Tuesday 10th November 2015

Mercedes C36 AMG Brabus Edition: Spotted

Well if a gold S-Class isn't the Brabus for you then this might be more fitting!

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In case you hadn't noticed, the Brabus Rocket Desert Edition is a little bit ostentatious. We're all for a bit of extravagance but that much gold is rather silly. Times change though, and where understated and menacing served Brabus well for so many years now it seems people want to be a little more ... overt.

Nice pics for a very nice car

We still quite like the old ways though, especially when they look this good. Our collective Brabus fascination began with overengined Mercedes saloons that looked just like Mercedes saloons, not the overengined ones in bloomin' gold.

The problem is working out just what this car is. The advert describes it as a C36 AMG 'Brabus Edition', there are Brabus badges and plaques plus a claimed power output in excess of 300hp, up from the standard car's 280. But it doesn't appear a fully fledged Brabus product, certainly not in the mould of the Brabus C58 that came later. Any help here would be much appreciated!

However, that doesn't make it an unappealing car. Very far from it. The C36 remains a bluff yet very handsome design, particularly in the dark blue of this car. The 17-inch AMG wheels look pristine and the whole condition exceptional for a 140,000-mile, 18-year-old car. It's recently been serviced at a Mercedes dealer and high quality photos work wonders for the advert. If he's taken this much care of the photos, the implication is surely that the car has been cherished too.

Rare and affordable? Win!

You'll remember the C36 impressed in our twin test with the A45 a couple of years back. Sure, it was a very different AMG to the new car and the four-speed auto was rather outdated, but it proved far more capable and enjoyable that expected.

Which leads us to the rivals. Despite rising values £5K will still buy an E36 M3, albeit not a saloon. The Audi S4 is a possibility too, though you could argue it's a little less special than the full M and AMG performance flagships.

There's an awful lot going for this C36 then. It's fast, affordable, rare, interesting and seemingly in excellent condition. It's also not gold. The seller is even interested in part exchange. It may not be a full-fat Brabus but this halfway house still looks very appealing from here!

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MERCEDES C36 AMG (STANDARD CAR)
Engine: 3,606cc, 6-cylinder 
Transmission: 4-speed auto, rear-wheel drive 
Power (hp): 280@5,750rpm
Torque (lb ft): 284@4,000 -4,750rpm
MPG: 27.9 (at 120 km/h)
CO2: N/A
First registered: 1997
Recorded mileage: 140,000
Price new: £38,250 (base price for standard C36, before Brabus extras)
Yours for: £5,390

See the original ad here.

[MrTree]

Its a very nice example but i dont think this is a brabus at all apart from the badges and wheels, it looks like a basic C36 AMG but with dark brabus rims and badges. also brabus tend to take the top spec amg and throw half of it away to create thier own beast so why would they start with this C36 and not the C43? also the stitching in the interior is complete AMG wheras brabus brand thier own stuff so should have more brabus emblems and stiching and more of a subtle but aggressive body kit where this one is basic AMG. also they tend to take the powerfull to extreme and in this case it seems like they havnt done much.

so all in all i would say its mutton dressed as lamb!

[myhandle]

MrTree said:

also brabus tend to take the top spec amg and throw half of it away to create thier own beast so why would they start with this C36 and not the C43?

The C36 was made before the C43, they were not in the range at the same time.

[KillerHERTZ]

NOTHING about this car is Brabus - Doesnt anyone at PH Towers check these things? It might aswell be called "M Sport Edition"

Its a C36 AMG, photographed with HDR filters to make it look nice and festooned in eBay tat.


For the record a geniune BRABUS pre-facelift W202 looks like this:

Edited by KillerHERTZ on Tuesday 10th November 15:04

[Dan Trent]

KillerHERTZ said:

NOTHING about this car is Brabus - Doesnt anyone at PH Towers check these things?

Its a C36 AMG, photographed with HDR filters to make it look nice and festooned in eBay tat.

Thanks for the pic - that's proper! And point taken but if you know your Mercs (which I'm guessing you do!) you'll know Brabus additions can go from a few trim bits to a full engine transplant and more. This is clearly at the lower end of that spectrum and I don't think we made any claims beyond that.

Worst comes to worst remove the Brabus badges and you're left with a nice looking pre-facelift C36 with the original square-cut bodykit which, IMO, is nicer and more 'authentic' than the later one on the five-speed cars and carried over to the C43.

Cheers,

Dan

[KillerHERTZ]

Dan Trent said:

Thanks for the pic - that's proper! And point taken but if you know your Mercs (which I'm guessing you do!) you'll know Brabus additions can go from a few trim bits to a full engine transplant and more. This is clearly at the lower end of that spectrum and I don't think we made any claims beyond that.

