2012 Mercedes ML63 AMG Widestar by Brabus

A few months ago, the ML63 AMG received the Brabus treatment with upgraded performance and a decent body kit. Unfortunately, the 2013 body kit was missing some pizazz, and Brabus took notice.

This time around, Brabus turned it up a notch or two. An interior customization program allows customers to pretty much design how their cabin is going to look. We doubt Brabus will let anybody opt to go for a Hello Kitty or a Wreck-It Ralph theme, but what they do offer is pretty impressive in its own right. The offerings include wood and genuine carbon-fiber trim sets in any desired color to go with a variety of surface finishes.

Brabus took the body kit from the previous rendition and added in some serious upgrades. For starters, Brabus slightly shrunk the front-apron air vents and painted the raised outline pewter. The LED running lights were moved closer to the center of the air vents as well, giving the front apron a smoother look, in our opinion. The coat of pewter extends across the lower grille splitter. Speaking of the splitter, Brabus also moved it closer to the center of the lower grille and made it more pronounced than the previous kit.

On the backside, you get a much more timid kit that includes rounded quad exhaust exits in place of the molded units from the standard ML63 AMG, which Brabus reused in the old kit. Also, instead of the odd-looking trapezoids on each end of the rear apron, you now get a smoother look with chicken-wire-style mesh across the entire length. If there was one thing we wanted to retain from the previous kit, it was the rear-apron diffusor. Obviously Brabus was reading our minds, as the diffusor is there in all of its glory.

Under the hood, the ML63 AMG Widestar carries over Brabus’ very B63-620 PowerXtra module, enough to bump up the output from the SUV’s 5.5-liter bi-turbo V-8 engine to 620 horsepower and 604 pound-feet of torque. Those numbers translate to a 0-62 mph time of just 4.5 seconds with a top speed of 186 mph.

Rounding out the modifications include the addition of a control module for the AIRMATIC air suspension and a set of 22" Brabus Widestar wheels wrapped in 295/39 ZR22 tires supplied by your choice of Continental, Pirelli, or Yokohama.