The renowned Porsche tuner Gemballa revealed their line of accessories for the Porsche Carrera GT. The package is named Mirage GT and includes everything a Carrera GT owner, who would like to make his or her car unique, could wish for.

Gemballa Aerodynamics

Front skirt Mirage GT
Front spoiler Lip Carbon Black
Front bonnet with naca outlet
Front fender sideparts (A-frame area)
Side skirts with air intakes with Gemballa Mirage GT Logos
Rear skirt with air outtakes with Gemballa Mirage GT Logos
Rear skirt Diffusor middle adapter with integrated reverse light and fog light
Rear spoiler with integrated wing
Rear exhaust Cover with larger air outtake and spoiler edges
Roof air intake with direct connection to the engine in conjunction with Targa roof concept
Gemballa Engine

30-40 bhp power increase
Exhaust system with 4 tailpipes in special alloy design
Gemballa Wheelset

Wheel set Gemballa GT Sport 19“ / 20“
Front: 9,5 x 19“ tires 265/35 ZR19
Rear: 12,5 x 20“ tires 335/30 ZR20
Gemballa Interior

New middle console with integrated stereo system, 6.5“ screen and touchscreen info-system
Carbon frame in center middle console with logo Gemballa Mirage GT No. XXX
Carbon frame blends in the front dashpanel section L / R
Dashpanel front blends around the front windshield in Alcantara
Shiftknob in carbon
Silver inlets in the doors L / R covered in Alcantara
Door openers painted black
340 mm Steering Wheel, leather, grip area L / R in Alcantara
Door logos Mirage GT
Airbag covers in Alcantara
Roof covers in Alcantara
Gemballa Exterior Options

Additional driving lights
Rear view camera system
Mash grills of engine bonnet and rear skirt colored black
Tailpipes plasma coated
Complete color change
Design exterior carbon package
Gemballa Interior Options

Carbon seatblends upper section L / R
Leather interior bicolor

Most car enthusiasts would be happy with a standard Ferrari or Porsche. But in the rarefied stratosphere of the ultra wealthy, exclusivity is everything. The fact that someone else might turn up at the golf club in the same car is a turn-off, or a good reason to call on an aftermarket tuner for a healthy dose of bespoke fettling.

Uwe Gemballa has been personalising Porsche cars for 28 years, and his ultimate dream is to make a complete supercar of his own. However, as the costs involved in that have been known to swallow the GDP of a small country, Uwe is content to base his creations on the superb sports cars created in nearby Zuffenhausen.

From the outset, Gemballa’s cars have been based on the Porsche 911 platform, so when Porsche announced the Carrera GT, Uwe got very excited indeed. Using a 612bhp V10-engined, carbon-fibre, mid-engined 21st century supercar that will do 200mph out of the box as the basis for your offering is every tuners dream.

Uwe has a huge customer bank accumulated over nearly three decades. Whether successful businessmen or princes, all his clients have one thing in common, they are dyed-in-the-wool car enthusiasts. More than that, many are so pleased with the statement of individuality a Gemballa car makes for them that they keep coming back for more.

Firm orders
When Uwe first mooted the idea of the new Mirage, reviving the name of one of his wildest late-1980s 911 Turbo-based creations, he sent a few images of this proposed Carrera GT based car to his regular clients.

The response was overwhelmingly positive, and 10 firm orders were taken within six months, with the first customer to place a deposit even willing to send his white Carrera GT from Dubai to be the development car.

We charted the progress of this car from the day it arrived at his workshop back in January to its final roll out in early October.

With its white paint cutting a sharp contrast to the cloudless blue sky on this warm autumn day in Stuttgart, we can imagine how amazing it will look against the backdrop of Dubai.

Its new carbon-fibre front splitter, side skirts and adjustable rear wing mean the Mirage GT looks like it was born to race, and the modified roof profile with its working engine intake air scoop smoothes out the rather abrupt rear roofline of the standard Carrera GT, making a positive contribution to the car's styling.

Not just styling
Uwe is proud of the fact that all his aerodynamics parts were developed in the rolling-road wind-tunnel at Stuttgart University, and the resulting numbers relate to a simulated 155mph. This is no mere styling exercise.

The front lip is secured in one of three positions with eight screws and has a 30mm range of adjustment. In its furthest forward position, it contributes 25kg of downforce to rebalance 35 to 85kg of downforce provided by the adjustable rear wing in its most aggressive setting as recommended for the racetrack.

The roof scoop required some clever re-engineering of the engine cover, which now hinges from the rear, and of the detachable roof panels, which have been given a new quick release system. One of the few options you can order from Gemballa is the rear reversing camera neatly incorporated into an aerodynamic housing on top of the roof.

Keeping it cool
The roof intake is just one aspect of the engine breathing and cooling issue. Up front, the new bonnet panel has a big vent in its leading edge that exhausts the ram air that is drawn in through the huge under-bumper intakes and then blown over the massive radiator. This has aerodynamic as well as cooling benefits.

Keeping the engine bay well ventilated has been something of a crusade for Uwe in recent years, especially with his turbocharged cars. The same principles are applied to cooling the engine bay of the Mirage GT, and the extra rear grilles in the new rear bumper and engine cover as well as the mesh grille around the exhausts deliver significantly more cooling airflow for the engine bay.

A new rear exhaust system reduces back-pressure and exits through four rather than the standard two pipes. The ECU is reprogrammed to make full use of the enhanced intake and exhaust flow. The result is a claimed power hike of 68bhp from the standard 612bhp to an impressive 680bhp.

Filling the arches
Gemballa even went to the trouble of making new lightweight forged alloys. Like the factory wheels these are also five-spoke centre-lock 9.5J x 19 and 12.5J x 20-inch and use the standard 265/35ZR19 and 335/30ZR20 Michelin Pilot tyres. But with 10mm more offset, they fill out the arches more convincingly, giving the car a more purposeful stance in the process.

