German Porsche tuner to open shop in Korea

'Korean drivers tend to be more sensitive to others' opinions, which made car owners focus more on the exterior decorations. But as the automobile culture gets more mature, drivers will turn to upgrading performance parts, for instance, engines, brakes and gears. Gemballa intends to serve those interested in those areas,' said an executive at Gembella Korea.

A Gemballa-tuned Porsche would usually cost between 240 million won (US$258,000) and 540 million won here. The converted car could have 750 horsepower with a maximum speed of 365 kilometers per hour.

AMG, a German car tuner specializing in Mercedes modifications and an affiliate of Daimler Chrysler AG, started its business in Korea last year to gain ground in the growing import sports car market.

There is no survey of the auto tuning market, but estimates say it tops 1 trillion won. The Japanese market in 2005, for reference, was approximately 2.5 trillion yen ($209.3 billion), according to a report from the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.

Report by Hwang Young-jin (yhwang@joongang.co.kr)

ps. Hopefully, we will see more interests in Singapore local scene on European cars as such. ;)

Credits: ifconfig