Naza-Brabus introduces Brabus GL 63 BiTurbo
Naza-Brabus, official Brabus distributor in Malaysia and Singapore, has recently announced the availability of the Brabus GL 63 BiTurbo luxury SUV for sale. Sporting a 650hp 6.2-litre V8, the luxury SUV is capable of a top speed of 300kph.
Sitting in the engine room is Mercedes-AMG’s 6,208cc M156 V8 extensively reworked by Brabus. From AMG, the naturally aspirated M156 produces between 503 and 525hp depending on model. Brabus went on to bolt two turbochargers, upping the ante to 650hp. Maximum torque of 850Nm is available from 3,000rpm upwards to 5,500rpm.
The two turbos are the product of Brabus’ own custom development, featuring special cast exhaust manifolds with integrated turbine housings and bypass valves. To eliminate turbo lag, Brabus limited the turbos to a small size, and each manifold draws exhaust gases from only three out of four cylinders on each bank.
Brabus also swapped the original pistons from AMG with their own forged units, reducing the engine’s compression ratio to 9.0:1, a necessary modification to ensure turbocharger compatibility. Recommended lubrication is that of synthetic Aral high-performance motor oil. The engine is claimed to be compliant to Euro IV emission standards, but bear in mind that our petrol is not of Euro IV standard, so I don’t expect that to be valid in the Malaysian market.
Paired to the engine is a modified version of Merc’s SPEEDSHIFT 7G-TRONIC automatic transmission channeling power to all four wheels. En route to its 300kph top speed, the GL 63 is claimed to demolish the century sprint in 4.7 seconds.
Also available from Brabus is the Widestar version of the GL 63, which adds 6cm to the GL’s width. It features a wind-tunnel-shaped front apron designed to minimize front end lift. Additional features include LED daytime running lights and four auxiliary headlamps.
In the wheelarches, customers can specify a wide variety of wheel and tyre combination from 21″ to 23″ rims, with Pirelli or Yokohama high-performance tyres available at sizes up to 305/30 R23.
Brabus also suitably uprated the GL’s suspension and braking system to handle the additional juice of the BiTurbo. Tweaking of the Airmatic suspension had ride height lowered by 30mm, while the brakes are now high-performance items from Brabus. In front are 380mm 12-piston cross-drilled and vented discs while the rear gets slightly smaller 355mm six-piston discs.
