The AMG GT 63 S E Performance is already a pretty staggering machine, the combination of twin-turbo V8 and battery making for an even faster, even more capable GT 4-door. The standard one already being an AMG barnstormer of the highest calibre. All of which has spurred Brabus on into some of its most extreme work yet - the plug-in GT63 deserved nothing less, after all. So say hello to (then run and hide from) the Brabus Rocket 1000, the first Bottrop-boosted Benz with a thousand horsepower.
Even in these power-crazed times, there’s still something momentous about a four-door with a four-figure power output. It’s Lamborghini Revuelto and Ferrari SF90 levels. Brabus has (perhaps wisely) left the 204hp electric motor alone, instead focusing on what it does best: making monster V8s. The 4.0-litre hot-V hellraiser is bored and stroked to 4,407cc, with a new brace of turbos puffing at 1.4 bar, ‘a host of Brabus performance components’, an evil ECU tune and an exhaust to wake the dead. Yet with TÜV approval, and Euro 6D ISC-FCM compliance.
The numbers are astonishing. The engine on its own is 796hp and 922lb ft strong. Overall the car is capable of 1,342lb ft (!), but is limited to just the 1,195lb ft (774lb ft from the V8) for durability. A useful uptick from an already ludicrous 1,084lb ft. Brabus says 0-62mph is dispatched in 2.7 seconds, and that the Rocket 1000 will reach 186mph in just 23.9 seconds. The limiter comes in 10mph (and presumably not many seconds) later.
To ensure that everyone knows this isn’t just any old GT63, Brabus has fitted a widebody kit. So the Rocket is 67mm broader than standard thanks to new wings, and the bare carbon aero parts should aid stability. And help it look even meaner; Brabus itself states that the diffuser ‘perfectly showcases the four carbon jacketed titanium exhaust pipes’. An air suspension module drops the ride height 20mm, and the huge wheels (21-inch front and 22-inch rear) are forged ‘using state-of-the-art technologies.’ Signature Grey or Superblack are the only colour choices, which is double the amount usually offered.
Go for the grey and you’ll get red accents inside, where the black gets grey. Both get a heritage pattern with ‘77’ embossed (the year Brabus was formed) and more quilting than one car could ever really need. They’re described as nothing less than ‘masterpiece interiors’ by the people who've made them.
Brabus is going to make just 25 examples of its 1,000hp beasts, and the RRP is just as punchy as the rest of the Rocket: €450,000 - or £385,000. About twice what a standard E Performance costs, and that’s already pricey and potent enough. Only one of them has a thousand horsepower, though…
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