BRABUS MERCEDES BENZ GLK V8 6.1 Review

As early as 1977, Brabus was transforming average Benzes into perfect definitions of "wolves in sheep clothing". A Gasser Hot Rod soundtrack on an understated W126 S-Klasse? Done! Raw V8 power on a petite 190 E? You got it! All of this naturally came courtesy of Brabus' finest engineering work. In 33 years the company expanded from a somewhat of a backyard Mercedes-Benz tuner to an actual low series car manufacturer.

Their insatiable appetite for power and speed has led them over the years to appear in the Guinness Book of Records several times. Their first record appeared as early as 1985, when Brabus aerodynamically optimized a W124 Mercedes to achieve a world-beating Cd of just 0.26. By the way, the car looked as understated as they get, without any flamboyant display of low-drag spoilers and other such extreme aerodynamic solutions.

Since then, the "world's fastest sedan" trophy has been won for no less than four times by the insane tuners from Bottrop, first with different generations of the E V12 and then with the CLS-based Rocket, while last year they also managed to snatch the award for making the world's fastest SUV in the form of the Brabus GLK V12. Not too shabby for the world's largest tuner.

About a month ago we managed to secure a factory visit at the Brabus headquarters in Bottrop. Among other gearhead activities there, we also got the chance to test drive two of the masterpieces on wheels recently created by Brabus engineers. The one we will talk about in this review is the most mental Mercedes-Benz SUV we have ever driven – a Brabus GLK V8.

Based on the W204 C-Klasse platform, the X204-codenamed GLK is technically Mercedes-Benz's response to the rather successful BMW X3, a car whose facelift version we tested last year. A pretty good seller so far, the GLK is now about to face competition from both BMW's newly-launched second generation X3 and the Audi Q5.

Considering its current engine line-up is adamantly aimed at the ones that can be found on its direct competitors, there aren't that many chances that if you buy a GLK you will keep up with the Joneses by default. Brabus offers a solution to this problem though. And what a solution!

Shoehorning a 6.1-liter normally aspirated V8 under the hood of a Mercedes-Benz GLK can pretty much reassure its potential customers that they will have the hottest premium compact crossover in a neighborhood populated by four and six-cylinder BMWs X3 and Audis Q5. Did we say "premium"? The Brabus GLK V8 is quite a bit above that moniker, as you will soon find out from our review.

The "regular" GLK probably has one of the most talked-about designs in the current Mercedes-Benz line-up. Somewhat reminiscent of the Bauhaus-themed and hand-built G-Klasse, it makes use of a number of angular design lines to impose itself in the soon-to-be-crowded premium compact crossovers market. Taking into account all of the opinions which surfaced so far, the car most definitely benefits from a "love it or hate it" design.

Although it looks almost as aerodynamic as kitchen cabinet, it sports one of the lowest drag coefficient in its segment, with some versions having a Cd of only 0.34. The front looks the most like it was only designed with nothing but a square ruler, but the result isn't half bad since it makes it very imposing on the road. The somewhat long hood also contributes to the bad boy image.

The side view is a bit better looking since the overall proportions of the car are much more visible, and that's most definitely a good thing. Also, the "character line" rises in a very steep angle towards the rear of the car, making for a pretty dynamic look.

The rear on the other hand is not that much to be proud of, since the taillights are a bit too similar to the ones from the T-Modell version of the W204 C-Klasse. Overall, it's not a bad-looking car, but it's the more-than-angular design that's surely full of controversy.

Perhaps to improve, or better yet, to benefit from this design controversy, Brabus has installed an angular wide body kit called "Wide Star" on our test car. Along with the white exterior color, the quad exhaust tips and the glossy black 22 inch Monoblock Q alloy rims, the result is spectacular to say the least.

All of the exterior chrome bits, including the roof rails were painted in a "uni black" color, making for a very special looking car, no matter that distance from which it's viewed. Speaking of which, even if by any chance you are not able to hear its deep exhaust rumble from the distance, the overall look of the Brabus GLK V8 we drove can really let everyone know that you have arrived.

We've experienced some classy car interiors over the years, and what we found in the Brabus GLK V8 we drove is right up there with the best of the best. The pictures and the interior 3d panorama don't do it justice. The level of opulence inside is overwhelming.

Don't get us wrong, the regular GLK has a pretty cool interior as it is, but it's not even close to what Brabus can do with it. Our test car was engulfed with black, hand-stitched Mastik leather and grey Alcantara on the roof. When we say "engulfed" we're not just throwing heavy words around. Pretty much everything, from most of the dashboard and the whole steering wheel (even the center hub) was practically drenched in sumptuous leather.

The very dark atmosphere is cheered up and made a bit racier by the Brabus checkered pattern carbon fiber inserts, which are somewhat of a Bottrop trademark and require a special way of painting them. The overall interior space is way above decent, although the "black everything" makes it just a tiny bit claustrophobic. The sensation of space is saved by the oversized glass panoramic sunroof though, which stretches to accommodate both front and rear passengers with sunlight.

As far as the ergonomics are concerned, everything is easy to reach. The overall interior design isn't changed much from the series GLK version, albeit the region behind the front seats' head rests is different to accommodate the displays for the DVD/multimedia system. By the way, in case you were wondering, those are also covered in leather.

