Automotive

Brabus turns the AMG G-Wagen into a 700-horsepower off-road supercar

Brabus turns the AMG G-Wagen into a 700-horsepower off-road supercar
Brabus loves taking the extreme and using it as a starting point for the truly ludicrous
Brabus loves taking the extreme and using it as a starting point for the truly ludicrous
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The interior is a two-tone black/brown leather job with carbon accents
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The interior is a two-tone black/brown leather job with carbon accents
Where's the big spare tire?
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Where's the big spare tire?
Brabus 700 4X4² "ONE OF TEN" Final edition: a beefed-up version of AMG's beefed-up version of the G-Wagen
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Brabus 700 4X4² "ONE OF TEN" Final edition: a beefed-up version of AMG's beefed-up version of the G-Wagen
Brabus 700 4X4² "ONE OF TEN" Final edition: from the front
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Brabus 700 4X4² "ONE OF TEN" Final edition: from the front
Red brakes, which everyone knows make you go faster
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Red brakes, which everyone knows make you go faster
Carbon roof spoiler with integrated driving lights
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Carbon roof spoiler with integrated driving lights
Not the same twin turbos as the AMG version, oh no, these are much bigger and boostier
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Not the same twin turbos as the AMG version, oh no, these are much bigger and boostier
A flash of gold heat shielding under the hood
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A flash of gold heat shielding under the hood
Brabus 700 4X4² "ONE OF TEN" Final edition: a bit slower in an on-road sprint than the AMG donor car, but better on the rocks
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Brabus 700 4X4² "ONE OF TEN" Final edition: a bit slower in an on-road sprint than the AMG donor car, but better on the rocks
Brabus 700 4X4² "ONE OF TEN" Final edition: expect pricing in the quarter million dollar and upward region
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Brabus 700 4X4² "ONE OF TEN" Final edition: expect pricing in the quarter million dollar and upward region
Brabus 700 4X4² "ONE OF TEN" Final edition: extra ground clearance and axle articulation
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Brabus 700 4X4² "ONE OF TEN" Final edition: extra ground clearance and axle articulation
Brabus loves taking the extreme and using it as a starting point for the truly ludicrous
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Brabus loves taking the extreme and using it as a starting point for the truly ludicrous
View gallery - 12 images

The Mercedes-AMG G63 is already a fairly extreme vehicle. The high performance version of the boxy G-Wagen 4WD uses a twin-turbo 4-liter V8 making 585 horsepower. But Brabus sees the extreme as a perfect launching point for the ludicrous, and has turned the G63 into a full-on off-road supercar.

Thus, the new Brabus 700 4x4² "one of ten" Final Edition starts with an AMG G63, but pulls its guts out in favor of a beefier 5.5-liter V8. The twin turbos get bigger and boostier, and there's gold heat shielding on the intake and boost pipes to make it one of the blingier engine bays we've seen in recent times.

A flash of gold heat shielding under the hood
A flash of gold heat shielding under the hood

Power is jacked up to a very adequate 700 horsepower (515 kW) and 708 lb-ft (960 Nm) of torque, and Brabus says it'll hit 100 km/h (62 mph) in 5 seconds flat. The regular old G63 does that in 4.5, so what gives? The tires, probably – Pirelli Scorpion ATR off-road specials. These hoops are also the reason the 700 4x4² is limited to a top speed of 210 kmh (130 mph); they'd fling themselves apart if you tried to drive this fridge of a thing much faster.

Indeed, supercar engine aside, this build concentrates on heavy off-roading. The axles have been pulled, and replaced with the ones Brabus developed for the G500 4x4², which give extra high ground clearance and a greater degree of articulation.

Brabus 700 4X4² "ONE OF TEN" Final edition: a bit slower in an on-road sprint than the AMG donor car, but better on the rocks
Brabus 700 4X4² "ONE OF TEN" Final edition: a bit slower in an on-road sprint than the AMG donor car, but better on the rocks

When AMG built the G63, it yanked out the G-Wagen's stock adaptive suspension to put in a higher grade of adaptive suspension. Brabus has yanked AMG's suspension out and installed its own, electronically adjustable but apparently non-active variant in. In addition to 4-mode damper settings, it's also capable of adjusting ride height at each axle. This squishy off-road suspension probably squats like a pooping dog under hard acceleration and contributes to the car's slower sprint times.

There's bash plates. There's carbon wheel flares. There's a dinky little carbon "roof spoiler" with some extra lights in it, and a two-tone leather interior with carbon inserts that looks a bit tougher than the more luxury-oriented work of AMG.

The interior is a two-tone black/brown leather job with carbon accents
The interior is a two-tone black/brown leather job with carbon accents

Pricing has not been announced, but you'll surely be looking at the quarter million US dollar mark or higher. Such is the price of Brabus, and we hope plenty of people buy them, so Brabus can scrape together enough money to overhaul its absolutely inexcusable website.

Source: Brabus

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2 comments
2 comments
guzmanchinky
I have a friend with a G. He says it's the worst riding, worst handling box he's ever had. He said my Jeep Wrangler had about the same ride. The good news is he paid about $120,00 for it new and sold it two years later for $110,000. Then again, my Wrangler is apparently similar from a depreciation standpoint. I just don't get the fascination with these trucks other than a "Kardashian/Dubai" kind of vibe.
Mr T
Ugly, overpriced, poorly engineered pieces of crap. Why would anyone be dumb enough to pay money for something like this? Oh, that's right, big egos, small minds...