Brabus is the German uber-tuner that's made its name taking oversized engines from AMG Benzes and wedging them into smaller, lower-down-the-line models. It's also known for keeping the dark Satanic mills in situ and making them even bigger. And so comes word that the new mega-motored 2008 Brabus SL will be called the R230. Hang on; wasn't there a Benz by that name? And didn't Brabus tune it? You guys really are the Best and Brightest! Anyway, this nose-heavy monster sports (in the ironic sense) a custom turbocharged 6.3-liter V12. Ready? It's got 730 horsepower and 811 ft.-lbs.of torque. Thanks to the five-speed automatic transmission, the industry standard sprint from rest to 60 mph will only occupy four seconds of your valuable (if you can afford this) time. Hey! You just might outrun a stock Corvette! Okay, that was cruel. But true. Also true: AMG will soon offer an SL Black Series with 700-something horsepower AND a factory warranty. And then Brabus will tune that. Madness.
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Does it have trouble putting that much power to the ground? Even though the SL is heavier than a Corvette, 4s to 60 seems conservative, given that en engine like this could pull a cruise boat.
According to today’s Pistonheads page (link), it’s called the R230, not R320, and actually makes 973 lb. ft of torque, which is “limited” to only 811. The LED running lights are pretty, though….
@maxxm:
230 v 320 is corrected, my dyslexic mistake!
As for the potential amount of power, you are right that the engine could make 973, but the car can’t handle it. In terms of the vehicle they are producing, 811 will be the number.
It’s sort of dodgy for them to report the 973 if you think about it; BMW doesn’t report that the 335i’s engine has 400 hp but is limited to 300, even though a simple chip job would have it up around 400.
@ Justin Berkowitz:
Calling it a “230” makes it sound even more like a “sleeper,” but no one in his/her right mind would ever really believe that about Brabus. At least it loses the numerical correspondence with the Merc minivan though, I suppose. I doubt anyone would cross-shop those two models.
And you’re absolutely right about the perverse numbers game played with the torque figure; a similar analysis would also apply to scores of other vehicles as well. Perhaps the power is limited only in certain ways and not in others that were not fully explained. Either number, of course, is sufficient to move a cement mixer. The truth is that these figures are great for vain competitive boasting but not for much else.
Didn’t Top Gear test one of Brabus’ monstrosities? I seem to recall that the tuned car was a nightmare to drive, not only because it had trouble putting all that power to the ground, but mostly because the stability control was very, very twitchy, as it was simply not designed to handle this kind of power.
AKM : 0-60, especially in cars this heavy, and with this much power, is mostly a function of traction. I think 0-60 is getting pretty outdated now that nearly every fast car can do it in under 5 seconds. 0-100 and/or quarter mile ET and trap speed will tell you a lot more about straight line thrust than 0-60
@maxxm
The LED running lights are pretty, though….
They add a touch of “backyard tuned Golf”…
@ Mirko Reinhardt:
Exactly.
eBay anyone?
maybe i’m getting old (no, can’t be) or just getting wiser (no doubt) but the Cayman S is a much more appealing car to me than this hyperhorsed monstrosity. how much power is too much? i think we’re about there.
brownie :
May 1st, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Didn’t Top Gear test one of Brabus’ monstrosities? I seem to recall that the tuned car was a nightmare to drive, not only because it had trouble putting all that power to the ground, but mostly because the stability control was very, very twitchy, as it was simply not designed to handle this kind of power.
Yep, I remember them testing some type of Brabus tuned Mercedes a couple of seasons ago, I believe it was. It seems to me that it got a horrible review relative to the stock offering from Mercedes because it couldn’t handle the extra power Brabus had shoved under the hood. If I remember correctly, Clarkson questioned why you would pay more for a car that gave you less driving enjoyment.
Someone should break the news to Brabus that adding horese power to any AMG Merc does not improve their driving enjoyment. Brabus Mercs are just a waste of perfectly good rubber and a conspicuous display of overcompensation by their owners.
as an MB employee, the designation “R230” is our reference to chassis. all MB models have an inside reference ie- the new C-Class is a W204 body, (a la BMW and their “E” designations).
and carguy, before making such comments, please drive a Brabus equipped MB, because obviously you have never done so. thanks.
Officially sanctioned BBC Youtube of Top Gear Brabus SL review.
I love the way that Brabus make the AMG folks look stodgy and far too sensible!
I like the caption on the photo btw.
ignore the 0-60 – that’s essentially a meaningless figure in my opinion – great, you can sprint from stoplight to stoplight – it tells you a car’s ability to launch and its power in 1st through maybe 3rd gear.
The 0-120 on this thing will be the one you want to watch, especially for this monstrosity.