The Brutalist Brabus Rocket GTS, the World’s Fastest Clown Shoe…

What do you go for if you want a genuinely fast 2+2 sports car but with a bit of extra boot space for your weekend getaways? Any suggestions? I’ll spare you the pressure of coming up with one, as I already have the answer lined up for you: the Brabus Rocket GTS. It’s spacious enough for four plus a couple of suitcases, has plenty of power, and uses only the best materials and components to rocket you across countries and continents at breakneck speeds and in perfect comfort. The one issue besides the polarizing ‘Clown Shoe’ body style? The price tag, probably!

Brabus isn’t exactly known for its subtlety, as proven many times over with cars such as the Crawler 900 Dune Buggy, just one of many in a long, long list of extensively modified Mercedes’. But the team from Bottrop does know a thing or two about building performance cars! As such, the Rocket GTS goes quite a bit further than just adding a bit of power and tacking on some aero bits to a standard production car. In a classic case of ‘More is More’, the Rocket GTS puts down 1,000 horsepower and has a full carbon fibre body and an entirely redesigned rear section that makes this a Shooting Break.

Barbus actually calls it the first ‘Hyper Gran Turismo Shooting Brake’, and there’s some logic in that. Everything starts with a ‘normal’ Mercedes-Benz SL 63 S E Performance that’s taken off the assembly line and rolled into Brabus’ workshop. Looking at the tail lights reveals the Rocket GTS is indeed based on the open-top powerhouse SL and not the AMG GT, which might have been a more expected starting point for such a conversion. The entire body is replaced by a high-strength exposed structure carbon fibre shell finished with a clear high-gloss sealer for a rather sinister look.

Everywhere you look, there are slats, cuts and winglets to guide you up, over and through the car where needed. The front side quarters are widened and opened up to allow the engines and breaks to exhale hot air when you hammer it. A sharply penned rear spoiler extends from the rear wheel arches, wraps around the back of the car, and is joined by a roof spoiler to enhance its mean stance even more. The large diffuser reveals two sets of red LED-lined exhaust pipes for added drama. Yeah, subtle…

On the inside, swathes of black leather, Alcantara and carbon fibre elements line the interior. Stretching the roof line to form a liftback-style rear section, the hallmark of a Shooting Break, also adds quite a bit of room to the back. Brabus doesn’t state how much extra boot space the conversion equates to, but the set of bespoke suitcases that come with the car suggest it’s enough for more than a day or two away from home. And you can bring some more mates, as this is a proper 2+2, although it might not look like it at first.

As mentioned, the Brabus Rocket GTS has quite the power bump over the ‘standard’ engine output. Despite being based on the already potent SL 63 S E Performance, the most powerful SL in Mercedes’ range, in fact, Brabus decided that a combined 805 horsepower from the hybrid drivetrain wasn’t enough. Instead, the team of engineers increased the engine capacity of the twin-turbo V8 from 4.0 litres to 4.5, fiddled with the internals a bit, and came up with 800bhp from the engine alone.

Add to that 204bhp from the e-motor and battery pack, and you end up with a combined output of 1,000bhp. Oh, and over 1,800nm of torque, just for good measure! That means the car certainly can uphold the ‘Rocket’ bit, as it hits 100kph in 2.6 seconds, with 300kph coming up in just 23.6 seconds. But it doesn’t end there, as the Rocket GTS ploughs on to an electronically limited top speed of 318kph (197mph). Talk about a kick in the rear!

Now, there’s just one small final issue to address, and one that will probably put you and me off ordering one. Ignoring the fact Brabus will only build a limited number of them (unspecified how many), the base price is EUR 789,000 excluding VAT, which is probably well out of reach for most of us! Nevertheless, I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on the keys for a week or two! As long as filling up the tank is covered as well…

For more information, please visit Brabus.com.

Editorial Note: The information and images for this article were provided by and used with permission from Brabus unless stated otherwise.