If you thought the Mercedes-AMG G 63 had already hit peak automotive nonsense, BRABUS has bad news. The German tuner removed the roof from the G-Wagen, fitted a 900-hp V8, fitted huge 24-inch wheels, and set a price close to a million dollars.
That is the BRABUS 900 ROCKET EDITION Cabrio: a four-door convertible based on the current Mercedes-AMG G 63 W 465. It is the first open-top car in the ROCKET family. And it looks like one of those projects where engineers ask "can we?" long before they ask "why?".
The answer to the second question is obvious: because they can.
The G-Wagen can now lose its roof
The main engineering problem was never the engine. Cutting a roof off a car is relatively easy. Keeping a huge square body from turning into a creaky mess afterward is much harder.
So BRABUS effectively designed a new upper body. The two-section electric soft top needed more than 500 new parts. The body was reinforced, and a carbon structural member sits above the front seats. Behind the rear doors, a steel C-BOW protection frame appears.
The roof opens and closes in about 20 seconds. It includes a heated rear window, and when folded it stows behind the rear seats under a dedicated cover.
BRABUS even runs every finished car through more than 10 hours of continuous water testing in a climate chamber. For a machine that costs nearly a million dollars, surviving rain really is part of the options list.
Under the hood: not quite the G 63 you know
The standard AMG G 63's 4.0-liter V8 was clearly not enough. BRABUS fully reworked the powertrain and raised displacement to 4.5 liters.
Forged pistons, stronger connecting rods, a new crankshaft, and upgraded turbochargers arrived. Peak boost reaches 1.4 bar.
The result sounds like a mid-engine supercar: 900 hp at 6,200 rpm and 922 lb-ft (1,250 Nm).
In the car itself, torque is electronically limited to 774 lb-ft (1,050 Nm). Otherwise those rear 24-inch wheels would probably start acting like fans.
The BRABUS 900 ROCKET EDITION Cabrio hits 62 mph (100 km/h) in 3.7 seconds. Top speed is electronically limited to 149 mph (240 km/h). For context: the car looks built to survive the end of the world, yet it accelerates like a serious sports car.
24 inches up front. 345 millimeters out back
The wheels deserve their own chapter.
BRABUS fitted forged Monoblock II EVO Platinum Edition wheels measuring 24 inches. Their design nods to the famous three-spoke BRABUS wheels, now with carbon aero inserts between the spokes.
At the rear sit 345/25 ZR 24 tires: very wide rubber with a very low profile. So low that the word "off-roader" starts to sound like a joke.
Under the new wheels sits adjustable BRABUS RideControl suspension, developed with KW. It can drop ride height by up to 45 mm.
In other words, a machine once famous for going where asphalt ends can now sit nearly two inches lower for better on-road manners.
Carbon, red leather, and very little humility
Inside, BRABUS did not pretend to be modest. The cabin mixes black leather and Alcantara with the brand's Shell diamond stitching. Red contrast stitching runs throughout, joined by Rocket Red accents and plenty of exposed carbon.
Carbon shift paddles include built-in LED shift lights. As you approach the ideal shift point, the glow moves from green through yellow to red.
Even the rear doors got a special hinge design that opens them roughly 90 degrees.
In short, even opening a door becomes a demonstration of how much money went into the car.
And what does all of this cost?
This is where it gets interesting.
BRABUS will build only 10 examples of the 900 ROCKET EDITION Cabrio worldwide. The shown car carries an export price of about $965,000 (€890,740), before German VAT. Depending on country and taxes, the final sticker easily clears a million dollars.
For that money you could buy a very serious set of cars. None of them would be a four-door, 900-hp convertible that looks like a Mercedes G-Class after engineers who never heard the word "enough" got hold of it.
And that is the whole point of BRABUS.
BRABUS 900 ROCKET EDITION Cabrio: specs
Base: Mercedes-AMG G 63 W 465
Engine: twin-turbo V8
Displacement: 4.5 L
Power: 900 hp
0 to 62 mph: 3.7 s
Top speed: 149 mph
Transmission: automatic
Drive: all-wheel drive
Wheels: 24-inch BRABUS Monoblock II EVO
Roof: electric soft top
Shown car price: about $965,000
A million dollars for the right to drive without a roof
The BRABUS 900 ROCKET EDITION Cabrio does not try to be a rational car. Rationality is not part of the brief at all.
It is a huge G-Class with a soft top, a 900-hp V8, 24-inch wheels, 345 mm rear tires, and an interior that looks like a designer got an unlimited budget and orders to use as much carbon as possible.
One detail makes the project especially interesting: this is not just a G 63 with the roof deleted.
BRABUS had to heavily rework the body, create more than 500 new parts, reinforce the structure, and design its own roof mechanism. The result is a car Mercedes-Benz does not currently offer in this form.
And if you are going to spend nearly a million dollars on a car, at least make it one you will not meet at the next intersection.
Even if it is still a G-Wagen.
