Brabus revives the V12 G-Wagen

Those German masters of excess, Brabus, have built the G65 Mercedes-AMG won’t.

Christened the Brabus G V12 900 “One of Ten”, Brabus’s new V12 G-wagen creation boasts a power output of 662kW and 1500Nm, which allows the massive 2660kg 4x4 to go from 0 to 100km/h in 3.8sec with the top speed electronically limited to 280km/h.

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These performance figures are similar to the V12-powered 2017 Brabus G900, though the G V12 900’s new nine-speed automatic lends a marginal 0.1sec 0-100km/h and 10km/h higher top end advantage.

AMG bid farewell to the V12-engined Gelandewagen with the 2017 ‘Final Edition’, the latest W463 G-Class topping out at the 430kW/850Nm 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 G63, and ceased V12 production altogether earlier this year.

This gives Brabus a problem, as previously it had the G65 AMG as a base vehicle to work on. Instead, the Bottrop modification house had to adopt the 6.0-litre bi-turbo V12 engine used in the S600 L limousine.

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In order to up the S600’s 390kW power figure, Brabus enlarged the cylinder bores and fitted a new billet crankshaft, increasing displacement from six litres to 6.3 litres, making this one Mercedes that could accurately wear AMG’s ‘6.3’ badge.

To cope with the extra grunt, there are forged pistons and billet connecting rods, larger turbos along with a new intake module, reprogrammed engine electronics, and a dual-mode performance exhaust system. Sneakily, while Brabus claims 1500Nm, the peak figure is actually limited to 1200Nm to protect the driveline.

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To ensure high-speed and handling stability, the G V12 900 is fitted with a widebody seen on Brabus’ other G-wagen iterations such as the G700 Widestar, which widens the G-wagen’s body by 100mm.

This allows the fitment of gargantuan wheels and tyres, with a choice of 23- or 24-inch rims measuring 10 inches wide at the front and 12 inches wide at the rear wrapped in 295/30 and 355/25 tyres respectively.

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Inside there are swatches of porcelain and saddle brown leather with orange highlights on the seats, steering wheel and door trims. Brabus also modifies the rear doors to open wider to make access to the back seat easier.

As evident from its “One of Ten” moniker, Brabus will only build 10 examples of the G V12 900, with prices starting from €605,055, or well over a million Aussie dollary-doos.