A vehicle manufacturer accredited with the German Federal Motor Transport Authority rather than a mere tuner, Brabus rolled out a hybrid sedan with a staggering 1,000 metric ponies on deck from a plug-in hybrid twin-turbo V8 powertrain. The 987-hp land missile is based on the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance, which is the most powerful series-production Merc available today. The Mercedes-AMG One hypercar doesn't count because it sports a Formula 1-derived hybrid power unit, which can hardly be considered a series-production engine.
What's even more staggering about the Brabus Rocket 1000 "1 of 25" Edition is peak torque. The Bottrop-based company quotes 1,820 Nm (1,342 pound-feet) as opposed to the standard 1,470 Nm (1,084 pound-feet). However, to protect the drivetrain, the electronic limiter allows the driver to enjoy 1,620 Nm (1,195 pound-feet) at full chatter.
Let that number sink in for a minute, then remember that Ford's 6.7-liter Power Stroke V8 turbo diesel offers up to 1,200 pound-feet (1,627 Nm) in the Super Duty. "Ridiculous" may be the best word to describe this five-door liftback, which needs a meager 2.6 seconds to sling itself from zero to 100 kilometers per hour. In old money, that's 62 mph.
Keeping your foot planted on the accelerator will eventually get you to an electronically limited 316 kilometers per hour (196 miles per hour). The 200-kph mark is reached in a meager 9.7 seconds, whereas the push from zero to 300 kph (186 mph) takes 23.9 seconds. Remember when the Rimac Nevera broke a whopping 23 records in a single day? One of them was 9.2 seconds for the acceleration from zero to 300 kilometers per hour, but then again, the Croatian hypercar is an electric vehicle with not one, not two, but four drive units.
From a technical standpoint, Brabus made a few notable modifications to AMG's 4.0-liter V8. The hot-vee powerplant displaces 4.5 liters in this application, for Brabus worked its magic on the cylinder bores, pistons, rods, and crankshaft. Multi-layer steel head gaskets also need to be mentioned, along with 52-millimeter turbochargers, 76-millimeter downpipes, and a 3.0-inch stainless exhaust system with less restrictive catalytic converters and OPFs.
Photo: Brabus
OPF stands for gasoline particulate filter, and similar to a diesel particulate filter, the OPF is designed to reduce particulate matter emissions resulting from the combustion process. To comply with European regulations, automakers equip light-duty vehicles meant for European markets and the UK with these gasoline-specific particulate filters.
Speaking of emissions, the WLTP rating for this extremely limited edition is 218 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer on the combined test cycle. By comparison, the fully stock Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance produces 180 grams per click.
From the standpoint of exterior aesthetics, the German company gifted the GT 4-Door Coupe with a widebody kit, five-spoke forged wheels in black, and AERO-DISCS for a sportier look. Rolling on 275/35 ZR21s up front and 335/25 ZR22s out back, the Brabus-modified Merc further sweetens the deal with carbon-fiber elements both fore and aft, along with a carbon-fiber wing and quad exhaust outlets.
The cabin is flashy in its own right. Although design is a subjective matter, there's no denying that the materials used by Brabus inside of this vehicle are both genuine and of very high quality. Given all of the aforementioned, it should not come as a surprise that Brabus charges 450,000 euros – excluding 19-percent VAT – for the "1 of 25" edition. That's 484,925 dollars at current exchange rates, and it's considerably more than the €208,006.05 starting price of the GT 63 S E Performance in Germany.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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