I'm guessing that everyone's heard about Achilles' story. The mythical Greek hero, who fought in the Trojan War, slaying countless enemies. Achilles was almost invincible. But even he had a weak spot, his heel. And supercars these days are just like Achilles. They are formidable, up until a certain point, that is.
Sure, most supercars today can blow past the 200 mph (321 kph) marker and they can even keep going. And yes, supercars have much better chances at setting lap records wherever they go. Also, you're going to have to spend a serious amount of cash on your sports car to even stand a chance against a supercar. But supercars have their problems, and if you strip them of their beloved tarmac, they'll get stuck with nowhere to go.
But it seems that the world is changing, and people are sick of not being able to go flat out over some dunes in their Lamborghini or Porsche. And we've already seen what a little ingenuity can do to a Lamborghini, and the project I'm talking about, albeit not an official move from the manufacturer, is coming to fruition soon. But what boggles me right now is the whole discussion revolving around an off-road-ready 911.
Singer pitched us the idea of a Dakar-ready 911 revival, because Porsche had already developed such a project back in the '80s, and the whole world went crazy about it. There was talk of the Singer ACS everywhere, but then Porsche intervened, and the room kind of became silent. Looking at the Gemballa GmbH website, there is a rendering of an extreme off-road version of a 911 featured there, which was presented last year under the codename Avalanche.
Photo: Marc Phillip Gemballa GMBH
But after Uwe Gemballa's mysterious death, the Gemballa factory was seized by German authorities and went under different ownership and supervision. And now, Marc Phillip Gemballa, Uwe's son, is launching Project Sandbox, under his own company, which is in no way affiliated to Gemballa GmbH. So at the end of the day, the good news is that we are going to get an off-road supercar quite soon. Although there are only a few teaser shots available at this time, the car will be shown next week as a world premiere!
Of course, if you'll do a bit of digging, you'll be able to find a spy video of the car, that was shot some time ago in the Middle East region. According to the official press release, this new Dakar-inspired machine will be capable of driving both on public roads and off-road, which is going to be a major advantage for customers living in areas with poorly developed infrastructure.
Marc Phillip Gemballa has been raised by a family that was always connected to the world of fast cars, and it feels only natural for him to use his experience and vision in launching what may very well be the supercar of the future. And the fact that he's brought KW Automotive, RUF Automobile, and Akrapovic onboard for the project can only mean that the outcome is bound to be highly efficient and spectacular at the same time. We'll report back on this as soon as new updates will be available.
The things Dragos enjoys the most in life are, in no particular order: cars, motorcycles, diecast cars, and drifting. He's seen (and driven) many vehicles since he started his writing career back in 2009, but his garage currently houses a 1991 Mazda RX-7 FC3S Turbo II and a 1999 Suzuki SV650-S. Full profile
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