In the 1980s, if you had the cash to buy a Porsche 911 Turbo but sheer speed wasn’t enough to impress your inner Pablo Escobar, you went slant nose with Uwe Gemballa.
Cocaine jokes aside, Gemballa was the real deal back in the day. Luxury brands like Bentley and Rolls-Royce can go on and on about their bespoke interiors and the craftsmanship involved, and yes, drug money certainly paid for some of their products as well throughout the years. But Uwe Gemballa went much further only to finish the game in true Miami Vice fashion.
That authenticity and level of dedication is reminiscent in Gemballa’s cars too. When it came to Porsches, it was 930 or nothing as a base for his show cars, but he made kits for 944s and 928s as well.
While Bram Corts’ always brilliant 1000SEL points out that most Gemballa Avalanche and Mirage models featured Pioneer audio systems in the center of their insanely complicated entertainment packages, these early photos reveal a Porsche 911 Targa equipped with a Clarion set as well as champagne fridge and a color television where the glovebox used to be.
I’d drive this beyond the Thunderdome!
Photo credit: Freddesix
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