Mercedes-Benz tuner turns AMG SL into a shooting brake monster

Mercedes-Benz and its Mercedes-AMG sub-brand are no strangers to high-performance sedans, coupes and SUVs, but another famous German automotive tuning company knows no bounds when it comes to cranking up the volume of the European carmaker’s many models.

Brabus, known for its work in creating high-performance Mercedes-AMG, Maybach, and Smart vehicles, has this time gone to work on the Mercedes-AMG SL 63 S E Performance – an already monstrous roadster with a hybrid powertrain producing 600kW of power.

The result is the Brabus Rocket GTS, but you’d be forgiven for overlooking the AMG SL Roadster’s underpinnings. It’s headlined by its new shooting brake (wagon) body style and aggressive aerodynamics, thanks to an exterior shell made entirely of exposed carbon-fibre.

And under the dramatic new skin is an even more monstrous hybrid powertrain, but the Brabus modifications command a hefty price tag – €945,762.50 (A$1,553,604.06) plus taxes, to be exact.

For context, the Mercedes-AMG SL is priced from $380,000 before on-road costs in Australia, but that’s just for the regular ’63’ version (the S E Performance hybrid flagship is yet to be confirmed for this market).

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Shooting brakes are few and far between, and while the latest SL has elegant swooping body lines and a folding roof, Brabus has opted to fit its own permanent roof for the Rocket GTS, with a sharp cut and dramatic drop towards the rear of the car.

While the same basic lower body shape has been retained, the radical new roofline and rear-end design is accompanied by sharp creases over the rear wheels and a small lip spoiler, while further down is a large diffuser with quad exhaust outlets and sinister red lighting.

The front bumper now features more squared-off vents and a new splitter, intended to reduce lift at high speeds. There are also large cut-outs in the front fenders to provide additional brake cooling.

Brabus’ tweaks to the car’s body give it a maximum width of 1985mm, 70mm wider than the standard AMG SL.

The regular Mercedes-AMG SL 63 S E Performance is powered by a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 producing 450kW and 850Nm on its own. It’s then paired with a rear-mounted electric motor capable of producing 150kW, making the hybrid powertrain good for total combined outputs of 600kW and 1420Nm.

The Rocket GTS replaces the combustion engine with Brabus’ Rocket 1000 – a 4.5-litre bi-turbo V8 with 585kW and 1250Nm on its own – which when combined with an electric motor produces a whopping 735kW and 1820Nm.

Brabus says torque output is electronically limited to 1620Nm “in order to protect the shooting brake’s power transmission elements”, which include a nine-speed sports transmission with automatic and paddle-shifted manual modes.

The rear-mounted 150kW electric motor utilises a two-speed gearbox and a 6.1kWh lithium-ion battery.

All of that combines to give the Rocket GTS a claimed 0-100km/h time of 2.7 seconds, a 0-200km/h time of 9.5 seconds, and a 0-300km/h time of 23.6 seconds. Claimed top speed is 317km/h.

Other exterior modifications include the wheels, which are five-spoke alloy units with 21-inch front and 22-inch rear diameters. Brabus has also switched to a centre-lock design in place of traditional studs.

Brabus hasn’t left the interior alone either, with plenty of carbon-fibre plastered all around the cabin. There are strips of blue ambient lighting, as well as loads of quilted leather on the seats and armrests.

While the German tuner has worked on a plethora of models from manufacturers like Porsche, it’s primarily known for its work on models from Mercedes-Benz and its associated companies.

Most notable are the various Brabus G-Class models, but it has also modified Maybach super-luxury cars, and more recently it was enlisted to create high-performance versions of the Smart #1 and #3 EVs.

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