Brabus has spent decades extracting numbers from Mercedes-AMG products, but it has never been especially loyal. If something expensive and fast exists, Brabus has probably modified it. The latest target comes from Crewe.
Meet the Brabus 900, based on the latest plug-in hybrid Bentley Continental GT Speed. As the name hints, subtlety was not on the agenda.
The standard 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 has been treated to new turbochargers, a carbon airbox and revised engine software. Power from the combustion engine alone rises to around 700bhp and 900Nm, comfortably up on stock. Combined with the unchanged hybrid system, total output stands at 888bhp and roughly 1,100Nm. Brabus calls it the 900 because numbers, as always, are negotiable.
Performance follows suit. The coupe sprints from 0 to 100kmph in just 2.9 seconds and runs on to a claimed top speed of around 335kmph. The GTC convertible is limited to a more restrained 277kmph, presumably in the interest of hair retention. Suspension has been lowered by 20mm and a valve-controlled stainless steel exhaust ensures nobody misses the point.
Visually, this is unmistakably a Brabus product. The front bumper gains a carbon-fibre splitter and enlarged intakes, while the rear gets a diffuser and lip spoiler, also carbon, because of course it does. Filling the arches are 22-inch forged Monoblock ZM wheels with an aerodisc design that looks engineered first and polite second.
Inside, Brabus offers its usual near-limitless personalisation. Leather, fabrics, contrast stitching and carbon trim can be specified in combinations limited only by taste and bravery. The launch cars show two extremes: a stealthy all-black coupe called Superblack, and a GTC finished in brown. No poetic name, just brown.
This is not a factory Bentley, but it could serve as a reminder that even in the world of luxury grand tourers, there is always room for excess. Brabus, as ever, is happy to provide it.
