Marc Philipp Gemballa has created a new supercar segment with the Marsien, delivering the ultimate driving experience for on- and off-road use. The series production of the limited-edition Marsien by Marc Philipp Gemballa GmbH (not associated in any form with Gemballa GmbH) is running at full speed. The supercar, limited to just 40 units, is being delivered to clients in more than sixteen countries around the globe. The Marsien is all-terrain capable, suitable for everyday use, technology-focused, and futuristic in an appearance, designed by French Porsche aficionado Alan Derosier. It embodies the entrepreneur’s vision of creating holistic and timeless masterpieces that tell a story and go far beyond the scope of the traditional tuning business.
Highlights
- Series production of the Marsien, limited to just 40 pieces, is running at full speed
- All Marsien sold out at launch and will be delivered to their owners in more than 16 countries around the globe
- Countless test drives on the Nordschleife, in the Arabian desert, as well as on the glaciers of Sölden and Scandinavia have been carried out
- More than 422 new individual components have been developed in thousands of engineering hours with industry-leading partners
- Inspired by the legendary Paris Dakar rally era and launched in 2021, Marsien created a completely new segment of all-terrain capable supercars, enabling the ultimate driving experience for both on- and off-road use
Built and tested at extreme limits
Legendary engineers who have made vehicles competition-ready for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and other races were involved in the development of the Marsien and the 422 specially developed components from bespoke double wishbone suspension, titanium exhaust system, along with own taillights, wiring loom, which took several thousand hours of engineering and design. The Marsien’s full carbon fiber body consisting of more than 80 single carbon fiber components that mastered bullet tests, the homologation of the taillights and the vehicle as a whole, to only name a few major tests passed in the process of gaining road approval.
In order to put Marsien through its paces, Marc Philipp Gemballa and his team traveled to Scandinavia, where it was -20 degrees Celsius, drove up the glacier in Sölden, Austria, and covered 3,000 km on the Nordschleife as part of the industry pool drives for homologation. The sizzling desert in the United Arab Emirates with temperatures in excess of 50 degrees Celsius was also part of the rigorous testing. It was there, in the Al-Faya desert in the Emirate of Sharjah, that the name Marsien was born. The red desert sand, combined with the unparalleled mountain landscape, took the test team’s breath away. “We felt like we were on Mars,” Marc Philipp Gemballa recalls. The surroundings were reminiscent of the red planet, and the conditions on-site made the supercar feel right at home – after all, it was made precisely for such extreme conditions. Hence the name Marsien, derived from the French word “Martian” or “from Mars”.
Advanced Suspension Design
As one of the key technological highlights, Marsien features a completely bespoke double wishbone suspension setup developed by the engineers responsible for countless rally, GT and special series’ suspensions. The suspension system, consisting of more than 30 individual components milled from solid aluminum, implements extensive changes to the chassis of the base vehicle and is equipped with KW Automotive solid piston damper technology featuring an intelligent active damper control as well as an adjustable ride height system for on and off-road use. As part of the special options program, the suspension components can be anodized in gold according to the client’s wishes.
The Marsien’s adjustable ride height system enables an electronically controlled hydraulic lift system to increase the ground clearance to an unprecedented 250 mm. This enables the Marsien to deliver the ultimate on- and off-road driving experience, performing in terrain that no other supercar can dream of.
An automatic tire pressure system has been integrated into the frunk of the Marsien, allowing the driver to adjust the tire pressure to the requirements of any given terrain on the go by inflating or deflating the tire and enhancing the off-road performance.
Bespoke Aluminum Wheels
For perfect driving conditions both on- and off-road, the Marsien comes with two specially designed forged aluminum wheel sets with center locking system, running on Michelin Ultra High Performance (UHP) tires for on-road and Grabber AT 3 All Terrain tires for off-road use. Optionally, clients can specify their Marsien with an even more road-focused Lightweight GT wheel set, further enhancing on-road performance. The Lightweight GT wheel set of the launch vehicle has been painted in a triple-layer pearlescent white reminiscent of the exterior launch color of the Marsien prototype specification, while the off-road wheel set has been painted in a deep navy-blue matte finish. Both wheel sets are equipped with wheel caps in 24-carat gold featuring the G crest.
