Brabus: The Weird World of the European Luxury Aftermarket

Brabus is weird, but in a good way. It’s the single largest Mercedes tuner in the world, achieving that title after Daimler assimilated Mercedes-AMG into its affiliate network way back in the ‘90s. Since then, Brabus has expanded its reach outside the Mercedes empire; its latest creation is a Range Rover Sport that will definitely turn your head, if not snap it completely off.

Power is the single most important part of a Brabus car.

It’s technically a Brabus, as that is the company that built the kit, but it’s being marketed under the Startech name so as not to cause confusion about what Brabus is built to do. That doesn’t mean the company doesn’t enjoy side projects, although given the amount of add-ons for the Range Rover Sport, you can’t really call it a “side project.”

The biggest change to the Sport’s body is the inclusion of carbon fiber body panels. Once the fender flares are added to the new bodywork, the Sport gains over two inches of width, making it slightly narrower than the average studio in Manhattan. Body panels alone won’t change the look, though, so Brabus has gone and added 23-inch wheels with low-profile tires, a lowered suspension, and a big ol’ roof spoiler atop the liftgate. It looks like, well, it looks like a heavily modified, expensive European luxury car. Mission accomplished, then.

Oh, but wait. We almost forgot about the engine, otherwise known as Brabus’s most favorite thing ever. On the Sport, a mild ECU upgrade brings an extra 31 horsepower and 59 lb-ft to the twin-turbo diesel V-6 underhood. If you look at the history of Brabus as a company, you’ll see what we mean by “most favorite thing ever.”

Power and torque are very, very important to Brabus. The company’s goal is, and always has been, maximizing engine performance through upgrades out the wazoo. Whether it’s the same engine that came with the car, or one that Brabus decided to shove in there instead, power is the most important part of a Brabus car. Of course, the company also deals with exterior and interior aesthetic upgrades to further differentiate the vehicle; after all, if you’re paying unspeakable amounts of money to upgrade your already expensive car, you want it to stand out from the rest.

If you’re not a fan of the piecemeal method, you can buy an entire car from Brabus instead. Brabus will order the car from Mercedes, overhaul it, and then send it right to your door. A number of its vehicles have broken street-legal speed records, mostly due to the insane amounts of power and torque surging to the wheels. Let’s take a look at a few of the more ridiculous ones.

The Brabus E V12 starts with a normal E-Class sedan, which is a fine car in and of itself. Then Brabus adds the twin-turbo V-12 motor from the Mercedes S65 AMG. Then Brabus completely changes the engine, giving it more power and torque than is necessary to operate an entire city block’s worth of cars. In its most current form, that leaves the owner with 780 horsepower and 1,100 lb-ft of torque. Only the truly insane will reach the E V12’s top speed of 230 miles per hour. You can also get it in coupe and convertible variants, because why not?

If you think that was an exciting car, wait until you see its successor. The Brabus Rocket 800 starts with a standard 2011+ Mercedes CLS-Class and shoves yet another V-12 under the bonnet. In addition to the engine modifications, power is increased thanks to new turbo manifolds, new turbos, four intercoolers, and a free-flowing exhaust system. It produces about 800 horsepower (go figure, what with the name and all) and 1,100 lb-ft of torque, which must be artificially lowered to keep the transmission from exploding all over the ground.

Oh, and it meets the current EURO V emissions standards. Talk about leaving no stone unturned.

We clearly saved the best for last. If you thought the Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6×6 was the craziest thing you’ve seen this year, wait until you check out the Brabus 700 6×6. It takes the G63’s standard 5.5-liter V-8 engine and cranks the whole thing up to 15 (or at least, well past 11), with two new turbochargers contributing to the 700-horsepower output. The 6×6 itself is insane, but with Brabus power levels and an interior that would make George Soros feel poor, it’s so far north of insane that it’s almost back to the baseline of normal. Almost.