Visionz

Word out of Germany is that things aren't looking any better for Gemballa. The famed Porsche tuner is well on its way through bankruptcy after founder and CEO Uwe Gemballa suddenly "disappeared" in South Africa back in February. Judging by our less than trusty Google Translator, Auto Bild says that the company had trouble paying its employees and Uwe set up a shadow corporation with his mother as the sole stock holder just before pulling a Houdini. The article says that he was seeking investors in his new venture in Abu Dhabi and South Africa when the tuning legend vanished off of the face of the Earth.

With the founder missing and no leads to his whereabouts, South African police are beginning to suspect the worst. Likewise, the company has gone from being one of the world's most renowned Porsche tuners to being raided by tax men and other law-enforcement agencies. Either way, we don't expect to be seeing new Gemballa creations anytime soon, as the shop has apparently been shuttered after nearly 30 years.

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/05/18/gemball...-still-missing/