When carmakers produce bonkers cars as standard, the challenge for tuners is simple: make them even more colossal. In selling
an E63 AMG estate
with a heady 585hp, Mercedes-Benz threw down the gauntlet to Brabus. Its response? An 850hp E-Class estate capable of 0-62mph in 3.1 seconds.
You'd kind of hope it'd look sinister; does
Yes, a 1,950-litre load bay, yet 3.1 seconds to 62mph. No, we can't get our heads around it, either.
To achieve such hypercar-humbling power, Brabus has bored-and-stroked the 5.5-litre AMG V8 engine to 6.0-litres (with bespoke forged-from-billet components), fitted two larger turbos and added a complex air intake module that includes ducting sheathed in gold sheet, McLaren F1-style. Brabus really isn't messing about with half-measures here, proven by the 62,000-mile mechanical warranty.
Called Brabus 850 6.0 Biturbo, the car would, like the saloon version also offered, actually be capable of 217mph, reckons the firm - but for the extra load that estate shape places on the rear tyres. As such, it's capped it to 186mph. It's also restricted torque to 848lb ft, in the interest of longevity: on the dyno, this engine produces 1,069lb ft - and that's flat between 2,500-4,500rpm...
Bling is reserved for under the bonnet
The best thing? To achieve that 3.1-second 0-62mph dash, you need the all-wheel drive version. but Brabus will also sell it in regular two-wheel drive guise. Seriously: that's 424lb ft per driven wheel... quite apart from the rally in share prices of Continental, Pirelli and Yokohama such a car would provide, if that doesn't set the scene for a potentially awe-inspiring Harris video, we don't know what does.