Photo: Brabus
Ultra-luxury cars have always had big, powerful engines, but not necessarily because they needed to reach high speeds. No, the idea was to look effortlessly doing the usual stuff, while always carrying enough grunt in reserve if a show of force was ever necessary.
The Mercedes-AMG S65 Cabriolet is undoubtedly an ultra-luxury vehicle. It's so needlessly powerful and quite unpractical - a convertible this size that only has two usable seats is hardly functional - that it makes the $247,000 base price sound just right. It's a halo car, but not so much for the brand as for the people driving it.
Adding more power, then, while concomitantly raising the price makes a lot of sense. Enter Brabus, the insane German tuning company with a penchant for Mercedes-AMG models that likes its power outputs closer to 1,000 hp.
The 6.0-liter V12 engine puts out 630 hp in its natural state, but the people at Brabus are known for their ability to find a hidden reservoir of power and extract everything they can get their hands on. Apparently, that reservoir is reached by boring the cylinders to increase the displacement to 6.3 liters and adding a pair of larger turbochargers.
Other changes include new intake and exhaust manifolds, an improved intercooler to keep the temperatures down, a high-performance exhaust system, and a thoroughly modified seven-speed transmission that still shifts all of this power only to the rear wheels.
As a result, the Mercedes-AMG S65 Cabriolet becomes the Brabus 900 Rocket Cabrio. You probably already guessed what the 900 stands for, but you should know that the torque value is also in that same region: 885 lb-ft (1,200 Nm) of electronically limited twist power so that various components don't crack over time.
The performance bumps are not as spectacular as the specs themselves, with only a 0.2 seconds gain for the 62 mph (100 km/h) sprint (from 4.1 to 3.9). However, if we're talking top speed then the 217 mph (350 km/h) this thing can reach should make a trip on the German Autobahn a must.
Aesthetically, the Brabus 900 Rocket Cabrio doesn't particularly stand out. It has 21-inch wheels, but a 22-inch option is also available for those who live in a potless fairyland. The interior features perforated creamy leather galore with dark carpets and black leather dashboard top. It also gets a digital speedometer that goes all the way to 400 km/h (250 mph) - you know, in case you're going downhill with the wind at your back.
Adding more power, then, while concomitantly raising the price makes a lot of sense. Enter Brabus, the insane German tuning company with a penchant for Mercedes-AMG models that likes its power outputs closer to 1,000 hp.
The 6.0-liter V12 engine puts out 630 hp in its natural state, but the people at Brabus are known for their ability to find a hidden reservoir of power and extract everything they can get their hands on. Apparently, that reservoir is reached by boring the cylinders to increase the displacement to 6.3 liters and adding a pair of larger turbochargers.
Other changes include new intake and exhaust manifolds, an improved intercooler to keep the temperatures down, a high-performance exhaust system, and a thoroughly modified seven-speed transmission that still shifts all of this power only to the rear wheels.
As a result, the Mercedes-AMG S65 Cabriolet becomes the Brabus 900 Rocket Cabrio. You probably already guessed what the 900 stands for, but you should know that the torque value is also in that same region: 885 lb-ft (1,200 Nm) of electronically limited twist power so that various components don't crack over time.
The performance bumps are not as spectacular as the specs themselves, with only a 0.2 seconds gain for the 62 mph (100 km/h) sprint (from 4.1 to 3.9). However, if we're talking top speed then the 217 mph (350 km/h) this thing can reach should make a trip on the German Autobahn a must.
Aesthetically, the Brabus 900 Rocket Cabrio doesn't particularly stand out. It has 21-inch wheels, but a 22-inch option is also available for those who live in a potless fairyland. The interior features perforated creamy leather galore with dark carpets and black leather dashboard top. It also gets a digital speedometer that goes all the way to 400 km/h (250 mph) - you know, in case you're going downhill with the wind at your back.
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