The Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen has been a darling of the off-road community and mall crawlers worldwide for years. It can be seen conquering trails or the boutiques of Beverly Hills—quite the range. You either pine for one or hate them due to being one of the top status symbols of wealth and privilege. Brabus is keen to take advantage of the latter with the new XL 800, which takes the current Mercedes and turns the volume up to twelve.
The executives at Brabus must be history buffs because their cars have a similar effect to the works of Michelangelo and his ‘terribilita’, where he could instill a sense of awe with his works. Now I’m not saying we hang Brabus products in the Sistine Chapel, but they do have the ability to catch your attention in ways other cars can’t. The new Brabus XL 800 has ‘terribilita’ because well… just look at it!
A combination of supercar and off-road machine, the Brabus XL 800 has a total of 18.5”/47cm of ground clearance from its specially designed suspension and portal axles. The supercar part comes from the fact that it has 800 horsepower/588 kW of power and 737-pound pound-feet of torque/1,000nM from a 4.0L twin-turbo V8. The big, awe-inspiring box can jolt from 0-62mph (100km/h) in 4.6 seconds with an appropriate top speed of 130mph (210km/h).
The front axle was reported to be a completely new independent suspension and built using CNC technology. The axle housings are reinforced along with all suspension links. Their ‘RideControl’ coil-over suspension is equipped with a damping rate optimized for the increased ground clearance. Wheels are an 8-spoke design in all-black in 22”.
The carbon on the outside merely hides the extravagant interior of the Brabus XL 800. “Double Cube” quilting is available for door panels, floor mats, leather center strip in the Dinamica headliner, and center sections of the seats. Carbon is used throughout the interior with the instrument panel, door panels, center console, aluminum door lock pins, and carbon pedal pads. Even the sun visors are exposed-structure carbon, and the overhead console!
Lastly, just look at that stance. The exposed carbon WIDESTAR bodywork is stunning. The wider look makes the factory G-Wagen look pedestrian at second glance. If you’re looking for a car that will shock and awe anywhere it goes, the Brabus XL 800 is exactly what you need.
Cheers!
M. T. Blake
