New Brabus Rocket GTS revealed: the Mercedes SL shooting brake no one was expecting
This is the Brabus Rocket GTS, and it’s a two-door shooting brake which may put you in mind of a ‘90s BMW.
New Brabus Rocket GTS revealed
Shooting brake version of the Mercedes SL
Wild exterior styling
V8 hybrid system puts out 1,000hp
Completely overhauled interior
Prices expected to start from over £300,000
Brabus is well known for coming up with some bonkers machines, and this is one of the most extreme cars it’s come up with yet. The Rocket GTS starts out in life as a Mercedes SL, however it’s been given a new shooting brake rear end.
Overhauling the styling is only part of the Brabus treatment, because the GTS is packing a 1,000hp V8 engine and the interior has been reworked as well.
New Brabus Rocket GTS design
Two-door shooting brakes are few and far between these days. If you’re unsure as to what a shooting brake is, it’s essentially a sporty-looking two-door estate car with a sloping roofline.
From the front the Rocket GTS looks pretty much the same as the Brabus 750 Bodo Buschmann – a heavily-modified Mercedes SL. This means it has the SL’s pointy headlights and a much more aggressive-looking lower bumper.
It’s the side profile which sets the GTS apart. It may put you in mind of the BMW Z3 M Coupe from the 1990s, a car which was affectionately known as the ‘clownshoe’ due to its long bonnet and stubby rear. The Brabus features massive flared wheel arches, huge vents in the front wings and carbon fibre five-spoke wheels.
The GTS is equally imposing from the rear. The new bodywork is finished in exposed carbon fibre, and there’s a big lip spoiler below the window. Those tail lights are the same as the SL’s, and there’s an aggressive-looking lower bumper with a large diffuser and quad tailpipes.
New Brabus Rocket GTS engine and performance
Under the bonnet of this crazy creation you’ll find the same engine as the Brabus Rocket 1000 – a highly-tuned version of the Mercedes-AMG GT 4 Door. It starts out as Mercedes’ own 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8, however it’s been bored out to 4.5-litres and had some new turbos fitted.
There’s also a new crankshaft and exhaust system – as well as the GT 4-Door’s hybrid system – and the result is 1,000hp and 1,820Nm of torque. It’ll do 0-60mph in just 2.7 seconds, making it just 0.1 of a second slower than a Porsche 911 Turbo S, and the top speed is capped at 197mph.
New Brabus Rocket GTS interior
The final part of a Brabus overhaul is a re-worked interior. The Rocket GTS has the same basic cabin layout as the Mercedes SL, meaning you have the same portrait touchscreen in the centre, however the materials have been given a massive upgrade.
You can customise it more or less any way you want. All the leather is upgraded over the normal SL’s with different grain patterns and there’s plenty of carbon fibre on the doors, centre console and steering wheel. An Alcantara dashboard adds a touch of sportiness, as well as reducing reflections in the windscreen.
New Brabus Rocket GTS price
So how much will this slice of German lunacy set you back? Probably quite a lot. Brabus hasn’t said how much it’ll cost, nor has it confirmed how many will be made. The ultra-rare 750 Bodo Buschmann started from £290,000, so it’s safe to assume the Rocket GTS will push north of £300,000.
