In the 30 years that Gemballa was active in the car tuning scene, they belonged to the upper-echelon of tuning houses producing some of the most memorable modified cars in the world. They specialized in Ferraris and Porsches with their most recent project being the Gemballa MIG-U1 based off the Ferrari Enzo. Their history is speckled with automotive notable such as the Mirage GT and the Gemballa Avalanche GTR800 EVO-R. With this history in mind, it pains us to say that the company has finally closed up shop - permanently - after the wife of the still-missing company founder, Uwe Gemballa, hired a law firm to file for bankruptcy.
Things turned sour for Gemballa when the 54-year old founder of one of the then biggest specialists in the tuning business went missing last February. Any and all efforts in finding him were all futile and the last form of communication established was a conversation between Uwe and his son where the father asked his son to transfer an significant amount of money to Uwe. There’s still no word as to where Uwe is and what he’s up to, but it seems that his absence - or maybe even before that - pretty much spelled doom to his once-popular tuning company.
Gemballa has definitely made a name for itself when it comes to tuning a remarkable vehicle like the Porsche Carrera GT or the Porsche 970 Panamera. In fact, they have been doing so for the past 27 years and will probably continue to do so for another 27 more. What is absolutely remarkable about this company is not its ability to tune a Porsche—we know they can do that—it’s their ability to do anything else on top of it. Take, for example, this Gemballa MIG-U1 based Ferrari Enzo. This car is currently on sale on Jameslist.com by The Car Experience. It has a gasoline-powered V12 engine with a semi-automatic gearbox producing 700hp. It makes the 0-60 sprint in 3.2 seconds and has a top speed of 218mph. Only 25 of these super-tuned, highly erotic vehicles were produced, each with a unique individualized style.
The Gemballa MIG-U1 based Ferrari Enzo features a front skirt that has a spoiler lip adding 77lbs of additional downforce, door extensions to the diffuser and rear spoiler, a rear flap that lowers itself at speeds of 75mph, and an optional electro-hydraulic height adjustment that can lift the car up by 1.7 inches is available. The car that is currently on sale is white with a red and black interior and only has about 13 miles on it. The price is only available upon request, but after taking a look around, we found Ferrari Enzos at a price range of $1.1-1.8million (US). Of course, those weren’t tuned by Gemballa.
Reports of Uwe Gemballa’s mysterious disappearance in South Africa has turned out to be premature. But while we’re glad to know that Gemballa is probably still alive, his tuning company, Gemballa, may not be as fortunate.
According to Cars UK, Gemballa didn’t exactly ’disappear’ when he went to Johannesburg. Turns out, he might be hiding from German authorities. While there’s no definite word on why Gemballa fled out of the Germany, reports have it that German officials raided and effectively closed down his tuning facility, resulting in all the cars in the plant to be impounded.
As a result, all the owners with cars inside would have to show definitive proof that they own those cars for them to have any chance of reclaiming their belongings.
Like we said, we don’t know the reason why Uwe Gemballa decided to fall off the grid, but if the latest happenings involving his tuning his house has any merit, then he – and his company, for that matter - might be in some deep trouble. Keep checking back here for more updates regarding this rather perplexing turn of events.
Here at Topspeed, we like to make jokes as much as the next guy, but sometimes, we’re met with some pretty distressing news that, quite frankly, if joked about, would makes us look totally classless and insensitive.
That being said, in all seriousness, we got pretty bummed out when we heard the news that Uwe Gemballa, the founder and big boss of the popular Porsche tuner, Gemballa, has been reported missing.
According to a number reports, Gemballa was found missing during the 51-year olds trip to South Africa. There’s no confirmed location as to where he disappeared but the prevailing opinion is that the Gemballa fell off the grid while he was in Johannesburg, which, incidentally, is one of the most notoriously dangerous cities in the world known for its stratospheric crime rate.
For their part, German investigators have been working with local authorities in South Africa to find Gemballa and bring him back to safety.
Our thoughts are with his family as they try to cope with this pretty distressing news and we hope for the safe return of Uwe Gemballa.
When we hear the world Gemballa thoughts of highly modified Porsche Cayennes and super tuned Carrera GTs, however it comes at no surprise that this Gundam winged Ferrari Enzo super car comes from the same stable as Tornados and Mirages. The Gemballa MIG-U1 will be limited to only 25 units, every single one of them being individually adjusted.
Gemballa is remaining a bit tight lipped about the specifics surrounding the MIG U1 and won’t reveal any of the tuned super car’s official details until the invitation only launch in Dubai. The kit looks like it started as a take on Ferrari’s FXX program and then morphed into something more reminiscent of a stealth bomber with its pronounced wing and assortment of scoops all covered in a coat of Championship White. On the inside, the Enzo’s business only attitude has been given a bit of a plush makeover with special quilted red Alcantara covering the seats, steering wheel and interior trim as well as an in dash LCD screen to control the MIG’s in car entertainment system. Once again the German tuner has shown us their ability to take an already attractive high performance machine and completely transform it into something unrecognizably out of this world.
Updated 01/14/10: Thanks to an optimized engine management and a specially tuned exhaust system, the 6.5 Liter Ferrari V12 now develops a maximum output of 700 HP. Meanwhile Gemballa revealed all the highly modified Enzo’s possible exterior colors. Check out the gallery to see them all.
Press release after the jump.
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