Brabus Rocket 900: the intimidating 900 hp rocket

Simply looking at images of this widened, muscular and intimidating Brabus Rocket 900 makes it clear that this is no half-hearted job - after all, it is a Brabus…

Park the Brabus Rocket 900 beside the Poseidon GT 63 RS 830+ we featured a week ago and, although the latter has slightly more power, it ends up looking like a “choirboy” - or, more kindly, a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”.

All this visual drama is warranted by the greatly enhanced capabilities over the car on which it is based: the already imposing four-door Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4MATIC+, a formidable creation from the masters in Affalterbach that we have already had the chance to experience.

Brabus Rocket 900 bodywork and wheels

The Rocket 900 is 7.8 cm wider than the standard model, with the additional width concentrated at the rear axle and evident in its flared wheel arches. It also gains a sizeable rear wing and a prominent rear diffuser, both made from carbon fibre, further reinforcing its more menacing appearance.

Completing the package are Brabus’s own Monoblock Z Platinum Edition wheels, measuring a substantial 21 x 10.5 inches at the front and 22 x 12 inches at the rear. They are shod with 295/30 and 335/25 tyres respectively.

If the looks are impressive, what about the engine?

This is where the Brabus Rocket 900 truly separates itself from other tuning conversions. The M 177 fitted to the GT 63 S has its capacity increased from 4.0 litres to 4.5 litres, thanks to a new crankshaft machined from a single metal billet, allowing cylinder stroke to grow from 92 mm to 100 mm. That was not the end of it: the longer stroke is accompanied by new con rods and forged pistons, whose bore has also risen from 83 mm to 84 mm.

Its induction system now uses two newly developed, larger turbochargers, with boost pressure raised to 1.4 bar. Naturally, there is also a new carbon-fibre ram-air intake and a fresh stainless-steel exhaust system with electronically controlled valves. This arrangement gives the uprated V8 several voices, ranging from a restrained purr to the thunderous growl we enjoy so much from V8 engines.

Now for the figures. The Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S has no reason to be embarrassed by its 639 hp and 900 Nm, but its Brabus Rocket 900 alter ego simply overwhelms it: 900 hp at 6200 rpm and 1250 Nm of torque from a relatively modest 2900 rpm. To prevent the transmission from being destroyed by this absurd amount of force, however, torque has been capped at a “civilised” 1050 Nm…

Rocket-like acceleration

With numbers this hefty, it is hardly surprising that it reaches 100 km/h in just 2.8 seconds, 200 km/h in a scant 9.7 seconds and 300 km/h in a “mere” 23.9 seconds - figures more commonly associated with thoroughbred supercars. Yet the Rocket 900 keeps accelerating beyond 300 km/h before encountering an electronic limit at 330 km/h, all to ensure its tyres do not destroy themselves while carrying 2120 kg at rocket-like speeds.

Only 10 will be made

Production of the Brabus Rocket 900 will be restricted to just 10 cars and, as expected, its price is as exorbitant as the numbers in its specification: €427,000 before taxes.