The Brabus Rocket 1000 is one mean four door
German tuning house Brabus might have just outdone itself with its latest creation: meet the Brabus Rocket 1000, a proper four-door sedan with fat tires and a ludicrous 1,000 horsepower from its hybrid powertrain. It marks the first time Brabus has hit the four-digit-horsepower figure on a production vehicle.
The Brabus Rocket 1000 is based on the Mercedes-amg GT 63 S E Performance. In stock form, it is already currently the most powerful production Mercedes-amg car, a hybrid monster with a combined output of 843 hp and 1,084 poundfeet of torque. However — and no surprises, here — even that was not enough for Brabus.
The tuning outfit mostly left the E Performance's 204-hp electric motor and 6.1-kwh battery untouched. The main work that let it reach the magical 1,000-hp mark was carried out on the twin-turbo V-8 combustion engine. First, the capacity was increased to 4.5 litres, up from 4.0 L. The power plant also gained new pistons, stainless-steel exhaust, a custom crankshaft and high-performance turbochargers.
The result is a hulking beast with 1,000 hp and an earth-thumping 1,342 lb-ft of torque, though actual torque output is artificially limited to 774 lb-ft to protect the drivetrain. The Brabus super-sedan
stays true to its “Rocket” moniker, though, as it's able to accelerate from zero to 60 m.p.h. (96 km/h) in less than 2.6 seconds. Top speed is an electronically limited 196 m.p.h. (315 km/h).
Design-wise, the Rocket 1000 stands apart with Brabus's signature “1 Second Wow” effect. It is essentially a body kit in exposed carbon-fibre, with various aerodynamic enhancements and other
performance-inspired tweaks. The flared wheel arches accommodate custom monoblock wheels, 21 inches at the front and 22 at the rear.
Only 25 examples of the Brabus Rocket 1000 will be built, each carrying a price tag just shy of C$655,600 (US$485,000). It's an eye-wateringly extraordinary sum, but then again, this is no ordinary machine.