Apart from a full leather re-trim and carbon-fibre details, Gemballa modified the dashboard and centre console to incorporate a state-of-the-art widescreen DVD driven satnav system and data centre. The latter is connected to sensors that allow you to measure acceleration, braking and cornering g as well as lap times.

On the road
On the road, the Mirage GT really turns heads. Despite the fact that people in this area are used to seeing factory Carrera GTs as well as the tuned Porsches from Gemballa, TechArt and SpeedArt, all of whom are based nearby.

As we cruise the streets, we note the civilised ride, which is no different from standard and the near normal exhaust note, which only comes alive when you gun the throttle.

Full chat on-track
The real differences become apparent when we reach the Malmsheim test track and can give the car its head in safety. On full chat down the runway, the Gemballa exhaust gives off a fruitier note, a touch more bass in the low-end and a touch more scream at the top.

The 10 per cent more power is more apparent in the upper rev band where the engine’s already lusty charge to the redline becomes stronger and even more incisive. Without reference to the standard car though, it feels so smooth and progressive you would think that it was meant to be like this. In essence, Gemballa has given the motor bigger lungs.

What is more obvious however, is the extra downforce at speed. There is not much wrong with the standard car in this respect, but in fast cornering, the Mirage feels that extra bit more planted, especially at the rear.

Unless you live near an Autobahn or a racetrack, the modest technical improvements that the Mirage showcases will be largely irrelevant, but the head-turning looks alone are worth the entry price, which by the way can add up to nearly the cost of a standard Carrera GT.

Porsche's aborted GT?
Porsche admitted some years ago that the concept for the Carrera GT came from its aborted GT racer, funding for which was diverted to the Cayenne programme.

So, in creating the Mirage GT, maybe Gemballa has given enthusiasts an even more exclusive supercar and a glimpse of what Porsche’s Le Mans sports car might have looked like.

And if you have to ask the price...

Around 1500 of Porsche's prestige product, the Carrera GT, have been built, all of which have now been sold. Owners worried about the individuality of their vehicle, in spite of its rareness, would be well-advised to make an appointment with GEMBALLA. Thanks to its expertise, as the only Porsche tuner GEMBALLA has comprehensively modified the high-tech car from Weissach, while at the same time adding an individual touch. In addition, performance addicts can obtain even more of what they want. The spectacular end product answers to the name of GEMBALLA Mirage GT and outshines its production-line counterpart in every respect.

The Carrera GT engine is a dream. A meaty 5.7-litre V10 boasting 612 horsepower. What more could one want? More power of course! GEMBALLA operates on the same principle as racing drivers: "You can never have too much power". By modifying the engine management electronics, GEMBALLA has been able to squeeze out a further 60 bhp of power and 20 Nm more torque for the V10, slicing off 0.1 seconds off the time it takes to go from 0 to 100 km/h. The added performance has also been aided by a new, fully stainless steel exhaust system that now resounds through four tail pipes instead of the standard two. GEMBALLA has positioned the two extra tail pipes where the reverse and fog warning lamps used to be. The tuning specialist has relocated the two lamps to beneath the rear diffuser.

Complete racing look

With the GEMBALLA BODY-CONCEPT, the Mirage GT looks like it is planning to enter the Le Mans 24-hour race. The most conspicuous change to the front are the additional air intakes on the new front spoiler. In addition, GEMBALLA embellished the component with a spoiler lip. The bonnet has also been replaced. In the area between the wheel housing and door GEMBALLA has replaced the standard side panels with its own mudguards, with reshaped openings which blend harmoniously with the original design. Down below, new side skirts lend the vehicle a muscular line. They also come with a cooling vent for the breaks at the rear. One thing is certain! The racing look is enhanced by the new rear skirt, with its aerodynamically optimised mid section for more downforce on the rear axle.

The lion's share of the extra downforce over the production-line vehicle is due to the mighty GEMBALLA rear wing that adorns the rear of the car. For better slowing, it comes with an brake-flap in the middle - like the kind seen on the Bugatti Veyron - which snaps up when the brakes are applied. The roof line of the GEMBALLA Mirage GT also starkly differs from the standard Carrera GT. The front section of an airbox has been integrated into the new GEMBALLA hardtop. This ends in an air duct that runs along the back of the tailgate installed by GEMBALLA and supplies the power-enhanced V10-engine with more air to breathe.

With the GEMBALLA body kit, the Mirage GT fits perfectly into the starting line-up of any FIA-GT race. Not least also because of the materials used by GEMBALLA - all parts of the body of the Mirage GT are made of carbon fibre; a material common in the world of racing.

The GEMBALLA Mirage GT also sports a high-tech pair of "shoes". GEMBALLA fits the three-part rims, with their fully-milled spoke wheel centre front (9.5 x 19½) and back (12.5 x 20"). Excellent road holding is guaranteed on the front axle by 265-35 R 19 tyres and on the rear axle by 335-30 R 20 tyres.

The motor sports look created on the outside thanks to the carbon components is resumed in the interior. GEMBALLA has restyled the central console, which likewise consists of this high-grade material. This is joined by countless other carbon components, such as, for example, the door cladding. GEMBALLA has also integrated a multimedia touch-screen information system into the central console. In addition, the passengers' senses of sight, smell and touch are also spoilt by the finest leather and luxury carpets. The modified steering wheel allows the driver to keep a strong grip on the reins of the GEMBALLA Mirage GT.

The Mirage GT is an impressive example of GEMBALLA's capability, and represents high-end tuning at its best. The cost of the comprehensive conversion, which can only be carried out by GEMBALLA, starts from EUR 229,800.