You want blacked out? Here it is... and then some. Brabus are the German Mercedes tuners who stop at nothing to transform a perfectly good product of the Stuttgart Merc factory into something completely other. What you see here is a Merc without any Merc badges, barring one to the steering wheel just to remind you. But when you push the accelerator, you’ll quickly understand that this is no cosmetic transformation. This sleeper is fast, very fast.
So how fast, exactly? Basis is the already far from slow 1990s Mercedes E500, designed to whisk company chief executives from city to country house without any fuss and at high speed. Brabus being Brabus decided that the standard 320 bhp from the 5-litre V8 under the bonnet wasn’t nearly enough. Nor AMG’s version, which upped the power to 381 bhp. This for the 1990s was a lot. Brabus took the engine and handed it over to their technicians, so that in this incarnation it’s a 6.5-litre V8, producing a mighty 450 bhp. Top speed? Think 170 mph+, possibly 190 mph.
Look though is of a luxury private hire taxi, of the sort on the airport run every day. That anonymity defines the appeal of the stealth limousine, of the sleeper. It’s the details that delight and that mark out this rare and highly sophisticated machine. Brabus conversion is fully documented and those documents are extensive. What badging there is references only Brabus and its unique naming conventions. And even that is blacked out. Front grille is black, nine-spoke alloys allow a glimpse of red Brabus lettering to unique braking system. If you’re at nearly 200 mph, you may need to slow down at some point, after all.
Brabus 6.5 M119: A look inside
High performance requires superb comfort, not that Mercedes themselves are traditionally lacking in this department. But your next Brabus boasts an interior in their own Designo Anthracite colourway. Seating is unique to Brabus, front and rear. Sound system requires CDs, but we’re happy to go back to the 1990s for the power under that bonnet. Speedometer is Brabus’s own. Gearbox is automatic but we suspect you’ll be too busy holding on to that steering wheel to want to change gear anyway.
Merc underneath is still your daily driver: a superbly engineered limousine with more than enough boot space for that getaway to a continental capital. We’d suspect Brabus might be annoyed, but there’s nothing to stop you loading it up with plants at the local garden centre.
A price on the perfect stealth Mercedes-Benz that isn’t actually badged as such? You could be the wannabe oligarch in the back or the self-chauffeur upfront. And before anyone had a chance to think about it, you’d be gone. Fast. The Brabus was sourced by Mercedes expert Marc-Luca Hähnel for his dealership specialising in rare and performance Mercedes just east of Stuttgart. Marc Luca Automobiles have a sticker price of £100,000 on the car. Back seat ride to Berlin? Yes, please.
