Johannesburg - South Africa’s leading importer of exotic cars, Daytona, has added another high-performance nameplate to its repertoire after being appointed sole distributor of renowned Mercedes tuning brand Brabus this week.
Founded in Germany in 1977, the Brabus firm is well-known as the crème de la crème of aftermarket Mercedes tuners, and while the Stuttgart giant and its in-house tuning agent AMG might need no help with producing wicked cars on their own, Brabus exists to satisfy the power cravings of well-off clientele who abide by the ‘too much is never enough’ motto.
Its high-end products include add-on components such as wheels, body kits, and suspension and exhaust systems; but extends to complete custom vehicles which know no limits in terms of performance upgrades. One of its most famous creations, called the Brabus Rocket, uses a modified twin-turbo V12 with 588kW from the bigger S-Class transplanted into a smaller CLS body. The Rocket set a World Land Speed Record for street-legal sedans in 2006, with a speed of 366km/h.
Another more recent model, the 850 6.0 Biturbo Coupé, is based on a standard S63 AMG Coupé, but gets power hiked to an insane 625kW and 1450Nm. The all-wheel drive 850 (named for its output in horsepower) is credited with a 0-100km/h time of 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 350km/h. Almost all models in Mercedes’ line-up are eligible for Brabus treatment in one form or another.
Daytona will for now use existing showrooms alongside McLaren, Aston Martin and Rolls Royce cars to display and sell Brabus products in Johannesburg and Cape Town, but plans to open a stand alone Brabus dealership in Melrose Arch in 2017. Sales will operate on an order-only basis in the interim, but complete cars will be on offer when the Brabus showroom is finished.
For more information call Daytona in Johannesburg on 011-301-7100 or Cape Town on 021-425-2007, but if you have to ask how much, you can’t afford it.
Star Motoring