If you asked somebody at Brabus why they would want to take a muscular and very capable off-roader and turn it into the automotive equivalent of Usain Bolt in hiking boots, the answer would probably be: “Because we can.”
Yes, it's automotive arrogance of a sort that will probably resonate with oil-fueled rich kids who have nothing to do but race up and down sand dunes, but you have to admire the sheer singlemindedness (not to mention the impressive engineering) that has gone into the Brabus B63 Widestar.
Yes Cyril, this is Mercedes-Benz GL63 AMG (no slouch in the muscle department to start with) that's been fitted with a 620 PowerXtra module which piggybacks on the standard ECU and boosts the 5.5-litre AMG biturbo V8 from 410kW and 760Nm to 456.3kW at a low 5750rom and 820Nm from 2000-5000rpm.
That'll launch this two-and-a-half-ton off-roader from 0-100km/h in just 4.7 seconds and on to an electronically limited top speed of 280km/h.
POWER IS NOTHING WITHOUT CONTROL
The Brabus tuning work also includes a free-flow stainless-steel exhaust system with a butterfly valve (controlled by a button on the steering wheel) that lets the driver choose between a stealthy “coming home” mode and a full-blooded V8 sound akin to that of a Nascar racer.
Good as it is, the standard GL running gear would not be able to handle that much grunt, so there's a choice of Brabus cast or forged rims in 21, 22 or 23” diameters - the latter wearing 305/30 high-performance road tyres - that are as much as 15 percent lighter than the stock hoops. A Brabus control module for the Airmatic air suspension, specially calibrated to whichever wheel/tyre combination you have chosen, lowers ride height by about 30mm.
Also available is a high-performance brake system with six-piston aluminum callipers gripping 405mm vented and cross-drilled front discs and four-pot callipers on 380mm rear discs.
The rest is gilding the lily - but it's 24-carat stuff.
Wheel-arch flares all round add 80mm to the width of the body and huge air intakes in the special front moulding let the radiators and front brakes get as much cooling air as possible while reducing front-axle lift at high speeds.
At the rear there's a biplane roof spoiler and a special rear-bumper element with an integrated diffuser and precisely-fitted cutouts for the ceramic-coated tailpipes.
Inside you'll find stainless-steel scuff plates, each with its backlit Brabus logo, interior trim in a combination of top-quality natural and man-made alcantara suede leather, sewn in precise patterns, and wooden trim dovetailed together like the deck of a ship.
The B63's sporty credentials are underlined by a new speedometer that reads to 320km/h, aluminium pedals and door-lock pins, and longer shift paddles.
The Brabus B63 is, in essence, a beautifully-fashioned blunt instrument, with about as much finesse as a charging rhinoceros. And that, we suppose, is the attraction: absolute power, and all that stuff.