops out at 318km/h.
Such huge increases can end in tears unless the rest of the car can cope with the power. So its fenders have been widened to accommodate bigger, grippier tyres, there’s an adjustable rear wing for generating downforce and holding the car on the road at higher speeds and, because it was born out of track experience, the chassi and suspension set up are fully adjustable to suit the owner’s driving style or the unique demands of a particular circuit.
But best of all, Gemballa can offer the car as a completed vehicle or simply offer the individual upgrades that a customer may want, be it the aerodynamics package, the engine, or the wheels, tyres and uprated brakes.
The full package will cost from €86,280 (roughly $100,000) plus taxes, shipping costs and, of course the price of a donor car, the €176,930 ($161,800) Porsche 911 Turbo.