Brabus Once Again Proves It's The King Of Mercedes-AMG Tuning

Unless we’re in for a surprise in the next coming days, it looks like the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show will only have one major aftermarket tuning company in attendance. It’s a little bit of a surprise, but then again, the tuner that did show up is Brabus, and we all know its place in the tuning hierarchy. Suffice to say, it’s the go-to tuner for Mercedes-Benz models. This week Brabus showed solidified this with not one, not two, but three different programs for three different Mercedes-AMG models, all of which, mind you, received insane levels of power and performance, among other things.

These are the kinds of things that we can expect from Brabus. As a matter of fact, these are the kinds of things that we’ve already expected out of the tuner. I’ve already detailed my thoughts about the Rocket 900 program for the AMG S 65 Cabrio and the 700 kit for the AMG E 63 S last week. But guess what; Brabus wasn’t done. Rather, it followed those two major reveals with another program, the 900PS, for the AMG G 65 V12. All that and the tuner even had the time to build and develop a concept for smart called the Ultimate E Concept and had one of its sub-brands – Startech – come up with an aero kit for the Land Rover Discovery. Those two aside, the three Mercedes-AMG tuning kits are prime examples of why everyone regards Brabus as one of the best tuners in the game today. It may be far from being the only one, but rest assured, if there’s somebody out there with a Mercedes or a Mercedes-AMG in his garage that’s dying to get some aftermarket tuning love, Brabus should be one of the first, if not the first, tuners he should call.

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This is Brabus’ line-up at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show

It’s disappointing that we didn’t see more tuners show up in Frankfurt, though I suppose that’s something that we can expect moving forward. Auto shows are expensive and businesses in it of themselves and whether it’s an automaker or a tuner, these companies pay big bucks just to have a spot in the show. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter given how easy access is through the Internet. A tuner can release a program and all of us are all over it in a matter of minutes. It’s still good to see Brabus though, especially if it’s bringing programs like the ones it brought to the Frankfurt Motor Show.

Mercedes-AMG S 65 Rocket 900 Cabriolet

What else is there to say about this program that I haven’t already gushed over last week? Brabus claims it’s the most powerful four-door carboy in the world and with the amount of power it’s packing – 888 horsepower and 885 pound-feet of torque – it’s hard to argue against those assertions. Even better, the program itself isn’t all about power, power, and more power. It also features a simple yet very effective aerodynamic kit, a choice of new wheels, and interior upgrades that are literally at the hands of the customer. It’s hard to top all the superlatives that the Rocket 900 program comes with so I’m not going to even try. I will say that if there’s somebody who wants to maximize the potential of his AMG S 65 Cabriolet, it’s hard to do better than what Brabus’ Rocket 900 program is offering.

Read our full review on the Mercedes-AMG S 65 Rocket 900 Cabriolet.

Mercedes-AMG E 63 S Brabus 700

Okay, so the Brabus 700 kit doesn’t approach the gains achieved by the Rocket 900 kit, but comparing one and the other is missing the point entirely. For one, this program is for the AMG E 63 S, which sits below the AMG S 65 in the performance division’s model hierarchy. Then there’s the subject of the engine upgrade. Whereas the Rocket 900 includes actually increasing the 6.0-liter V-12 engine’s displacement to 6.3 liters, the 700 kit for the E 63 S featured a more traditional software upgrade. That’s not a bad thing, mind you, because the software tune is still potent enough to increase the V-8’s output up to 700 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque. Add that to the typical Brabus upgrades in the exterior and interior of the performance sedan and we have yet another kit that passes our eye test with flying colors.

Read our full review on the Mercedes-AMG E 63 S Brabus 700

Mercedes-AMG G 65 V12 Brabus 900PS

The tuner’s latest reveal is another doozy of a program, this time for the hulking Mercedes-AMG G 65 V12. I haven’t done my typical deep dive into this program – that’ll happen in the coming days – but what I do know about is that the use of “900PS” in the name didn’t come by accident. That’s a reference to the 900 horsepower and 1,106 pound-feet of torque the program is offering for the AMG G65 V12. Seems insane for a car like the AMG G 65 V12 to pack this much power and torque, right? Well, the truth is that the latter is actually limited to just 885 pound-feet to keep the off-road marauder from becoming uncontrollable. How’s that for attention-grabbing, right?

Read our full review on the Mercedes-AMG G 65 V12 900PS by Brabus.

Other offerings

If we’re being technical about it, Brabus actually bought five items to Frankfurt with it. The three programs mentioned above are the clear attractions, but the tuner also developed the smart ForTwo Ultimate E concept. This project may not have resulted in power levels approaching 700 horsepower, but for a ForTwo to actually have the power that it has – 201 horses and 258 pound-feet of twist – is a testament to the kind of quality that Brabus can come up with, regardless if it’s a Mercedes, a Mercedes-AMG, or a smart.

Note: photo of the smart ForTwo Ultimate E Concept

Last but not least is an aerodynamic kit that didn’t directly come from Brabus. It comes from Startech, a tuning company owned by Brabus that deals with cars that fall outside the sphere of Daimler. Since the kit was developed for the new Land Rover Discovery, it’s being brought to us by Startech. Regardless of the name, the program itself is impressive in its own right. It’s made up of a significant aerodynamic body kit, a new set of wheels, and a fully-personalized interior.

note: photo of the Land Rover Discovery by Startech