Tag Archives: Brabus

Tuning

America Meets the 1000-HP Shooting Brake No One Asked For

Eighteen months after it first stunned the tuning world, the Rocket GTS has finally landed in the U.S.—and it didn’t arrive quietly. Based on the Mercedes-Benz AMG SL 63, this reimagined Shooting Brake now wears a full green carbon-fiber suit and carries a price tag of $1,387,081. Yes, that’s hypercar territory. No, it doesn’t apologize.

The SL has always been the boulevard bruiser in the portfolio of Mercedes-Benz, and in modern AMG form it’s already less silk scarf, more switchblade. But what happens when you hand it to Mercedes-AMG’s wildest aftermarket interpreter and say, “Do your worst”? You get this.

The original show car flaunted exposed carbon like a flexed bicep. This U.S.-bound example goes deeper: an all-carbon body bathed in a translucent emerald hue. In direct sunlight, the weave shimmers beneath the lacquer like reptile skin. Subtle? Not remotely. Spectacular? Absolutely.

The reshaped rear and extended roofline will split dinner conversations straight down the middle. Purists may clutch their roadster credentials, but there’s a strange coherence to it. The SL’s long hood and cab-rearward proportions actually welcome the added roof stretch. The Shooting Brake treatment feels less like a graft and more like an evolution—one drawn by someone who owns several carbon-fiber briefcases.

A Cabin That Refuses to Whisper

If you were hoping the interior might dial things back, abandon that thought immediately.

Nearly every surface—seats, door panels, gearshift tunnel, headliner, even the floor mats—is drenched in matching green leather and Alcantara. The few components spared the hide treatment are finished in green-tinted carbon fiber. It’s less “accent color” and more “monochromatic takeover.”

The craftsmanship, predictably, is impeccable. The audacity, unmistakable. It feels like the inside of a concept car that somehow escaped the auto-show turntable and started asking for premium fuel.

Four Digits, Two Turbos, One Thousand Reasons

Of course, a seven-figure tuner special needs more than dramatic tailoring. Under the hood sits an upgraded 4.5-liter twin-turbo V8 paired with the same plug-in hybrid system used in the SL 63 E Performance. The combined output? A clean, round 1,000 horsepower and 1,620 Nm of torque.

Performance claims read like a physics glitch:

  • 0–100 km/h (62 mph): 2.6 seconds
  • 0–200 km/h (124 mph): 9.5 seconds
  • 0–300 km/h (186 mph): 23.6 seconds
  • Top speed: 317 km/h (197 mph), electronically limited

For context, those numbers place it squarely in modern hypercar company—while offering a cargo area large enough for a weekend’s worth of designer luggage.

The Million-Dollar Question

Spending nearly $1.4 million on a modified SL sounds extravagant, even in today’s inflated performance market. But exclusivity is the point. This isn’t just an SL turned up to eleven; it’s a redefinition of what that platform can be. It’s equal parts grand tourer, muscle car, and rolling design experiment.

The Rocket GTS doesn’t try to blend in. It doesn’t even try to convince you. It simply arrives—green, loud, and unapologetically expensive—and dares you to look away.

You won’t.

Source: Brabus

News

This Isn’t a Mercedes-AMG G63, but It Wants You to Think It Is

The Mercedes-AMG G63 has never been subtle. It’s a rolling middle finger to understatement, a square-jawed luxury sledgehammer that somehow became even louder once tuners like Brabus and Mansory got involved. The problem, of course, is money. Real G63s already live deep into six-figure territory, and the tuned ones can cost as much as a waterfront condo. If you want the presence without the financial free fall, your options have been limited—until now.

Enter an unlikely imposter from Thailand.

A custom shop called Shana E-Sport has figured out how to bottle Brabus energy and pour it into something far more attainable. Their starting point isn’t a used Mercedes or a kit car but a Chinese-built SUV you probably haven’t seen on your local dealer lot: the Tank 300 from Great Wall Motors. And surprisingly, it works.

The Tank 300 already shows up dressed for the part. Its upright windshield, boxy proportions, and stubby overhangs give it a silhouette that’s far closer to a G-Wagen than its price tag would suggest. Shana E-Sport leans into that resemblance with a full exterior makeover that leaves very little of the original face behind.

Up front, the stock nose is ditched in favor of a redesigned fascia with a new grille, circular LED headlights, a vented hood, and a far more aggressive bumper. The intakes and splitter are pure AMG cosplay, but the execution is clean enough that it doesn’t scream parody.

The sides get boxy, squared-off fenders complete with old-school indicator lamps, while Brabus-style flares and decorative vents exaggerate the width. It’s all very deliberate and very square, just as the G-class gods intended.

Around back, Shana E-Sport fits a sportier rear bumper with an integrated diffuser, a roof-mounted spoiler, and a custom spare-wheel cover. Exhaust options range from quad tailpipes to side-mounted outlets that closely mimic the visual drama of a real G63. Rolling stock comes in the form of massive 22-inch aftermarket wheels wrapped in chunky all-terrain tires, with optional suspension tuning and upgraded brakes for buyers who want the look to be more than skin-deep.

