The Marsien by Marc Philipp Gemballa: RUF-Powered, Desert-Bred, and Unlike Any 911 on Earth
The Marc Philipp Gemballa Marsien is not merely a modified Porsche. It’s an entirely new species—one bred from the apex predator that is the 911 Turbo S, but surgically engineered to become something more extreme, more capable, and more conceptually daring than anything Porsche itself would dare release. This is not a nod to nostalgia, nor is it a flashy one-off. The Marsien is a production-ready, TÜV-certified, 40-unit run of what might just be the most versatile and radical 911 ever made. It fuses RUF’s performance legacy, Formula 1-caliber materials, WRC-inspired suspension geometry, and the raw intent of Paris-Dakar monsters from the 1980s—all wrapped in carbon and delivered in a silhouette that looks equal parts fighter jet and sculpture. It is not a car that plays by the rules of its donor platform. It breaks them, burns them, and replaces them with its own set entirely.
Design and Materials: Carbon Clarity and a Purpose-Built Presence
Every surface of the Marsien tells you it's not from here. Its body is shaped not for beauty alone but for resilience, performance, and aerodynamic efficiency, with each panel crafted from lightweight carbon fiber produced by a supplier trusted by five Formula One teams. This isn’t marketing gloss—this is aerospace-grade compositing with real motorsport lineage. The Marsien ditches every original exterior panel of the Porsche 911 Turbo S donor, opting instead for a completely new body that strikes a balance between brutalism and sculpture. The widened arches are not just stylistic flourishes—they house bespoke suspension geometry and allow clearance for massive all-terrain tires. The rear borrows inspiration from the legendary Porsche 959, but filtered through a modernized, almost sci-fi lens. Its taillight strip glows like a data-stream, bookended by a recontoured bumper and an integrated diffuser. Up front, the nose is sharpened and more angular than its Porsche origin would suggest, with deep aero channels and a front-mounted radiator hidden beneath an aggressive duct. Wing mirrors, door handles, even the latches—every component is bespoke. Not rebranded, not lightly altered—bespoke.
Chassis and Suspension: Built for a Battle Porsche Never Fought
Arguably the greatest deviation from the standard 911 Turbo S lies beneath the Marsien’s skin. The car rides on a completely re-engineered suspension system developed in collaboration with KW Automotive. This isn’t just a lifted setup—it’s a dual-purpose, rally-grade arrangement capable of adjusting ride height from 120mm to 250mm at the push of a button. That upper limit gives the Marsien nearly as much ground clearance as a full-size SUV, but with the poise and balance of a high-performance grand tourer. For clients who prioritize off-road capability above all else, there’s a fixed-height, long-travel rally suspension option created with Rieger, featuring double wishbones and revised articulation angles designed to handle punishing terrain. Cayenne-derived knuckles were integrated into the modified driveshaft system to ensure proper movement range, and bespoke uprights were engineered to cope with the increased lateral and vertical loads. The underbody is armored with a flat, aircraft-grade aluminum skid plate that runs nearly the length of the car, ensuring critical components are protected even in brutal desert conditions. This is no soft-roader with a spoiler—it’s a rally-weapon disguised as an exotic.
Powertrain: RUF Brawn Meets Turbo S Precision
At the core of the Marsien’s firepower is a reworked version of Porsche’s already ferocious 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged flat-six engine, which has been overhauled by none other than RUF Automobile—a name that needs no introduction to enthusiasts. In standard Marsien configuration, the engine produces 750 horsepower and 686 lb-ft of torque, delivered through Porsche’s dual-clutch PDK transmission and all-wheel drive system. For those who need a little more on top, an optional performance package turns up the dial to 830 horsepower, transforming the Marsien into a true hypercar-level performer. Power delivery is brutal but refined, and the modified turbochargers come alive almost instantly—there’s no long spool-up or lazy torque curve. Instead, the car surges forward with controlled aggression, letting you know it hasn’t just been tuned for numbers but engineered for balance. A bespoke Akrapovič titanium exhaust sings from the rear, tuned not only for weight savings and durability but to provide the kind of high-frequency howl that lets everyone within a mile know this isn’t your neighbor’s Turbo S. Despite its off-road mission, the Marsien delivers 0–62 mph in 2.6 seconds and pushes on to a top speed of 208 mph—figures that firmly place it within striking distance of the fastest production cars on the planet.
