Brabus: How a Bottrop Dealer Built the Biggest Mercedes Tuner

Brabus at a glance

The old 1cars text called it the largest tuner of Mercedes products after Mercedes-AMG. Since AMG became part of Mercedes-Benz itself, the Bottrop company has been described as the world's largest independent vehicle tuner, with about 350 staff in 2007.

Buschmann, Brackmann and the 1977 start

Bodo Buschmann, trained as an automobile merchant, is said to have started by personalising his own Mercedes, which he found too ordinary as delivered. In 1977 he registered Brabus GmbH in Bottrop together with Klaus Brackmann, partly because German company law then required two founders. Brackmann sold his shares to Buschmann shortly after the founding, but the name stayed.

The first products were body kits, wheels and engine tuning parts. The firm made its name with engine swaps. In 1984 it fitted a 5.0-litre V8 with 213 kW (290 PS) into the compact Mercedes 190 E, a car that the factory only offered with four- and six-cylinder engines. In 1985 an aerodynamically improved Brabus E-Class reached a drag coefficient of 0.26, a record for a production-based saloon at the time.

From body kits to record saloons: the eras

1977–1995: tuning for Mercedes and others

The company grew through the 1980s with engine conversions, aerodynamic kits and interiors for Mercedes-Benz models. In 1994 it also became the works tuner for Bugatti, then building the EB110. In the late 1990s the company enlarged its Bottrop site significantly.

1996–2009: the V12 years and records

The V12 era brought the records that made Brabus known worldwide. The Brabus E V12 based on the W 210 E-Class reached 330 km/h and was then the fastest production saloon. Its successor on the W 211 used a 6.3-litre twin-turbo V12 with 471 kW (640 PS) and 1,024 Nm and reached 350.2 km/h.

In early 2006 the Brabus Rocket, based on the CLS (W 219), set a record for street-legal saloons at 362.4 km/h, and in October 2006 it improved this to 365.7 km/h. A Brabus Maybach 57 with the SV 12 S Biturbo engine reached 330.6 km/h at the Nardò test track. The SV 12 S engine itself grew from 537 kW (730 PS) in 2005 to 552 kW (750 PS) in 2009.

2010 onwards: 600-kW cars and new businesses

In 2010 Brabus showed the EV12 coupé with a 6.2-litre twin-turbo V12 and 588 kW (800 PS). The Rocket 800 of 2012, with 597 kW (800 hp), 3.7 seconds to 100 km/h and 370 km/h, was described as the fastest street-legal saloon of its time. In mid-2014 the V12 reached 625 kW (850 PS); the Brabus 850 E-Class and its estate version followed the same year.

The current top models use 662 kW (900 PS). They include the Rocket 900 based on the S 65 AMG (2015–2020) and the G V12 900 "One of Ten", whose 1,500 Nm are electronically limited to 1,200 Nm and its speed to 270 km/h. A Rocket 900 "One of Ten" based on the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4MATIC+ completes the group. In summer 2022 Brabus moved beyond Mercedes with a Porsche 911 Turbo conversion of 603 kW (820 PS), 0–100 km/h in 2.5 seconds and a 340 km/h limit.

Landmark models from Bottrop

In the 1cars data, the Brabus 850 6.0 Biturbo Coupe ranks 14th among the most powerful cars (October 2026).

The G-Class, vans and smart

Brabus is closely tied to the Mercedes G-Class. Its G V12 800 Widestar has 588 kW (800 PS), and the 800 Adventure XLP is a G-Class pick-up with 588 kW (800 PS) that reaches 100 km/h in under 5 seconds. The Bottrop firm also built a 6x6 version of the Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6x6. Business clients can order the iBusiness versions of the S-Class and vans such as the Viano V8 with 313 kW (426 PS), equipped as mobile offices.

The smart partnership started in 2001–2002 with smart-Brabus GmbH, a 50:50 joint venture with the smart company. Its versions of the smart fortwo, and later of the electric smart models, became the sporty top of the range. At the other end of the scale, the Ultimate E, an electric smart EQ fortwo cabrio, has 68 kW (92 PS).

Ownership, factories and the company today

The business has stayed private and family-run. A third plant at the Bottrop-Eigen headquarters was announced in autumn 2012, and a new building for Brabus Automotive, the developer of concept vehicles, followed in 2014. Brabus Service GmbH, founded in 2004, is an authorised Mercedes-Benz service partner, and Brabus Classic restores older Mercedes-Benz cars such as the 300 SL.

After Bodo Buschmann died on 26 April 2018 following a short, serious illness, his son Constantin Buschmann became CEO. Under him the company has broadened into boats through its yachting division and into design collaborations such as a watch with Panerai in 2021. It also announced a motorcycle, the 1300 R built with KTM, on 2 November 2022. In 2008 about 30% of its revenue came from Germany, which shows how much the firm depends on exports. By our calculation, the 662 kW Rocket 900 has about 43% more power than the 463 kW of the factory Mercedes-AMG S 65 it is based on.

Buying a used Brabus: what to check

A genuine conversion is worth far more than a Mercedes with aftermarket parts, so documents matter most. Ask for the Brabus build or conversion papers and the plaque in the car, and check that the engine and chassis modifications are entered in the registration documents, as German rules require. Service history from Brabus Service or a Mercedes-Benz workshop helps, because the tuned V8 and V12 engines need specialist care. Limited editions such as the "One of Ten" models should come with their numbered certificates.

Brabus in numbers

Compare the conversions with factory Mercedes-AMG models in the 1cars comparison tool, and see all Brabus models on the Brabus brand page. The base cars' story is told in the history of Mercedes-Benz.