You know what Brabus does. They slap their "B" logo all over, do some stylish design tweaks, interfere with the engine, change the name of the model into a number that refers to the output, use some big words to describe it, and that is it. In short. The long version of the story is different, and this Brabus 850 is here to tell it.
The Brabus 850 used to be a Mercedes-Maybach S 680. It is the epitome of performance and elegance in the Maybach lineup, a V12 swan song that the premium carmaker kept on playing discreetly in the era of everything electrified or electric.
Brabus is playing this card, and it looks like a winner for them. The Maybach S 680 entered their shop, and when it drove out, it was called the Brabus 850.
So let’s start at the very beginning and save the best for last. Performance, that is. So Brabus came up with a multi-piece carbon fiber front fascia, with elements tested in the wind tunnel and specifically developed to reduce lift forces on the front axle at high speeds. Thus the front spoiler lip and attachments for the side air intakes steer the airstream more efficiently to the radiators and front brakes.
Photo: Brabus
At the opposite end, a carbon fiber diffuser and two black enameled tailpipes of the Brabus high-performance exhaust system showed up.
The luxury sedan runs on 22-inch multi-spoke Brabus Monoblock Z forged wheels and rides low due to the presence of the SportXtra control module for air suspension, which lowers the car by up to 0.8 inches (20 millimeters) with no compromise on comfort.
Everything screams Brabus inside. There are so many Bs on board that you don’t know where to look first. A unique Brabus Dark Gray color scheme brings along this dark, mysterious ambiance. Special breathable leather wraps the seats up front, plus the individual seats in the rear. Carbon fiber covers just about any hard surface, including the steering wheel, dashboard, center console, and door panels. Meanwhile, the tuner came up with a Shadow Chrome finish for the switches, trim panels, and air vents.
When it rolls off the assembly line in Sindelfingen, Germany, the Mercedes-Maybach S 680 takes with it 621 horsepower (630 PS) and 664 lb-ft (900 Nm) of torque. The engine is mated to a nine-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive system and pushes the car from 0 to 60 mph (0-97 kph) in 4.5 seconds. Speed is electronically capped at 155 mph (250 kph).
Photo: Brabus
But, of course, Brabus disagreed with all these figures. They converted the 6.0-liter unit into a 6.3-liter one and pulled out everything it got, with the help of two Brabus high-performance turbochargers. So now the car has to deal with the aforementioned 850 metric horsepower, which translates into 838 horsepower, plus 811 lb-ft (1,100 Nm) of torque. All the mods make the luxury sedan run from zero to 62 mph (0-100 kph) in 4.1 seconds, 0.4 seconds faster than it did before the tuning surgery. Top speed is still capped at 155 mph.
They also fitted a stainless-steel Brabus high-performance exhaust system that brings along one hell of a soundtrack.
In the United States, the Mercedes-Maybach S 680 starts at $229,000. The German tuner asks 470,000 euros for the Brabus 850, which would be more than half a million dollars ($515,872). That’s Rolls-Royce Phantom money!
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