Autoblog

Click above for high-res gallery of the BRABUS C63 AMG

BRABUS, the German tuner of all things Daimler, has laid its hands upon the C63 AMG and somehow teased out an additional 73 horsepower from the sedan's 6.2L V8. With a BRABUS badge on the back, the C63 AMG produces 530 hp and 479 lb-ft of torque, up from 457 and 442, respectively. Called the B63 S performance kit, the engine mods include free-flow high-performance metal catalysts, sport air filters and new programming for the ECU with custom mapping. With everything in place, the BRABUS C63 AMG can hit 62 mph in just 4.1 seconds and ultimately top out at 197 mph. Of course, the rest of the sedan has been beefed up to support the engine with components like a BRABUS performance brake system, 19-inch wheels and a height-adjustable BRABUS coil-over suspension. Finally, the German tuner has a whole catalogue of interior and exterior accessories to set your B63 S apart from stock C63 AMGs.


[Source: BRABUS, eMercedesBenz]

Click above for hi-res gallery of the Bugatti Veyron Fbg par Hermes

We know what you're thinking, because we're in the same lamentable position ourselves: you'd totally order up that uber-exclusive Hermes edition Veyron, but you're not a big fan of the brown and tan paint scheme. Fortunately Bugatti has heard your cries, brother, and announced the availability of new color options for the Veyron Fbg.

The announcement actually came from Monterey but was quickly overshadowed, somewhat ironically, by the unveiling of the open-top Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport and the subsequent auction of its first example for $3.2 million. The unveiling of the new-tint Hermes Veyrons took place at the Quail motorsport gathering on Monterey Peninsula, where Bugatti revealed the four new color schemes available: "indigo blue and vermilion", "indigo blue and lime green", " black and garance red" and "Prussian blue and blue jean". We're not entirely sure what all these colors are, exactly, and given that Bugatti put them in quotation marks, we're not sure they're sure, either. They undoubtedly would have shown us pictures of all four, but given that these 1.5 million euro hyper-exotics are made to order and available only from the end of the year, we doubt examples of each color option have been made yet. Of course they all come decked out with the H-pattern grille, eight-spoke wheels, lavish calfskin interior and exclusive package of specially-made Hermes luggage.

Follow the jump for all the details, and check out the gallery below to see the new black and "garance red" Veyron Fbg par Hermes, which we like to call the "Autoblog Edition".

[Source: Bugatti]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the BRABUS SL

"BRABUS" might as well be German for, "Hey, why not?" This would seem to be the question its engineers ask themselves before they stuff ludicrous amounts of power under the hoods of Mercedes-Benz cars and trucks. This behavior is well-documented, and it continues unabated with the arrival of MB's new SL. Full wheel/tire, interior, and styling packages are a given. Backing up those enhanced looks is an assortment of tuning packages capable of providing more power than even Montgomery Scott could ever plead for.

The SV12 S Biturbo engine swap appears to have been created by someone with a severe, pathological hatred for tires. This is the same engine used in the Brabus Bullit, and it dishes out a predictably ridiculous 720 horsepower and 973 lb-ft of torque. The latter number is electronically restrained to a mere 811 lb-ft., and a top speed of well over 200 mph comes with the territory. Not interested in the full swap? No worries, BRABUS has your back. SL 65 AMG drivers can opt for the T 65 S package, which bumps the stock V12 Biturbo to 705 hp/811 lb-ft. There's a solution for the all-motor SL 63 AMG as well that packs on an additional 40 horses over stock. This pattern continues right on down the line -- even the "lowly" V6-powered cars can be tuned to deliver 327 hp/ 310 lb-ft. Bonkers. Er, BRABUS, rather.


[Source: BRABUS]

Click the image above for more hi-res shots of the Brabus Black Arrow in matte and siblings

We had Brabus for breakfast here in Geneva, and it is hereby declared the Breakfast of (Obscenely Wealthy) Champions. The Bullitt Black Sheep Arrow in matte -- what else -- black, sat brooding near its pure white and red siblings, the Brabus SLR Roadster and matching Ultimate 112. And is there really any better way to start the day than with a combined €1,083,000 bowl of 1,482-HP goodness? We didn't think so. Beats a double espresso. Check out the full gallery of live shots below.

Click above for high-res gallery of the BRABUS Bullit Black Arrow

At its Frankfurt introduction last year, the BRABUS Bullit was positioned as the tuner's ultimate "sleeper." Painted a fairly standard-looking gray with subdued black wheels and carbon-fiber accents, the Bullit did differ from some of BRABUS' more wildly extroverted vehicles, which scream "SUPER TUNER! LOOK AT ME!" That's not to say that the Bullit doesn't have the creds, though -- a 720-horsepower twin-turbo V12 with torque electronically limited to 811 lb-ft will certainly get the job done. (Sans the electronic safety net, it produces 974 lb-ft, in case you were wondering. Tires become one with the ozone layer at the mere thought of this.)

