Brabus is like that father you see in movies that is never satisfied with with his son’s accomplishments. Mercedes-Benz plays the part of the hapless adopted child. “Look! I made the new E63 AMG. It cranks out 550 horsepower in regular trim and 577 in S-Model spec.” Without looking up from its newspaper, Brabus responds with, “Heh, it could make more.”
There’s a happy ending to this story, though. Brabus decided to live by those words and got out of its recliner to go to its workshop. It emerged with the 850 6.0 Biturbo. As you can imagine, that first number is the amount of horsepower. The second figure means the E63’s 5,461-cc V8 is banged out to an even “six” liters (5,912 cc).
Mercedes should feel proud. “For almost two decades, the four generations of the BRABUS E V12 ruled the segment of the superfast sedans.” Brabus changed its entire formula by using the E63’s V8 as a starting point for this creation. In addition to increasing the displacement, the tuner added a precision-balanced crankshaft, forged pistons, and special piston rods — all billet pieces. “The air intake system and the two BRABUS turbochargers with larger compressor unit and special manifold were all developed from the ground up.”
To get the right amount of air into such a hungry beast of an engine, Brabus enlarged the air filter box’s cross section. It even wraps the intake and charge-air pipes with a “Gold Heat Reflection” coating to ensure cold, power-dense air is fed to the big V8.
These modifications, along with others, not only boost horsepower to 850, but also, they also pile on the pound-feet. Brabus had to dial down the torque from 1,069 lb-ft to 848 to avoid grenading the drivetrain. Thanks to that insane amount of twist, models with 4MATIC can snap off 0-60 times of 3.1 seconds. Top speed ranges from 186-217 mph, but it depends on tires, final drive ratio and programming.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
