Gemballa to Field Two McLaren MP4-12C GT3 Cars in 2012

The German tuning company Gemballa has been deeply affected by the murdering of its founder Uwe Gemballa in late 2010, but it was soon revived by CEO Andreas Swarts and investor Steffen Korbach. Now, the company is extending by adding a new division, the Gemballa racing team.

GEMBALLA racing SE is an independent company headed by GEMBALLA Supervisory Board director, Marco Marquardt, and will be devoted exclusively to motorsport.

According to a newly released statement from the company, the team will enter two McLaren MP4-12C GT3 cars in the 2012 motorsport season. The Gemballa racing division will be managed by Sascha Bert, a former German kart champion, Formula 3 and FIA GT driver.

“Sascha Bert is an absolute pro, and is ideally qualified to manage our new racing team,” stated Steffen Korbach, team owner and Gemballa inverstor.

“We chose the McLaren MP4-12C GT3 because we think this car has the potential to be one of the season’s leaders,” Korbach explained. “We have also put together a team of drivers and mechanics who are proven winners. Racing is in our blood! We want to win!”

As for the McLaren MP4-12C GT3, the racecar is based on the MP4-12C supercar, and features a 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8 engine, bespoke racing gearbox, carbon safety cell, race front splitter, large fixed rear wing, optimised air vents at the front and a racing diffuser at the rear. The steering wheel with integrated display is Formula 1 inspired.

McLaren GT set the price of the new MP4-12C GT3 at £310,000, with specialized engineers available to help them tweak the race car according to their own race specification.