Carbon Fiber Exterior
The Marsien features a complete carbon fiber exterior consisting of more than 85 individual carbon fiber components, including air channels, wing mirrors, wheel arch liners, and a rear panel that reaches all the way from the A-pillar to the rear wing. The Marsien exterior has been exclusively designed for performance, lightweight, and cooling and achieves a total weight reduction of 50 kilograms compared to the standard Porsche 992 Turbo S base vehicle. Each body panel is manufactured by leading German carbon fiber specialists who also supply leading OEMs, sportscar manufacturers, and several Formula One teams.
Marsien owners can specify the contrast elements of the exterior, such as the lower front splitter, side skirts, wing mirrors, air channels, and the exhaust frame and rear diffuser, in exposed carbon fiber as part of the special options program. For those who like to go further, there is also the option to have a fully exposed carbon fiber exterior. All exposed carbon fiber components can be specified in gloss or matte and optionally in tinted carbon finish.
Extraordinary Paintwork
The exterior paintwork is applied by a state-of-the-art and certified paint studio that can fulfill the most daring customer color requests. For the specification of the series launch vehicle, an elaborate one-off four-layer blue pearlescent exterior color with special metallic flakes has been created, which changes the color of the vehicle according to the direction of the light and angle of view. The color requires extensive bodywork preparation and was inspired by the polar caps on Mars, so it has been named Marsien Glacier Blue.
Rear Lights
The Marsien rear design features a completely bespoke rear light that has been developed in collaboration with light specialist GERG Lighthouse. The manufacturing technology for the Marsien’s rear light has also been utilized for the European missile defense system Meteor and represents an integral part of the iconic design of the Marsien.
Making dreams come true
The interior of the Marsien also features several specifically designed elements. The center console has been lifted and equipped with an aluminum gear stick inspired by the legendary CGT, allowing for a sportier, more analog driving experience. It can be optionally fitted with a gear knob in carbon or mahogany instead of leather or Alcantara. As part of the special options program, clients can specify the carbon fiber interior package, adding further exposed carbon fiber elements to the driver’s cabin. Furthermore, clients have the option to add a club sport roll bar behind the seats of their Marsien that can be painted in color of choice, or finished in leather, Alcantara, or exposed carbon fiber. Finally, the metal badge displaying the individual production number of the limited series of just 40 pieces is embedded in the center console – lending a special touch to the cabin.
The interior specification of the launch vehicle has been finished in a navy blue Alcantara combined with interior accent elements in ice blue for the stitching, seat belts, door lashes, and instrument dials matching the Marsien Glacier Blue exterior paint. Matching the navy blue Alcantara, the interior is equipped with carbon fiber accents as well as an exposed carbon fiber roll bar finished in tinted blue. All badges and model designations have been finished in 24-carat gold on the launch vehicle specification.
Industry Partnerships
Besides the technological partnership with suspension specialist KW Automotive for the damper system, Marc Philipp Gemballa teamed up with other renown industry-leading partners.
The engine upgrade powered by RUF enables the six-cylinder boxer engine to deliver over 750 horsepower and 930 Newton meters of torque. For clients that are looking for even more power, there is a second-stage power upgrade that takes the horsepower up to 830 with enhanced VTG turbochargers and a revised ECU mapping and transmission setting.
BMC, the air filter specialist based in Italy, has developed special engine air filters that are specifically for dusty desert conditions. While protecting the engine from dust and foreign particles, it maintains a sufficient flow of fresh air to allow the engine to work optimally.
For the Marsien sound, Marc Philipp Gemballa partnered with the leading performance exhaust manufacturer Akrapovič to exclusively develop an entirely new titanium exhaust system for the Marsien, focusing on a bespoke sound experience, lightweight and further increasing the power output of the upgraded RUF boxer engine.
Every Marsien IS ONE-OF-ONE
Every Marsien is a unique piece, a true one-of-one, designed and built to each client’s dream specification. Marsien is meticulously crafted down to the last detail, even the most daring client wishes can be realized, from creating a one-off exterior color that could be matched to their partners favorite handbag, badges and model designation finished in 24k gold, bespoke interiors with the finest selection of materials to a fully exposed carbon fiber exterior that could even be specified in a tinted carbon finish. Each Marsien owner has made extensive use of the special options program ensuring to create their very own one-of-one Marsien.
Above content © 2024 Marc Phillipp Gemballa reviewed and edited by Rex McAfee