Worst comes to worst remove the Brabus badges and you're left with a nice looking pre-facelift C36 with the original square-cut bodykit which, IMO, is nicer and more 'authentic' than the later one on the five-speed cars and carried over to the C43.

Cheers,

Dan

All good - I like your Merc articles BTW!

Your right, remove all the junk and (as long as its not rusty) you have a good example of an increasingly rare Merc

[BarbaricAvatar]

The wheels go some way to ruining the whole visual impact of the car. They should be silver-coloured with many spokes imo.
Otherwise it's lovely

[rastapasta]

I know a guy from Albania who has one of these...

[MBZ 6]

Here are a few things a factory Brabus needs




Brabus steering wheel and 200mph clocks




Brabus engine



Brabus seats and door cards

In a nut shell there are Brabus cars and Mercedes cars with Brabus bits

Edited by MBZ 6 on Wednesday 11th November 07:17

[MBZ 6]

I think I will go and buy it right now.

After all its a 250mph car for less than 6k


Mileage: 140,000
Year: 1997
Doors: 4
Body type: Saloon
Transmission type: Automatic
Fuel type: Petrol
Colour: Blue
Details
Engine layout: Front Engined
Aspiration: Normally Aspirated
Engine size (Litres): 3.6
Engine configuration: 6 cylinder
Cylinder layout: Na
Cylinders: 6
Engine power (BHP): 306
Torque (lbs/ft): 385
Top speed (MPH): 250
Acceleration: 0 to 62 in 6.9 seconds
Driven wheels: Rear Wheel Drive

[British Export]

Very cool car. And what a Benz for the money!

[ArmaghMan]

MBZ 6
Please put a few pics of your 190 Brabus up on the "show us your Mercedes" thread.
If people are happy to see my boggo standard, tidy E 55 then your motor will turn a few heads.

[AC43]

I knew you could ruin the look of a new car with black wheels but that just proves they look even worse on an older one.

[mickyveloce]

I'm still a C36 beard, having owned my red car for just over 9 years now(!).

This car looks tidy, but, badges aside, ain't no Brabus.

It is always good to see a tidy W202 though, and they're certainly getting rare. A quick check of Mobile.de shows more Countachs for sale in Europe.

A couple of points worthy of mention include the MAF wiring unsupported across the top of the (hot) engine, and the lack of rubber wheelarch trims is annoying.

I fully agree with the whole black wheel thing; they don't look great.

I've racked up 30,000 miles in mine over the years, many in Europe, and the car continues to delight. I'm looking to augment my Merc collection with a C63 estate at some stage, but the C36 is the keeper.

[Pesty]

ArmaghMan said:

MBZ 6
Please put a few pics of your 190 Brabus up on the "show us your Mercedes" thread.
If people are happy to see my boggo standard, tidy E 55 then your motor will turn a few heads.

Yes please I didn't even know that existed

[MBZ 6]

Here you go

[Mr Tidy]

Thanks for posting that MBZ6 - it looks fantastic, and I bet it goes like a stabbed rat!

Many years ago I had a W123 280E, then later a W201 190E which was followed by a W202 C280 Sport that put me off Mercs for good - one of the most disappointing cars I ever had, and I was so looking forward to getting it! I think it being an auto didn't help as I bought it based on a drive of a mate's C280 Elegance with a special order manual box which was great!

Probably should have gone for a manual 190E Cosworth in hindsight (any Brabus was a stretch of the budget too far)!

Keep enjoying your Brabus!

[Pesty]

Love it.

[MBZ 6]

Mr Tidy said:

Thanks for posting that MBZ6 - it looks fantastic, and I bet it goes like a stabbed rat!

Many years ago I had a W123 280E, then later a W201 190E which was followed by a W202 C280 Sport that put me off Mercs for good - one of the most disappointing cars I ever had, and I was so looking forward to getting it! I think it being an auto didn't help as I bought it based on a drive of a mate's C280 Elegance with a special order manual box which was great!

Probably should have gone for a manual 190E Cosworth in hindsight (any Brabus was a stretch of the budget too far)!

Keep enjoying your Brabus!

Mine has a Gertag dogleg box ( I think its the same as the Cosworth box )
Wouldn,t be as much fun with an auto

[Dr G]

That's very cool and deserves its own thread if you haven't already. I love old Merc obscurities like this

[MBZ 6]

Dr G said:

That's very cool and deserves its own thread if you haven't already. I love old Merc obscurities like this

Its one of four three LHD and my RHD