2008 Brabus Bullit - Edmunds First Drive

When the 2008 Brabus Bullit made its first appearance over at the Frankfurt auto show last fall, they basically stirred up the entire pot and got the auto world anxious to see what the famed Brabus powerhouse was going to bring. Or should I say, power-haus. Then again, I think Bondo Buschmann, the founder and CEO of Brabus, likes it that way.

Well, here it is. Arguably the baddest C-class ever built (other than the CLK-GTR which is bananas as well). The Brabus Bullit (as this C-class is being referred to) is just the average, run of the mill 223-mph projectile ready to rip chunks of pavement out of your driveway or your local expressway. Just the shear notion of a MB v12 (which immediately gives me the mental picture of the Pagani Zonda motor shot) with twin-turbo's and a reportedly 720-horsepower makes a man quiver. What can you do with 720 hp? I can't imagine 720hp in a Ferrari or Lamborghini, let alone a compact 4 door sedan. But when I stop to think about it, all I can must er ups is ahhh....bliss.

So whats good? Peep game.



Brabus starts off with the Brabus SV12 S BiTurbo, an in-house version (w/ exclusive specifications that cannot be completely detailed) of the twin-turbo 6.0-liter Mercedes-Benz V12. The motor is fully re-built including, but not limited to, new rods, pistons, cam and ultimately ending in the new stainless exhaust. The heads are also re-machined with the full port and polishing you would expect with this type of monstrosity. Not to mention that block is also bored over to bring overall displacement up to 6,233 cc. Next is the hardware that helps with the phenomenal numbers. The turbo's. My personal favorite part of the car. The stock turbo's have been upgraded to a non specified, but absolutely, larger turbos accompanied by higher efficiency intercoolers in the stock locations.

All of this yields final numbers of: 720 hp ; 974 ft/lbs tq*

This is all put down by the MB 5 speed automatic. In case you are wondering why not the 7 speed auto? Apparently, it does not have the torque capacity of the 5 speed. Although Brabus also added its special touch to the 5 speed as well to bring it up to par. And of course a limited slip differential is packed into the pumpkin out back.

So it looks wild huh?





Now, to the cosmetic side. To me, just as important as what runs the car and how it runs. It's obvious that the car looks crazy. And we all know that it is not simply a mild reconstruction of lip spoilers or grills. This has been heavily modified. The front fascia has been modified to allow for more air to reach the monstrously deep breathing V12. There are new side skirt's, new 3-piece rear spoiler and an ILL carbon fiber aero diffuser beneath the rear bumper.



So how does it stay on the ground?

As you would expect with a car as extreme as this, you already know that coilover's are standard issue. The dampers are 10 way adjustable in both compression and rebound with springs retaining a higher spring rate. There are new stiffer antiroll bars, as well, to complement the suspension. Brakes? Ridiculous. Let's just say 15 front, 12 rear. And no I'm not talking anything other than inches. So yea. Basically, you can almost stop the rotation of the earth with these things.

And me, the wheel whore that I am, here are those specs:

f: 19x9 - 265/30 zr19 - Yokohama Advan Sport tires
r: 19x10 - 285/30 zr 19 - Yokohama Advan Sport tires

Did I mention it has an interior?



Butter soft leather. Aluminum. Alcantara. Carbon Fiber. Any questions?

So what are the numbers we are waiting for?

Brabus is promising the following:

100 km/h (62 mph) - 3.9 seconds
200 km/h (124 mph) - 10.5 seconds
300 km/h (186 mph) - 24.5 seconds.

Hopefully this number is NOT a promise:

Price: $515,000.

* - The ECU has been calibrated to reduce the output to a more manageable 811 lb-ft tq.

special thanks to Frederic Lardenois for the information.