We’ll be honest, at no point have we looked at the latest, now AMG-only Mercedes SL and thought “It looks good, but what if it were a shooting brake?” Esteemed Mercedes tuner Brabus did, though, and this, the Rocket GTS, is the result. Oh, and it’s got as much power as the original Bugatti Veyron.
The starting point for this car is the V8 hybrid-powered SL63 S E-Performance, which already packs a fairly hefty 805bhp punch. Brabus has taken that car’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, and bored it out to 4.5 litres. It’s also fitted an uprated crankshaft, pistons and conrods, new turbos, and a new ECU.
Brabus Rocket GTS – rear
All this means that the engine alone is now making 785bhp. Throw in the 201bhp electric motor, and peak combined power is a quoted 986bhp, delivered (thankfully) to all four wheels. The system’s also apparently capable of delivering a mighty 1342lb ft of torque, but Brabus has pinned this to ‘only’ 1195lb ft to prevent the Rocket GTS from leaving bits of its nine-speed automatic gearbox all over the road after a hard launch.
Nevertheless, the quoted performance numbers are as vicious as you’d imagine. 62mph takes 2.6 seconds, 124mph comes up in 9.5 seconds, and 186mph is reached in 23.6 seconds. Top speed, meanwhile, is quoted at 197mph.
Brabus Rocket GTS – rear
Naturally, there’s also a very shouty exhaust system (with illuminated tailpipes, no less), just in case the SL’s new look doesn’t scream loudly enough for you. Aside from the obvious – the fact that Brabus has taken Merc’s soft-top roadster and turned it into a hard-top shooting brake, a la BMW M Coupe or Ferrari FF – the entire body is widened, and reclothed in carbon fibre.
A new front apron and rear diffuser contribute to improved aero performance, as do the aero discs adorning the five-spoke carbon fibre centrelock wheels. The interior, too, is filled with vast quantities of carbon fibre.
Brabus Rocket GTS – interior
Brabus has taken an already heavy car (although nobody knows yet exactly how heavy) and added more bodywork, so even with all that carbon fibre, we don’t expect this to be a flyweight. Brabus doesn’t quote a weight figure, though.
What we also don’t know is how many Rocket GTSs Brabus plans to make – for now, we just know it’ll be ‘limited’ – or how much it’ll cost. We have to assume many, many hundreds of thousands of pounds, though.