For Geneva this year, BRABUS is bringing the Bullitt Black Arrow. What's different about it? Not much, except that its matte black finish transforms it from "sleeper" to outright "stealth fighter." You can almost imagine the finish absorbing police radar and dissipating it as the Bullit screams past Johnny Law at 224 mph. Time to call in the chopper, officer -- you're not catching this one on four wheels. Still, in the end, the Black Arrow is essentially just a paint package for an already super-mega-double-secret-handshake special edition tuner car. And it's got a price to match -- €348,000 (same as the regular Bullit).


[Source: BRABUS]

Click image for a hi-res gallery of the Brabus SLR and its tender

Megayachts usually come with fancy tenders, so why not supercars, too? BRABUS has taken the idea and run with it, pairing one of its tuned McLaren SLR Roadsters with a matching runabout in the form of a smart fortwo-based ULTIMATE 112. The SLR is the beneficiary of the usual complement of upgrades, including a full body and trim kit (dig those carbon fiber replacement "gills"), a custom interior, and the requisite underhood tweaking, which bestows the roadster with 650 horsepower -- enough to make the Kessel run to 62 mph in 3.6 seconds, with a top end of 211 mph.

When its time to park the super-Merc and head into more constrained areas of the city, it's occupants can switch over to the car's ULTIMATE 112 "tender" which is finished and appointed to perfectly match its "mothership." In this case, that means the same white paint, deep red roof fabric, and right red leather interior -- right down to the waffle-patterned leather footwell trim. Of course, the little shuttlecraft gets a power bump as well, with 112 thundering horses prancing ponies under the wee bonnet. The cost of this matching set? A mere €699,000 gets the job done for owners of either an SLR or a Maybach, and it shows us that BRABUS is uniquely capable of finding new and innovative ways to separate the obscenely wealthy from large chunks of their money.

The BRABUS press release gets into the minutiae after the jump.


[Source: BRABUS]

With all the hype surrounding the imminent sale of smart fortwos beginning next month here in the U.S., we overlooked a line on the smart's website that may hint at some hotted-up versions of the diminutive coupe. Although the model will initially be introduced with 1.0-liter three-pot, "Other engine types and sizes (including BRABUS) may become available in the next few years though no specific timeline has been outlined." What size engines they're referring to is up in the air, but if smart begins selling factory-authorized Brabus accessories – particularly the tuner's engine packages – it might open up a whole other demographic to the smart's growing fan base.

[Source: smart USA]

Click on the images to view in high-speed and high-resolution

Remember the Maybach Exelero? The ultra-premium marque from Merceceds-Benz built it almost two years ago as a high-speed test vehicle based on its Maybach 57 luxury sedan, but unfortunately never offered production versions to the public. To the rescue comes Brabus, those whacky German tuners who give the go-fast treatment to everything produced by the three-pointed star, from the Smart ForTwo all the way up to this 730-hp limousine.

Like the Exelero, Brabus' monster is based on the Maybach 57 and was built in order to achieve the highest speeds attainable. To get there, Brabus tuned the Maybach's twin-turbo V12 to the same standard as the CLS-based Brabus Rocket speed record car: that means boosting power from 550 hp to 730, thanks to an increase in displacement from 5.5 liters to 6.3, coupled with a new crankshaft, pistons, cylinder heads... the works. The turbos were beefed up, and along with the intercoolers, a custom exhaust was installed and the ECU was reprogrammed.

The result is a top speed of 330.2 km/h (205.2 mph in American speak) achieved at the same Nardo test track in Italy where the Exelero was put through its places. A far cry from the 218.4 mph achieved by the Exelero, but not to shabby in its own right. And here you thought the S versions of the Maybach 57 and 62 were obscene enough....

Check out the images in the gallery below, and the press release after the jump.

[Source: Brabus]

We're back with Autoblog Podcast #77, and it's a Frankfurt-recap extravaganza. We discuss our favorite picks, as well as touching on some of the numerous highlights from the monster-sized show. We got a glimpse of the Jaguar XF in person, and it's better in person, but can it save Jaguar? BMW unveiled the X6, it's own AMC Spirit ripoff, not to be left behind by the Audi Cross Coupe Quattro from Shanghai. We continue on about exotic sheetmetal from Brabus, Schnitzer, Bentley, and Aston Martin, to name a few. On the more mundane tip, the Mazda 6 rocked, the Aveo was ugly, the Journey landed on its face, and could we please, please knock it off with the front quarter panel vents? After Alex's speed-round wrapup, we discuss a solitary piece of non-Frankfurt news, the Jeep J8. Yes, it's awesome, no, you can't buy one. Damn, that's stupid, Chrysler. Onward!

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Click the image above for a gallery of live and press shots of the BRABUS Ultimate 112.

Sure it's €45,900, but what better commuter companion could you have if you want to keep your BRABUS Bullit within the safe confines of your garage? BRABUS smart fortwo cabrio-based Ultimate 112 lives up to its lofty moniker with 112 metric horses (110 HP) sending power to 18-inch rollers, controlled by the standard flappy paddle gearbox. Upping the available grip of the tangerine city schlepper are a set of BRABUS coilovers, with 235/35 R 18 high-performance tires out back and 205s keeping things sticky in front.

All the details can be found in our previous post, and be sure to check out our live images in the gallery below.