You Get Crazy…and Then You Get the Brabus Crawler

Has the mad tuner from Brabus just built it's maddest car yet?

Brabus, the infamous Mercedes-Benz tuner from Bottrop is well known for creating some of the fastest and most expensive tuning and engine packages for Mercedes-Benz clients across the world, has just released it's latest model which is…and isn’t a Mercedes-Benz.

The model in question is called the Brabus Crawler and it just so happens to be the company’s most extreme product to date, a kind of off-road racer come luxury car come really expensive toy. Now you could use all of those terms to describe a high spec Brabus G-Class but where the Crawler differs is that it never started life as any Mercedes-Benz model.

The base of the Crawler is a custom Brabus built tube frame chassis constructed using high-strength steel, like those high-performance off-road racing buggies.  In front, the Crawler makes use of double wishbone suspension with coil springs made of high-strength steel wire mated to 4-way adjustable shock absorbers which allow the driver to change the rebound and compression setting as they see fit. At the back, the suspension set-up consists of a rigid axle with trailing arms, and once again you will find those high-strength springs and trick shock absorbers.

When it came to choosing wheels, Brabus hasn’t held back, taking a set of their Monoblock HD wheels and wrapping them in heavy-duty Maxxis Razr MT 128Q POR tyres measuring LT40 x 13.50 R20.  The wheels are also mounted on portal axles which increases the ride height of the vehicle's drivetrain to allow for better ground clearance.

To get those wheels moving, Brabus stuck with tradition by installing an increased displacement variant of their ROCKET 900 V8 Biturbo engine. This engine uses a 4.0 Mercedes-Benz Biturbo AMG block as a base before Brabus increases displacement to 4.5 through the use of high-strength forged internals, they then fiddle with the turbos and tuning, and leave lucky owners with an engine that produces 662kW and an electronically limited 1050Nm of torque.

The gearbox is also from Mercedes-Benz, the company’s 9-speed automatic transmission with an optional manual gearshift using steering-wheel-mounted Brabus RACE shift paddles. Being an off-road buggy, the Crawler is equipped with permanent all-wheel drive and three electronically controlled differential locks as found on the G-Class.

With all the technical bits taken care of, Brabus being Brabus had to make sure that the Crawler looked the part and so they installed a complete carbon fibre body which resembles a G-Class and in all honesty, I don’t think they could have done a better job as it retains all the key elements and details which you will find on a Brabus built G-Class like the vented arches and side-exit tailpipes inspired by their Widestar kit.

The interior is just as crazy thanks to four carbon fibre shell racing seats with racing harnesses. The dashboard itself is a full carbon fibre piece that houses a Mercedes-Benz style digital display together with a Mercedes-Benz steering wheel and Lowrance chart plotter, which is like an advanced GPS unit normally reserved for high-end yachts. Aside from all the carbon fibre, Brabus has also gone and anodized numerous brackets and details which give the interior a far more high-end finish than simple painted or powder coated parts which speak volumes of both Brabus’ attention to detail and the type of client they wish to attract.

On that note, which types of clients do they wish to attract? Well, Brabus is only going to build 15 Crawlers at a price of about EUR891,310 each, and by the way, the Crawler is not street legal! So, even if you can buy a one, you will also need to buy somewhere you can drive it.

Even if you can't afford a Brabus, your dream Mercedes-Benz is waiting for you in the ClickaCar Virtual Showroom.