While some ponder the meaning of life and the endlessness of the cosmos, others consider more relevant questions. Like how much muscle it would take to propel a seven-passenger luxury SUV to 60 in four seconds. Those are the questions contemplated by our kind of people – like the tinkers at Brabus. And their answer is 850 horsepower.
Witness the new Brabus 850 XL, the tuner’s take on the Mercedes GLS. Brabus bored out the AMG’s 5.5-liter twin-turbo V8 to six round liters and increased output to a staggering 838 hp (by our standards) and torque to a mind-blowing 1,069 lb-ft.
As a result, the Brabus-tuned GLS will rocket to 62 miles per hour from a standstill in 4.2 seconds en route to a top speed of 186 mph – which was only limited to keep the tires from disintegrating. Those are insane figures for a vehicle that large and heavy, but as you might have guessed, the venerable Benz tuner didn’t stop there.
Brabus also fitted a full carbon-fiber aero kit, 23-inch wheels, and stainless steel variable exhaust with ceramic-coated tailpipes. It recalibrated the air suspension and reskinned the interior as well, resulting in a modified vehicle ready to take the fight to the Bentley Bentayga and whatever else the market has to throw at it.
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