2012 McLaren MP4-12C by Gemballa Racing Team

After an eventful 2010 year that saw their founder kidnapped and killed in South Africa, 2011 has been a relatively quiet year for German tuning company, Gemballa.

The new brass over at Gemballa is determined to turn over a new leaf and investor, Steffen Korbach, is initiating a new chapter in the company’s history by starting a new Gemballa racing team that hopes to begin competing in the 2012 motor racing season. With a new team in hand, Korbach wanted a car that can be competitive from the get-go and they seemed to have found it in a pair of McLaren MP4-12C GT3 models.

"We deliberately went for the McLaren MP4-12C GT3 for our motor sport commitment, because we think the car has enormous potential to be among the season’s leaders," Korbach said.

Powered by the same 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 engine found on the production version, the MP4-12C GT3 comes with a de-tuned output of only 500 horsepower at a limited 7,500rpm. The engine is then mounted to the car’s carbon fiber MonoCell chassis and tuned to racing specifications.

In addition to scoring a pair of MP4-12C GT3s, Korbach also tapped race vet, Sascha Bert, to serve as team manager with the names of prospective drivers scheduled to be announced soon.

UPDATE 12/27/12: The Gemballa Racing Team McLaren MP4-12C is now on sale for an "affordable" price of just €350,000, which is around $460,000 based on current exchange rates.