Off-Road Capability: Real Desert Weaponry
Perhaps the most astonishing aspect of the Marsien is that its performance doesn’t disintegrate the moment the pavement ends. In fact, it thrives in chaos. Developed and tested in the Martian-red dunes of the United Arab Emirates, the Marsien treats the desert as a playground. The combination of adaptive ride height, all-terrain tires, AWD traction, and custom suspension geometry allows it to surf across sandscapes with an ease that belies its road-going origins. On terrain that would flummox a typical sports car—or even many SUVs—the Marsien stays composed. The chassis doesn’t rattle, the underbody doesn’t scrape, and the steering remains communicative even in soft, shifty terrain. Porsche’s traction control algorithms were re-coded to handle surfaces with vastly inconsistent grip—everything from compacted dirt to powdery talc-like sand. A built-in, plumbed tire compressor allows drivers to air down and reinflate tires on the fly, a trick pulled straight from the playbook of Baja race trucks. And should things get truly hairy, the Marsien’s belly armor and balanced weight distribution give it a fighting chance to extract itself without a tow rope. It’s not invincible, but it's capable in a way no one expects a 911 to be.
Interior: Function Fused with Familiarity
Step inside the Marsien and you’re greeted with a layout that remains unmistakably Porsche—deliberately so. Marc Philipp Gemballa and his team knew better than to overcomplicate what is already one of the best cockpit designs in the industry. But that doesn’t mean they left it untouched. The interior is finished in a mix of Alcantara, leather, and carbon fiber, with lightweight GT-inspired door pulls and a roll cage integrated into the chassis structure. Should the buyer prefer a more touring-friendly configuration, the cage can be swapped for rear seats. The center console is raised in homage to the Carrera GT and trimmed in carbon, while the digital gauge cluster and infotainment system retain their factory Porsche fluidity. There are no gimmicks, no LED-lit flourishes or touchscreen gimmickry. Just ergonomics, visibility, and durability. The kind of cabin you could wear gloves in, power slide through a dune, and still tap the navigation system without a second thought.
Performance on Tarmac: As Good as It Gets
While its off-road credentials are the Marsien’s most headline-grabbing quality, its behavior on asphalt is equally important—and just as impressive. On the road, the Marsien handles with the same precision and urgency you’d expect from a Turbo S, only with more presence, more soundtrack, and more attitude. The all-terrain tires do slightly soften the immediacy of steering inputs, but this is a known tradeoff, and Marc Philipp Gemballa includes both off-road and street-specific wheels and tires with every Marsien. Once swapped onto high-performance rubber, the Marsien becomes a tarmac-devouring missile with the traction, power, and composure to outpace most exotic machinery on a mountain road. The electronically controlled suspension lowers the car, firms up damping, and gives it the body control of a race-bred GT car. Whether you’re carving canyon roads or attacking high-speed autobahn straights, the Marsien feels like a distilled essence of Porsche with just the right amount of madness layered in.
Build Quality and Certification: Not Just for Show
What separates the Marsien from the flood of flashy, Instagram-famous builds is its underlying engineering discipline. Every component, from the suspension arms to the custom carbon body panels, is TÜV-certified. In Germany, that’s not a minor detail—it’s a monumental endorsement of engineering legitimacy. TÜV certification involves rigorous crash testing, material analysis, safety system validation, and overall roadworthiness scrutiny. It means the Marsien isn’t just fast—it’s safe, legal, and road-homologated. And build quality backs this up. The finish on the carbon panels rivals anything in the hypercar world. Panel gaps are razor-precise. Interior stitching, carbon weave alignment, and fastener quality are all consistent with or better than OEM standards. This isn’t a weekend project turned commercial. It’s a full-production supercar from day one.
Cost and Exclusivity: A Pricey Pioneer
Owning a Marsien is not for the faint of wallet. The cost of admission begins with a donor Porsche 911 Turbo S, which retails for around $210,000 new. Then comes the Marsien conversion itself—an eye-watering €500,000 (about $535,000 at current exchange rates). That brings the all-in price to roughly $745,000 before options. But in a world where Singer builds $1.8 million restomod 911s and Bugatti owners think in millions, the Marsien represents a compelling proposition for a limited production, turn-key, road-legal exotic that can do 200+ mph and cross a desert in the same hour. Only 40 units will be built, all of which have already been spoken for, locking the Marsien into immediate collector status. And with Marc Philipp Gemballa planning future models, this debut feels less like a one-off and more like the first chapter in a bold new brand narrative.
Conclusion: The 911 Reinvented for the Extremes
The Marc Philipp Gemballa Marsien is more than a car—it’s a manifesto. A declaration that utility and performance need not be mutually exclusive, that exotic design can be purposeful, and that with the right vision, even an icon like the 911 Turbo S can be reborn as something radically new. It is a car built for the real world and for worlds most cars never dare to reach. It’s road-legal, off-road capable, and track-proven. And above all else, it’s uncompromising. The Marsien isn’t trying to be everything to everyone. It’s trying to be the ultimate weapon for the few who want everything in one car. And somehow, against all odds, it succeeds.
