Tuning company Gemballa has been in business since 1981 and is named after their company's late founder, Uwe Gemballa. The brand is known primarily for its striking takes on Porsches, especially the long-running 911 model. As Porsche has diversified its lineup, so has Gemballa, and today kits can be commissioned for everything from the Cayenne to the Panamera.
During their decades-long history of modifying Porsches, Gemballa has had some definite hits and also some very strange misses. The brand tries to tread the line between aggressive, unique styling and just plain ugly, and it's fair to say they've put out a lot of both. Let's take a look at five times where Gemballa did an awesome job and five where the end result was just weird.
10 Awesome: Avalanche 991
Dressed in a custom shade of purple, the Avalanche 991 is a cool reinterpretation of Porsche's (991) 911 model. It takes the sloping, smooth lines of the stock Porsche and adds a heavily aero-inspired package, with extra vents and a huge rear wing.
It's a build reminiscent of Porsche's iconic race cars, especially with the window louvers and wider rear end. The four huge exhausts look a bit incongruous, but nobody buys a Gemballa and expects to blend in.
9 Weird: Mistrale
The Porsche Panamera is a car that divides fans' opinions on its styling even in stock form. This Gemballa rework throws it squarely into the ugly category, with a strange white-on-matt-black paint job giving it an almost unfinished look.
The taillights now blend into the rear bodywork and there's a large Gemballa logo on the back encased in a black surround. It just looks weird, especially with the 5-spoke rims that resemble those on a Hot Wheels toy car.
8 Awesome: GTR 600 BiTurbo
Many would argue Porsche's 996-era 911 wasn't the best looking of cars anyway, so Gemballa has done a good job making the car look faster if not prettier. A redesigned front end and new wheels signify that this 911 isn't just any old Porsche.
The rear of the car is one of Gemballa's more restrained designs, with the large wing looking similar to other tuner's designs such as RWB. As well as looking fast, the GTR 600 has a full suite of mechanical upgrades to ensure it drives as good as it looks. Power is increased to 622hp, which gives the car a maximum speed of 184 mph.
7 Weird: GT Concept
The GT Concept was built for 2017's SEMA show, with the idea of producing a car with hypercar performance in a supercar body. The performance is all there, with a top speed of 224 mph and a 0-60 time of 2.4 seconds.
Unfortunately, the GT Concept doesn't look the part. The wide-body arches with exposed rivets look like a low-effort version of a Pandem kit, and the new spoiler doesn't add much visual excitement either. Part of the appeal of buying a Gemballa is the insane body kits that they make, and without that, the car is just a weirdly fast but forgettable 911.
6 Awesome: 928
Gemballa made several kits for the Porsche 928, but all were visually very similar. The company was still in its early days, with the 928 being one of the first kits that weren't for a 911.
That alone makes it awesome, but even better is the fact that Gemballa managed to make the kit blend in so well with the stock car's body shape. The car looks like the 928 that Porsche never made: a hotter, wider, and all-around upgraded version. Even the ultra-limited 928 SE can't compete.
5 Weird: GTP 720
The strange paint scheme on the GTP 720 is the first issue of many. Another of Gemballa's takes on the Panamera, the 720 wins the prize for some of the worst racing stripes ever put on a car.
There are no real body modifications, which makes the white-and-blue paint job even weirder. The car does have a variety of engine upgrades that make it faster than a regular Panamera, but even with that it's not a car most self-respecting Porsche fans would want to be seen in.
4 Awesome: Mirage GT
Taking the controversial but powerful Carrera GT and giving it a thorough overhaul, the Gemballa Mirage GT is one of their most powerful cars ever. Only 25 examples were ever produced, making this car ultra-rare even among other Carrera GTs.
Unfortunately for Gemballa the model is best known for a high-profile crash in New York, but that doesn't stop the car itself from being awesome. It seems like Carrera GTs get a reputation for crashing no matter whether they're tuned or stock.
3 Weird: Cyrrus
One of Gemballa's earlier Porsche 911 designs, the Cyrrus sports side strakes similar to a Ferrari Testarossa and a nose inspired by the iconic Flatnose 911s. The wheels of the car have paint-colored centers, a feature common on Mercedes cars of the era such as the SL.
A car with this many influences is always going to find it difficult to look coherent, and the Cyrrus just doesn't get it right. It's got too much going on from too many different cars, and it ends up more confusing than cool.
2 Awesome: Avalanche 4x4
Gemballa's latest release is the Avalanche 4x4, based on a heavily modified 911. The car only exists as a render at the moment, but Gemballa say they plan to put the car into production soon.
Porsche have a history with off-road 911s, with Safari-style conversions being very highly sought after among enthusiasts. The Avalanche 4x4 looks even more extreme than a Safari, so if Gemballa can keep the production version looking like the render, they'll have a surefire winner on their hands.
1 Weird: Tornado 750 GTS
The Tornado 750 GTS is based on the 2009 Porsche Cayenne, and there's one word for it: hideous. It takes all the worst aspects of Gemballa's design and sticks them on a tall SUV that never looked sporty, to begin with.
The 750 GTS does have the one saving grace of being extremely rare, so thankfully most car enthusiasts will never have to lay eyes on one. With its overblown vents and bulbous proportions, that's definitely for the best.