Mercedes-Benz specialist Brabus has a thing about building insanely fast cars. Now, half a decade after the presentation of what was then billed as the fastest saloon in the world, the limited run Brabus Rocket based on the first generation of the Mercedes-Benz CLS, the German company returns to Frankfurt with a vengeance presenting a new ludicrous proposal.The successor to the original Rocket is built around the second generation of the CLS sports saloon with power coming from a heavily modified Mercedes-Benz-sourced V12 bi-turbocharged engine.
The German firm's engineers increased the displacement from 5.5-liters to 6.3-liters and made a host of other upgrades including, but not limited to, a reworked intake, newly configured on-board electronics system and redesigned high-performance turbochargers.
As a result, output is lifted to 800-horses at 5,500 rpm and an enormous peak torque of 1,420Nm (1,047 lb-ft), available from just 2,100 rpm, but limited electronically in the car to 1,100 Nm (811 lb-ft).
A modified seven-speed quick-shift automatic transmission with steering wheel paddles along with a limited slip differential handle the transfer of power to the rear wheels.
Brabus says that the Rocket 800 can reach speeds in excess of 370 km/h (230 mph), making it the world’s fastest street-legal sedan.
And if that's not enough to impress you, the Rocket 800 goes from zero to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.7 seconds, to 200 km/h (124 mph) in 9.8 seconds and 300 km/h (186 mph) in 23.8 seconds!
The German company also extensively modified the car's aerodynamic properties, suspension and brakes.
On the outside, the CLS gains a wide-body aero kit that includes carbon-fiber fender flares on the rear axle that add 40 millimeters (1.6-in.) to the car's width, front and rear spoilers, a diffuser and more.
The Rocket 800 rides on 19-inch one-piece BRABUS Monoblock F wheels wrapped around tires in size 255/35 ZR19 up front and 285/30 ZR 19 in the rear.
Finally, interior improvements include a bespoke steering wheel, aluminum trim, custom upholstery and a revised instrument panel with a 400km/h (250mph) speedometer.
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The SLS AMG has only been a few months on the market and yet Mercedes-Benz, after unveiling the roadster version, continues to add new features to its brand-new supercar. The latest add-on is the introduction of the optional AMG Ride Control suspension featuring electronically controlled damping to improve its behavior no matter what the road surface.The adaptive suspension offers three settings: “Comfort”, “Sport” and “Sport Plus” which the driver can control by pushing the AMG Drive Unit with the newly-added shock absorber symbol and view the selected mode in the AMG main menu.
You can guess the suspension settings by each mode’s name: “Comfort”, which is the default setting every time the engine is started, is supple and comfort-oriented, thus suitable for everyday driving and cruising on the motorway. “Sport” is selected by pressing the AMG Drive Unit once and it firms up the dampers’ response, reducing body roll and pitching without fully sacrificing comfort.
When you feel like really going for it, press the Drive Unit a little longer to select the “Sport Plus” mode. Mercedes recommends that this setting is best suited on a race circuit, presumably because it is too harsh for road use.
The driver can store his preferred setup in the Drive Unit. If, on the other hand, you don’t feel like shelling out €2,320.50 ($3,156) for the active dampers, you can still choose the normal or the AMG Performance suspension. As with the “normal” SLS AMG the car also features four transmission modes (Controlled Efficiency, Sport, Sport Plus and Manual).
Also new on the options list of both the coupe and the roadster versions of the SLS AMG is the Blind Spot Assist system (€773.50/$1,052.8) that is operational from 30 km/h (18.6 mph). This system uses the radar sensors of the standard parking assist to monitor the area around 3.5 meters on each side of the car and 3 meters on the rear and recognize vehicles in the driver’s blind spots. In this case, a red triangle lights up in the relevant exterior mirror and if the driver doesn’t react, an acoustic warning is activated.
Mercedes has also added options for the SLS’ exterior appearance. The updated list includes matt black-finish AMG 10-spoke forged alloy wheels with 265/35 R 19 and 295/30 R20 tires at the front and rear respectively (€3,272.50/$4,455) and red-painted calipers (€714.20/$972.8). Other new entries include the new “Sepang” metallic brown paintwork for the body (€2,439.50/$3,321.6) a new single- or two-tone “espresso” brown leather interior, and a high-gloss black trim on the center console (€2,320/$3,158.5).
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One of the stars of this year's edition of the Top Gear Live show that takes place at the NEC Birmingham from November 11 to 13, and at the ExCel London from November 24 to 27, will be the Red Dragon monster truck.Hand-built by former European Monster Truck Champion, Rob Williams, this beast made its stage debut at the Top Gear Live event in South Africa last year.The Red Dragon is based on the Ford F-350 Super Duty but power come courtesy of a bespoke 9.5-liter supercharged V8 engine from Chevrolet that delivers 1,308bhp and 1,040 lb-ft while burning through a gallon of methanol fuel every 50-60 yards (!).The monster truck is equipped with two axles sourced from a 50-tonne crane crank that transfer power to the 6ft by 4ft giant wheels. Each tire and wheel set weighs in at a quarter of a tonne, with the Red Dragon tipping the scales at 4.5 tonnes in total.Perhaps even more outrageous is the custom-built 600psi air cannon fitted on the truck bed. According to its maker, the cannon is capable of shooting any object weighing up to 650kilos (1,433 pounds) – including fridge freezers and…scooters.
Technical Specifications
Body: Fibre-glass mould of Ford 350 Super Duty
Height: 11ft
Length: 20ft
Width: 12ft
Weight: 4.5 tonnes
Engine: Supercharged 9.5 litre custom Chevrolet
Power: 1308bhp
Torque: 1040lbs
Yards per Gallon: 50-60 ypg
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While the Mustang has many fans in Europe, Ford's pony car never really caught up with buyers across the Atlantic for a great number of reasons, one being that it is available only with large displacement engines that negatively affect pricing as well as other costs associated with ownership.
Nevertheless, Europe's tuning industry does offer owners some options for customization. This here package is for the latest Mustang 5.0 GT and it comes from a German company called Design World.
The exterior design is typical of German tuners, who love using vibrant colors on their projects. For the Mustang, Design World finished Ford's pony car in a two-tone black and orange color scheme enhanced with white stripes and carbon foil, which makes its appearance on the roof, the hood dome, the bumpers and the rear spoiler.
As for the interior, the upgrades are limited to orange trim bits on the steering wheel and the dashboard.
The American coupe rides on a sport suspension from H&R and 20-inch alloy wheels finished in black with orange-colored outer rims shod in 255/35 ZR20 tires up front and 285/30 ZR20 at the back.
Under the hood, a subtle ECU mod and a sport air filter bump the 5.0-liter V8's output from 412-ponies to 435-horsepower.
The cost for the package is set at €12,150, which comes to around US$17,320 at the current exchange rates.
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While Land Rover will be testing the design waters for the next generation of the iconic Defender with its DC100 Concept in Frankfurt, British tuning firm Project Kahn is already imagining ways of enhancing and personalizing the potential replacement for the automaker's most famous model through some photoshop wizardry.
German tuners have no problem taking their projects to the extreme. One such example is CLP Automotive's tuning proposal for the latest BMW M3 Coupe called the Interceptor that attempts to replicate the look and feel of the M3 GT racecar that recently participated in the 24 hours of Nürburgring where it finished in second place.
For more than four decades now, German tuning house Alpina has been modifying BMWs cars. The Bavarian luxury carmaker has a tight relationship with the tuner going as far distributing the high-performance models through its official network.
