marc philipp gemballa’s off-road supercar MARSIEN has aluminum wheels with 24-carat gold

marc philipp gemballa’s on- and off-road supercar, MARSIEN

Marc Philipp Gemballa GmbH has produced and released the real-life models of its on- and off-road supercar, MARSIEN. Limited only to 40 units, each of which has already sold out during its 2021 launch, the supercar is all-terrain capable. It has a carbon-fiber exterior and is backed by forged aluminum wheels that come with caps made of 24-carat gold and a G crest. There are two sets of wheels. The first uses Michelin Ultra High Performance (UHP) tires for grip and handling on paved roads.

The other, the one for off-road, employs Grabber AT 3 All Terrain tires suitable for rough and unpaved surfaces. Both of these sets have 24-carat gold caps for a touch of luxury. If the owners wish, they can choose a tailored Lightweight GT wheel set, which is more focused on road performance and on-paved surfaces. They come in a triple-layer pearlescent white to match the prototype’s exterior color, while the off-road wheel set of the same variant is finished in a deep navy-blue matte.

all images courtesy of Marc Philipp Gemballa GmbH

Carbon fiber parts in both exterior and interior

Marc Philipp Gemballa’s on- and off-road supercar has a carbon fiber exterior to increase its road performance and reduce its overall weight. The outside is made up of more than 85 separate carbon fiber parts, including the air channels, wing mirrors, wheel arch liners, and a large rear panel that extends from the front of the car to the rear wing. The design team says that using carbon fiber makes the car 50 kilograms lighter than the standard Porsche 992 Turbo S, which can then improve its performance. The carbon fiber parts are also made by top German specialists who also work with major car manufacturers and Formula One teams.

The entire exterior can be in exposed carbon fiber should the owners want, and the exposed part can be finished in either gloss or matte (there’s an option for a tinted carbon finish, too). The first releases involve a tailored blue paint for the exterior’s colorway. It has four layers and tiny metallic flakes in it so that the color changes depending on how the light hits the on- and off-road supercar and from what angle passersby look at it. This shade of blue was inspired by the ice caps on Mars, thus the name MARSIEN Glacier Blue as a reference to the icy look of the planet.

Marc Philipp Gemballa GmbH has released the on- and off-road supercar, MARSIEN

Custom interior design with badges finished in 24-carat gold

Stepping inside MARSIEN, the center console has a gear stick made of aluminum, inspired by the classic CGT car. This can make driving Marc Philipp Gemballa’s on- and off-road supercar feel sporty and old-school. Owners can also choose materials for the gear knob, such as carbon fiber, mahogany wood, leather, or Alcantara. As part of a special options program, they can also add more carbon fiber elements inside the car as well as a roll bar behind the seats.

The latter can be painted any color or covered in leather, Alcantara, or carbon fiber. Each car has a metal badge in the center console with its unique production number, indicating it’s part of a limited series. For the first models, a navy blue Alcantara interior with ice blue stitching, seat belts, door handles, and instrument dials shows up, matching the MARSIEN Glacier Blue exterior paint. All badges and model names inside this car are finished in 24-carat gold.

the vehicle is limited to only 40 units, each of which has already sold out during its 2021 launch

Engineers who have worked on cars for famous races like the 24 Hours of Le Mans helped develop the on- and off-road supercar MARSIEN. In fact, this recent Marc Philipp Gemballa model features 422 specially made parts, including its double-wishbone suspension, a type of advanced suspension system; a titanium exhaust system; and custom tail lights and wiring unique to this vehicle. Designing and engineering these parts took thousands of hours, including rigorous testing where the supercar underwent bulletproof tests to ensure its strength and safety.

MARSIEN was also subjected to extensive testing to get road approval. The design team put it into cold-condition testing in Scandinavia at -20°C to see if it could survive extreme weather conditions. They also drove it up a glacier in Sölden, Austria and covered 3,000 km on the Nordschleife race track in Germany. Then, they tested it in the United Arab Emirates desert at temperatures over 50°C to check its resistance to heat. While testing in the Al-Faya desert in Sharjah, the team found the landscape and red sand reminded them of Mars. The car’s ability to handle extreme conditions led them to name it ‘MARSIEN,’ inspired by the French word ‘Martian,’ meaning ‘from Mars.’

the supercar has a carbon-fiber exterior and is backed by forged aluminum wheels