The standard volume of the luggage compartment consists of approximately 450 liters (15.9 cu ft), which is more than enough for four or even five passengers, and it can be upgraded via the foldable rear seats to a gigantic 1550 liters (54.7 cu ft). Not too shabby for a car that can go from naught to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 4.9 seconds.

All in all, to say that Brabus' interior workmanship is top notch would probably be the understatement of the decade. The quality of each handmade stitching, the feel of the leather upholstery, the Alcantara or the look of the carbon fiber checkered flag inserts is simply mind-blowing. We've never seen so much attention to detail, especially since we're technically talking about a tuner car.

Technically, the Mercedes-Benz GLK is not a hardcore off-roader, so its main playground is most likely in a busy city, since that's where most of its potential customers live. Not a bad car for that, since its overall size isn't that great and you can squeeze among other cars pretty easily in heavy traffic. The problem is that we're not talking about your average GLK here, but about a heavily mutated one.

From a rather civil compact crossover, Brabus has transformed it into a beastly machine with V8 power. Let's summarize here. We're talking about an all-wheel drive compact crossover with a 6.1-liter V8 that produces 462 horsepower and that can reach 265 km/h (165 mph). In other words, this not exactly the best city roamer out there.

We got the chance to experience for a short time how the Brabus GLK V8 feels in the small German town of Bottrop (Brabus' HQ) and in nearby Duisburg. Until then we had already learned that the upgraded sports suspension is not as stiff as you might expect, so comfort at low speeds shouldn't have been compromised. Truth is though, the 295/35 R22 tires aren't best suited to shield passengers from imperfections found on the driving surface.

You can practically feel every bump or crack in the pavement, no matter how small it is, and even on the rather smooth German roads we experienced the car on. It doesn't make you completely uncomfortable but you sure pay a bit more attention to “sleeping policemen” before a pedestrian crossing or when trying to park on a curb.

The official fuel consumption figures aren't as insane as you might originally think by looking at the performance and weight figures though. Brabus is actually so optimistic on this chapter that they say the GLK V8 only uses 10,7 l/100km (US 22 mpg) in urban driving. During our short test drive we didn't manage to drop below 15 liters per 100 kilometers (US 15.7 mpg) in very low traffic conditions.

Other than the somewhat compromised comfort at lower speeds and the mildly high fuel consumption we didn't find too many bad points in owning a Brabus GLK V8 exclusively for strolling around town though. For example, visibility during driving and parking is better than average, thanks to the huge rear view mirrors, the commanding driving position, the rear view camera and the front and rear parking sensors with intelligent display.

In other words, despite the rather extensive performance modifications, the GLK remains completely civil to be driven even in urban areas, even though a crowded city might prove to be full of atypical driving conditions for the car in question.

Outside urban areas, but especially on a German Autobahn, is where you get to fully experience what a 462 horsepower car can deliver performance-wise. With a 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) time of only 5.2 seconds, the GLK V8 by Brabus is the second fastest accelerating GLK in the world. Not surprisingly, the fastest is also made by Brabus, but has four more cylinders and a couple of turbos strapped to it. That one is also in the Guiness Book of Records for being “The fastest SUV in the world”.

Although we got to drive the GLK V8 mostly on a couple of no-speed limit Autobahns, the traffic and self-preservation instincts didn't allow us to test its 265 km/h (165 mph) top speed. Even so, the car feels completely safe and comfortable whether we're talking about 130 km/h (81 mph) or 200+ km/h (124+ mph) speeds.

Except the continuous exhaust rumble from the quad-tip exhaust, which is present at just about any speed, you would never know you're doing what constitutes highly illegal speeds in most countries. The Brabus GLK V8 feels that composed on the highway.

Speaking of the exhaust rumble, this is probably one of the best sounding V8-powered cars currently on sale in the world. From the moment you start it for the first time you realize this is no ordinary engine. If we were to compare its acoustics with something somewhat similar it would probably be with a remix between a lion's roar and a rabid bear's growl, with a touch of old-school hot rod using a crossplane crankshaft. It is simply indescribable.

The mildly modified 7 G-Tronic Mercedes-Benz transmission is not the best example when you look for a sporty response and has the tendency to upshift a bit soon, but the gargantuan 615 Nm (453.6 lb ft) of torque at 3100 rpm means it doesn't actually matter in what gear you're in when you want to accelerate. Since the engine is normally aspirated, there is almost no lag whatsoever when you press harder on the go-fast pedal. You press it, you go, no matter the speed you're already traveling at.

During our open road tenure, the fuel consumption was around 12 liters per 100 kilometers (US 19.6 mpg), which is quite a bit higher than the official but otherwise highly optimistic 7 l/100 km (US 33.6 mpg). This doesn't mean it's not something extremely spectacular from the 1880 kg (4144 pounds) weight and 462 HP point of view.

As far as the road holding goes, the Brabus GLK V8 feels like an oversized all-wheel drive supercar. There is almost no noticeable pitch or dive during hard braking and/or acceleration, and together with the increased driving position the driver feels like the king of the road. We didn't encounter any serpentine roads during our test drive but we suspect the feeling during high speed cornering isn't that different. This is a proper and highly day-to-day usable supercar.