The interior is where things get especially interesting. Even in stock form, the Tank 300 already borrows heavily from Mercedes’ design language, with a wide twin-screen digital dashboard, turbine-style air vents, and a general layout that feels suspiciously familiar. Shana E-Sport simply turns the dial up.

One of their show builds features turquoise leather upholstery paired with forged carbon trim, illuminated power-deploying side steps, soft-close doors, and a hands-free tailgate. It’s flashy, unapologetic, and exactly what someone shopping for a G63-inspired build probably wants.

Mechanically, the illusion stops short of full AMG madness. Under the hood, the Tank 300 keeps its factory hybrid setup: a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder paired with a single electric motor. Total output hovers around 350 horsepower, sent to all four wheels through a nine-speed automatic. No thunderous twin-turbo V8, no tire-shredding excess—but that’s missing the point. This is about style and stance, not Nürburgring lap times.

The real headline is the price. Shana E-Sport says a complete G63-style Tank 300 build, including the donor vehicle, comes in at about 2.5 million Thai Baht, or roughly $80,000. The Tank 300 itself accounts for around $57,500 of that, with conversion costs estimated at roughly $34,500 depending on how deep into the customization rabbit hole you go.

That’s still real money for a replica, but it’s a rounding error compared to a genuine G63, which can run anywhere from $300,000 to well north of $700,000 once market taxes and tuner excess enter the chat.

Judging by the steady stream of builds popping up on Shana E-Sport’s social channels, buyers in Thailand seem more than willing to make that trade. And honestly, it’s hard to blame them. In a world where automotive image often matters as much as horsepower, this Tank 300-based creation delivers G-Wagen theater at a fraction of the cost—and does it with enough polish to make you look twice.

Source: Shana E-sport via YouTube

Tuning

Brabus XL 800 Cabrio: When a G-Wagen Just Isn’t Wild Enough

Just when you think the automotive world has reached peak madness, Brabus decides to cut the roof off a Mercedes-AMG G 63—twice—and turn it into something even more outrageous than the factory ever imagined. Say hello to the Brabus 800 Cabrio and XL 800 Cabrio, two open-air titans built in strictly limited runs of 50 units each, complete with “Masterpiece” interiors and the unmistakable stance of a luxury super-truck.

A G-Class With Its Roof Off? Brabus Says: Why Not.

Brabus didn’t simply unbolt the top. The company “hacked” the G-Class open at the C-pillar and engineered a retractable soft-top roof made from more than 500 newly developed components. It takes 20 seconds to open or close, creating what the tuner calls a “unique open-air experience.”

A carbon-fiber roof bow stabilizes the structure and helps with sound deadening, while a steel roll bar at the rear takes care of safety duties. The result is a convertible SUV that looks equal parts luxury yacht and armored personnel carrier.

Two Flavors of Excess

Both models wear Brabus’s signature widebody treatment and gigantic 24-inch wheels, but their personalities are completely different.

800 Cabrio: The Road Weapon

The standard 800 Cabrio leans toward on-road performance. It rides lower, wears high-performance rubber, and sports exposed carbon elements that make it look something like a convertible G-Class that wants to star in its own music video.

XL 800 Cabrio: Portal-Axle Insanity

The XL 800 Cabrio, though, is the wilder sibling. Thanks to portal axles and a skyscraping 18.9 inches of ground clearance, it isn’t just made to look off-road capable—it genuinely is. Brabus says it’s “mainly designed for phenomenal off-road capabilities,” and with those axles and all-terrain tires, there’s little reason to doubt it.

789 Horsepower of Roof-Down Fury

Under both hoods lives an uprated 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 pushing 789 horsepower and 1,000 Nm of torque.

The lighter, road-oriented 800 Cabrio rockets from 0–62 mph in 4.0 seconds and tops out at 150 mph. The taller, knobbier XL version does the sprint in 4.6 seconds, which is absurd given its ground clearance—and even more absurd considering it can likely do that on dirt, sand, gravel, or anything else you point it at.

Open-Air Luxury, the Brabus Way

Inside, both cabs are drenched in Brabus’s so-called “Masterpiece” treatment: ornate leatherwork, bold colors, and enough stitching to upholster a small boutique hotel. The headrests feature neck-level heating to keep passengers warm during winter roof-down cruises—because if you’re spending this much money, you’d better be able to use the thing all year.

Prices That Make a G 63 Look Like a Bargain

If you thought the standard AMG G 63 was already at the top of the food chain, think again.

  • The Brabus 800 Cabrio starts at €761,500 (around £670,000 before tax).
  • The XL 800 Cabrio begins at €887,600 (around £780,000).

For perspective, a factory G 63 starts from roughly £185,000. That means the Brabus convertibles cost at least £485,000 more—a premium you pay for exclusivity, engineering lunacy, and the sheer joy of driving a roofless super-G that nobody else on your street (or probably your country) will have.

Source: Brabus