The Brabus Rocket GTC Is A 986 HP ‘Hyper Gran Turismo Cabrio’

Seasoned readers will know by now that we at Carz.com.my have a soft spot for renowned German tuners Brabus. At last week’s Monterey Car Week, the Bottrop-based firm revealed yet another new creation based on the Mercedes-AMG SL Roadster.

Pictured is the Brabus Rocket GTC and, unlike the firm’s last build based on the electrified R232-gen Mercedes-AMG SL 63 S E Performance super-plug-in hybrid (PHEV) variant, the tuner elected to present it as a ‘hyper gran turismo cabrio’.

Unlike the Rocket GTC, the Rocket GTS retains the base car's cabrio ethos, with the tuner presenting it as a "hyper grant turismo cabrio."

As a refresher, the last SL Roadster-based build by Brabus was the Rocket GTS ‘shooting brake’. Also based on the super-PHEV variant of the three-point star’s flagship roadster, that build saw Brabus eke out 986 HP and 1,820 NM to enable 0-100 KM/H sprints in 2.6 secs.

Unlike the Rocket GTS mentioned, Brabus decided to retain the original base car’s open-top ethos in this new Rocket GTC build – it remains a cabrio. That aside, Brabus also elected to completely reskin the SL with red-hued carbon fibre.

Besides completely reskinning it in red-hued carbon fibre, Brabus also endowed new bumpers, new wheels, widened wheel arches, and more.

On board, Brabus also decked out the cabin fully in quilted red leather upholstery.

The redux includes massive front and rear wheel arches, new front and rear bumpers, new front bumper intakes, a ducktail rear spoiler as well as 21-inch front and 22-inch rear forged centrelock five spoke wheels with carbon aero blades.

On board, the Brabus Rocket GTC sees its cabin get decked out in red quilted leather covering the seats, dash, and even the footwells. Of course, this being a Brabus, this build’s real draw lies under the hood.

Under the hood, Brabus tweaked the twin-turbo V8, boring it out to 4.5-litre and squeezing out 986 HP and a 'limited' 1,620 NM. There's even a titanium sports exhaust system primed.

Like the Rocket GTS, this new Rocket GTC build sees a repeat, whereby Brabus tweaked the base car’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 super-PHEV setup. Bored out to 4.5-litre, the mill's outputs are similar as the Rocket GTS at 986 HP and 1,820 NM, though the latter is electronically capped at 1,620 NM. 

There's even a titanium sports exhaust system brimmed. Brabus says it electronically limited torque to ‘protect the vehicle’s drivetrain components.’ Speaking of, the V8 mill mentioned continues to be paired with a 9-speed automatic box that sends power to the rear wheels (RWD), and 0-100 KM/H dashes also takes 2.6 secs.

Are you folks digging Brabus' latest effort based on the R232-gen Mercedes-AMG SL?

For reference, the Mercedes-AMG SL 63 S E Performance base car, which launched locally not too long ago, puts out 805 HP (816 PS) and 1,420 NM. It also despatches 0-100 KM/H in just 2.9 secs, and costs RM2,168,888.

Brabus didn’t announce a price tag for the Rocket GTS, but we can surely expect it to costs way more than the base car’s figure mentioned should you wish to place an order for one with Brabus Kuala Lumpur.